Joe Sumner Releases Debut Solo Album, "Sunshine In The Night"

Article Contributed by Vicious Kid PR | Published on Sunday, October 8, 2023

Today, Joe Sumner releases his long awaited debut album, Sunshine In The Night on his Rooley Records/BFD/The Orchard In an article posted this past week in Variety, Linda Laban offered, “Sunshine in the Night  is a humdinger loaded with chamber pop ditties and swirling, synth-y power-ballads.”

Humdinger, indeed! The long player, originally delivered just before the pandemic, boasts 12 brilliant folk-pop gems, including “Hope,” rush ordered by the Biden campaign and co-opted for the soon-to-be-POTUS’ good fight. Sumner enlisted a diverse list of friends (and family) to participate in a singalong video of the song that included folks like Ben Folds, Juliana Hatfield, Gaby Moreno, and Sting, not to mention Joe and Mika from MSNBC Morning Joe, debuted it on-air the Friday before the now-controversial Election. Subsequently, “Hope” was also released as a 7” single for Record Store Day Black Friday later that November.

Two more album tracks, “You, You, You” and “Looking For Me, Looking For You,” were rolled out in 2022 with the help of American Songwriter, Rolling Stone and others amid an almost ceaseless touring agenda supporting Sting and playing solo dates the world over. A November 2022 date in France was captured for a live EP, Feelin’ The Love, Tastin’ The Fear.

The rest of Sunshine In The Night, produced by Tom Syrowski, hands us with a full platter of truly memorable sounds. “Live Life” is an ebullient salvo to the resilience of the human spirit and the impermanence of life itself. “Don’t Change The Love,” jumps out big like Lennon in the ‘70s. “Don’t Go Away” is, at once, heart wrenching and triumphant in its honesty, with a seductive psychedelic break to boot, and the lush, blue-eyed soul of “See You Again” takes us through an ethereal portal that begs multiple listens.

Kicking off his musical career in London in the nineties, Sumner spent far more than the mandatory 10,000 hours perfecting his craft. There, he formed a band called Santa’s Boyfriend, which subsequently became the beloved trio, Fiction Plane. The band enjoyed several years developing a well-cultivated, worldwide fan base and playing an 18-month tour supporting another trio, The Police before parting ways.

Sunshine In The Night, Sumner’s long-awaited full length, is the best of two worlds - a sonically epic masterwork that somehow manages to also feel intimate.

See below for remaining stateside tour dates, as well as a now-announced solo shows at London’s Slaughtered Lamb (Nov. 21), at Podium Laurentz in Heemskerk, NL (Nov. 29), and New Morning in Paris on Dec. 2, along with additional dates supporting Sting in the EU.

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:

All remaining dates in support of Sting, except where noted.

Sat 07 Oct    Los Angeles, CA    Hollywood Bowl            

Mon 09 Oct    Phoenix, AZ        Arizona Financial Theater    

Thu 12 Oct    Rogers, AR        Walmart Amphitheater        

Fri 13 Oct.        New York, NY          Piano’s - MondoNYC Closing Night.    SOLO

Sat 14 Oct     Dallas, TX        Toyota Music Factory        

Sun 15 Oct    Houston, TX        Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pav.    

UK/EU TOUR DATES:

All dates in support of Sting, except where noted.

Tue Nov 21    London UK        The Slaughtered Lamb    SOLO

Thu Nov 23    Oberhausen, GE    Rudolf Weber Arena        

Sat Nov 25    Brussels, BE        Forest National            

Mon Nov 27    Hamburg, GE        Barclays Arena            

Tue Nov 28    Leipzig, GE        Quarterback Immobilien Arena     

Wed Nov 29    Heemskerk NL    Podium Laurentz    SOLO

Thu Nov 30    Amsterdam, NE    AFAS Live             

Fri Dec 01    Amsterdam, NE    AFAS Live             

Sat Dec 02    Paris FR            New Morning        SOLO

Sun Dec 03    Paris, FR        Accor Arena             

Mon Dec 04    Cologne, GE        Lanxess Arena             

Wed Dec 06    Nuremberg, GE    Arena                

Thu Dec 07    Hannover, GE        ZAG Arena            

Sat Dec 09    Luxembourg, LUX    Rockhal                 

Mon Dec 11    Milan, IT             Forum                

Wed Dec 13    Lyon, FR            LDLC Arena            

Fri Dec 15    Madrid, SP        IFEMA                

Sat Dec 16    Pamplona, SP    Navarra Arena             

For more information, please visit: https://www.joesumnersings.com and follow @thejoesumner on all social media platforms.

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