Following a surprising run of arena shows opening for Harry Styles last year, singer/songwriter Ben Harper will release his next album, Wide Open Light, June 2 through Chrysalis. Old friend Jack Johnson guests on the single “Yard Sale,” which is out today (April 5).
Wide Open Light includes “Trying Not To Fall in Love With You,” which Harper performed at the Styles shows on piano. Throughout, the songs are spare and organic, with Harper’s voice usually accompanied by acoustic guitar. Indeed, the artist admitted to SPIN in December that he hasn’t “been that raw and that exposed on record — just me and guitar — for an entire album ever.”
As for “Yard Sale,” he says the song “follows a man through the final blurred stages of a breakup. With each passing verse the couple grows further beyond reach or repair. By the song’s end, he’s more confused than when the song began.”
Harper will tour Europe this summer beginning July 1 in Germany, and then will link up for support dates with the Chicks in the U.S. starting Aug. 10 in Hershey, Pa. His own headlining tour gets underway Sept. 1 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The artist can also be seen in Apple TV+’s Extrapolations, a star-studded climate change-themed series also featuring Meryl Streep, Edward Norton, Heather Graham, and Tobey Maguire.
