Melody Gardot Goes Coastal

But Gardot’s adventure isn’t limited to surf and sand.  The international sensation will play a gig in Chicago while traveling from Los Angeles to Annapolis, Md.

Recorded in Los Angeles, Gardot’s Currency Of Man features her observations about real-life characters encountered on the streets of L.A., and is filled with references to many current issues, including racial inequality and homelessness. 

Check out her black and white video for the album’s lead single, “Preacherman,” a tribute to Emmett Till, the 14-year-old African American whose 1955 murder helped spur the Civil Rights Movement.

Currency Of Man has received plenty of praise from music-loving scribes.  Writing for London’s Guardian, Kate Hutchinson called Gardot’s more topical songs “a sophisticated twist on her continually evolving sound.” American Songwriter’s Hal Horowitz described the singer as having “the voice, swagger and coiled, coy danger of every femme fatale that ever tempted a ’50s gumshoe in any film noir you’d like to reference. … The aural equivalent of Lauren Bacall in ‘The Big Sleep’ and Kathleen Turner in ‘Body Heat.’”

Gardot’s U.S. journey follows a summer playing Euro events such as Switzerland’s famed Montreaux Jazz Festival and the EDP Cooljazz Festival in Oeiras, Portugal.  Here are the dates:

Sept. 29 – San Francisco, Calif., Herbst Theatre
Sept. 30 – Los Angeles, Calif., The Theatre At Ace Hotel
Oct. 3 – Chicago, Ill., Vic Theatre
Oct. 5 – Annapolis, Md., Maryland Hall For The Creative Arts
Oct. 6 – Alexandria, Va., The Birchmere
Oct. 8 – Boston, Mass., Berklee Performance Center
Oct. 9 – Philadelphia, Pa., Merriam Theater
Oct. 10 – New York, N.Y., Town Hall

General onsales for select shows launch July 17. Click here for more information.