GRAMMY® Award-nominated songwriter, producer, and guitarist extraordinaire Cory Wong has shared his most unabashedly romantic song to date, “Ready (Feat. Ben Rector),” available now at all DSPs and streaming services.
LISTEN TO "READY (FEAT. BEN RECTOR)"
“This song started when my friend Aaron Sterling said, ‘Hey I've got a drum sample pack coming out, you wanna try jamming over one of the loops?’” says Wong. “I opened up his sample pack and played the first thing that came to mind when I heard the first loop. I built an instrumental hook and rhythm section around it and posted it to Instagram which caught the attention of my friend Ben Rector. Ben is an incredible singer/songwriter whom I toured with for a few years. He saw my video and said, ‘Do you have any plans for this tune? I am hearing a topline on it and want to send you some ideas.’ Within minutes we were writing the song together, sending ideas back and forth over voice text. I recorded all of the instruments over the initial drum loop that Aaron sent and then decided that it would feel much better if we had him just play the same thing with the same sounds, but all the way through so it had more of a live feel to it. It's a song that features Ben's brilliant but simple song/lyric writing, and my guitar style in a unique way that really showcases the collaborative side of this particular song.”
"Cory and I are good friends and go way back (he played in my band before exploding to funk guitar superstardom)" Rector adds. "I saw an Instagram post of him playing over an Aaron Sterling drum loop and started freestyling over it, and a few minutes later I texted him and said we should make it into a song. We sent it back and forth tweaking little things and I think it came together nicely. It was a joy to work on and I'm excited for the song to be out in the world!"
“Ready” heralds the upcoming release of Wong’s eagerly awaited new studio album, The Lucky One, arriving later this year. The collection – which expertly showcases Wong’s constantly evolving creative chops as producer, guitarist, and songwriter as well as his irrepressible belief in the power of collaboration – also includes the recently released funk-pop banger, “Look At Me (Feat. Allen Stone),” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. A complete tracklist featuring additional special guests will be unveiled soon.
LISTEN TO “LOOK AT ME (FEAT. ALLEN STONE)”
“I like mixing it up,” Wong says, “and it informed the way I wanted to approach making this album. At this point in my creative journey, I’m constantly trying to find ways to challenge myself and make myself better. I worked with great co-writers and collaborators that kept me honest and pushed me to be better than ever while making this album. I feel like I’m at an era in my life where I’ve been more creatively charged than ever, and I’m constantly inspired by getting to make music and travel the world with my friends playing music. It’s a gift and I truly am ‘The Lucky One.’”
Wong – who recently sat in on CBS’ Late Show With Stephen Colbert as special guest with Louis Cato & The Late Show Band – will celebrate The Lucky One with a truly epic live schedule, including headline shows and festival appearances around the world, an EU/UK headline tour, his first-ever shows in Japan, Thailand, Jakarta, and Hawaii, dates alongside O.A.R. and Nile Rodgers, and much more. Among the upcoming highlights, Wong will serve as Musical Director for both the eagerly awaited Bonnaroo Superjam (set for Saturday, June 17), as well as the 2023 JammJam at Las Vegas, NV’s Life, Is Beautiful (September 22). For complete details and ticket availability, please see www.corywongmusic.com/tour.
CORY WONG - TOUR 2023
JUNE
17 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo *
22 - Wilmington, DE - Clifford Brown Jazz Festival †
23 – Greenfield, MA – Green River Festival †
24 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival †
26 – Jackson, WY – The Center Park
30 – Quincy, CA – High Sierra Music Festival †
JULY
2 – Portland, OR – Waterfront Blues Festival †
8 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory +
13 – Snowshoe, WV – 4848 Festival †
16 – Sete, France – Jazz a Sete Festival †
18 – Antibes, France – Jazz a Juan Festival †
19 – Stuttgart, Germany – Jazz Open Stuttgart ^
20 –Brno, Czech Republic – Groove Brno Festival †
22 – Katowice, Poland - Jazz Around Festival †
25 – Marciac, France – Festival Jazz in Marciac †
28-30 – Nagata, Japan – Fuji Rock Festival †
AUGUST
3 – Honolulu, HI – Blue Note Hawaii (Early Show)
3 – Honolulu, HI – Blue Note Hawaii (Late Show)
4 – Honolulu, HI – Blue Note Hawaii (Early Show)
4 – Honolulu, HI – Blue Note Hawaii (Late Show)
5 – Honolulu, HI – Blue Note Hawaii (Early Show)
5 – Honolulu, HI – Blue Note Hawaii (Late Show)
25-27 – Tisbury, MA – Beach Road Weekend †
SEPTEMBER
9-10 – Indianapolis, IN – All In †
14 – Fredericton, NB – Harvest Music Festival †
16 – Asbury Park, NJ – Sea Hear Now †
17 – Paso Robles, CA – Whale Rock Music & Arts Festival †
22 – Las Vegas, NV – Life Is Beautiful † #
28 – Stockholm, Sweden – Arenan Fryshuset
29 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller Music Hall
30 – Copenhagen, Denmark – VEGA
OCTOBER
2 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
3– Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
4 – Paris, France – L’Olympia
5 – Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVredenburg
6 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique (AB)
8 – Berlin, Germany – Huxley’s Neue Welt
9 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013 Poppodium
11 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
12 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Institute Birmingham
13 – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo Manchester
14 – Glasgow, UK – Barrowland Ballroom
17 – Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
19 – Nancy, France – Nancy Jazz Pulsation †
NOVEMBER
28 - New York, NY - Lincoln Center - 65th Street Session
w/ Louis Cato, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Chris Thile
FEBRUARY 2024
25 - March 1 - Miami, FL - Jam Cruise 20
* Cory Wong's Syncopated Superjam
† Festival Appearance
‡ Red Barn Late Night
+ w/ O.A.R.
^ w/ The Fantastic Four
# JammJam Feat. Cory Wong & Friends
