Photo credit: Jackie Lee Young
Black Pumas Announce Deluxe Edition of Their Grammy-Nominated Breakout Self-Titled Debut Album Featuring Bonus Tracks of Unreleased Originals, Live In-Studio Versions, and Covers of Tracy Chapman, The Beatles & More Out Digitally Now / Physically October 9
Black Pumas, the Austin duo of frontman/songwriter Eric Burton and producer/ guitarist Adrian Quesada, released a deluxe version of their breakout self-titled debut album on August 28 digitally and it will be available on October 9 physically. Since its release in 2019, Black Pumas has sold 155K+ album equivalents worldwide, spawned the massive hit single “Colors” - which hit #1 at AAA Radio and has been streamed over 60 million times - and seen the band nominated for Best New Artist at the 2020 Grammy Awards. The new 2-LP deluxe edition will feature new artwork and a gatefold with unpublished in-studio and live photographs, as well as a bonus 7-inch featuring three new unreleased originals; three live in-studio versions (“Colors,” “Oct 33,” “Confines”); a live version of “Know You Better” recorded at C-Boys Heart & Soul, the Austin club where the band first made a name for itself; and covers of the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” Death’s “Politicians in My Eyes,” Bobby “Blue” Bland’s
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“Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City,” and Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” a cover they premiered live on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last month. Black Pumas’ official live session of “Colors” is a huge viral hit on YouTube, with nearly 27 million views, and today they share a new video of the live version of “Confines” that appears on the deluxe album, an incredible rendition that features a string quartet. The Fader premiered the video today, with Burton saying of the song, “It is a reminder to remain equanimous in life during trials and tribulations while also not being afraid to have dreams.” Sometimes, a life-changing connection can be closer than you think. In 2017, singer and songwriter Eric Burton made his way from California to Texas. Born in the San Fernando Valley, he grew up singing in church and then got heavily involved in musical theater. He
Rock and Blues International • September 2020
started busking at the Santa Monica pier, where he brought in a few hundred dollars a day and developed his performance skills. Burton traveled through the Western states before deciding to settle down in Austin, TX—setting up his busking spot on a downtown street corner, at 6th Street and Congress, for maximum exposure. Meantime, Grammy Award-winning guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada was looking to collaborate with someone new. He reached out to friends in Los Angeles, in London, but nothing seemed right. A mutual friend mentioned Burton to Quesada, saying that he was the best singer he had ever heard. The two musicians connected, but Burton took a while to respond (“My friends were like ‘Dude, you’re a mad man, you need to hit that guy back!’”) Finally, he called Quesada and sang to him over the phone. “I loved his energy, his vibe, and I knew it would be incredible on
