Britain's Bobby Long Signs to Dave Matthews' ATO Records

British singer-songwriter-guitarist Bobby Long has signed to New York-based independent label ATO Records, co-owned and founded by David Matthews.
Long's debut A Winter Tale is set for release February 1, 2011. 

The album will feature 11 original songs drawing upon American folk, blues and country produced by Liam Watson - a Grammy-winner for his engineering work on Elephant by The White Stripes - at his analog Toe Rag Studios in London. Since he began performing in North America in April, 2009, Long has played more than 150 shows (including a number of sold-out appearances in major U.S. and Canadian cities, along with European dates).  His distinctive vocals and finger-pick acoustic guitar playing, along with storytelling skills, have won him news fans with each performance. 
Buzzine said,"The influences were obvious at times, but they’re good ones, like Dylan and Neil Young. Can’t go wrong there. His way with wordplay and imagery also recalled Conor Oberst a few years back. But unlike Oberst’s early work, Long has already found a fine singing voice to match that imagery. Plus, he’s also an impressive guitarist as a picker." 
On the upcoming album, Long is backed by various studio players on slide guitar, piano, standup bass, drums and keyboards. The songs include  the guitar-driven "The Bounty of Mary Jane," the haunting imagery of "Being a Mockingbird," the anthemic "Dead and Done" ("I've already had the neighbors here, Johnny Cash came 'round and we split a beer" ") and the defiant "Penance Fire Blues" contrasted by the sparse and plaintive "Who Have You Been Loving," which is already quite a fan favorite and appeared in a simpler acoustic form on Long's homemade self-released recording, Dirty Pond Songs, only available at his shows. Among the other tracks on the album are "In the Frost,"  "A Passing Tale" and "Sick Man Blues,"  "Two Years Old," he title cut, "A Winter Tale," and rhe closing "A Stranger Song," inspired greatly by one of Long's musical heroes, Leonard Cohen.

Long, 24, moved to London from Wiltshire in the southwest of England to attend college, and became part of the burgeoning open mic circuit to expose his music. He met actor and fellow musician Robert Pattinson, who would go on to sing "Let Me Sign" (co-written by Long and friend Marcus Foster) for the soundtrack to the film Twilight. The inclusion of the song in the film's soundtrack and CD opened doors for Long, who followed through with heartfelt shows to earn his own legion of devoted fans.  Long's "Left To Die" from Dirty Pond Songs reached #1 on the iTunes "Unsigned" chart and #8 on the Folk chart. 
That Writer Guy covered a recent Long show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles and wrote, "No false encores were needed. He'd made his statement and without a doubt won new fans. For an indie artist, with little if any airplay at all, it was remarkable how many in the crowd sang along to many of the songs. These fans are devoted already and the flock is growing. Long is one of several British singer-songwriters on the rise, including his friend Marcus Foster and another pal who's kind of become well-known in film, a guy by the name of Rob Pattinson. But while that Twilight connection may send some to check out Long's music, his songs and earnest performances stand on their own."
Long and his band return to North America this fall, supporting Michael Franti  A limited edition 10" vinyl EP containing songs from forthcoming record (including two bonus tracks) will be available at the shows.

Bobby Long on tour with Michael Franti:
October 
18-Buster's, Lexington, KY
19-Newport Music Hall, Columbus, Ohio
20-Bluebird Nightclub, Bloomington, IN
22-Madison Theatre, Covington, KY
23-Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead, Pittsburgh
24-The Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
25-Northern Lights, Albany, NY
28-Terminal 5, New York City
29-Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ
30-Electric Factory, Philadelphia.


November 
1-2-Calvin Theatre, Northampton, MA
3-State Theatre, Ithaca, NY; 
5-Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI
6-State Theatre, Portland, ME
7-Capitol Center, Concord, NH; 
9-Toad's Place, New Haven, CT
10-Metropolis, Montreal, Quebec
12--Kool Haus, Toronto, ON
13-House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
14-Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI. 
 Additional tour dates to be added.