Stream: Lonnie Holley, “Six Space Shuttles and 144,000 Elephants”

August 05, 2013


In 20 years, there's probably one phone interview I'll truly remember: talking with Lonnie Holley for a Personal History feature in the magazine, in which the 62-year-old visual and musical artist recounted being adopted into a whiskey house, locked up and beaten in the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, and finally discovering sculpture amid tragedy. Though Holley only released his first album last year, via renowned folk label Dust-to-Digital, he has wasted no time with the followup, Keeping a Record of It, recorded with Bradford Cox and Cole Alexander of the Black Lips (though neither of them appear on this new track) and out September 3rd. The song "Six Space Shuttles and 144,000 Elephants" describes a gift Holley imagines giving to the Queen on her birthday. Below, find a trailer for the album, a video of Holley's performance at The Whitney this spring, and dates for upcoming shows with Deerhunter and Bill Callahan.

Tour Dates:
08/22 Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock Live ^
08/23 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom ^
08/26 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall ^
08/27 Sacramento, CA – Harlows ^
08/28 Arcata, CA – Humboldt State ^
09/04 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom – Music Fest North West ^
09/07 Raleigh, NC – Stephenson Amphitheatre – Hopscotch Festival (Free afternoon show)
09/07 Raleigh, NC – Longview Center – Hopscotch Festival
10/03 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church *
10/04 Providence, RI – Columbus Theater *
10/05 Boston, MA – The Sinclair *
10/06 New York, NY – Webster Hall *
10/08 Ithaca, NY – The Haunt *
10/09 Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Lecture Hall (Chamber Music Hall) *
10/10 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom *
10/11 Detroit, MI – Trinosophes *

10/17 & 10/18 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
^ = w/ Deerhunter
* = w / Bill Callahan

Stream: Lonnie Holley, “Six Space Shuttles and 144,000 Elephants”