Leaving the past behind her is the skill Gracie Abrams is hoping to master on Good Riddance, her forthcoming debut album set for release on Feb. 24. The highly-anticipated record will be preceded by a single, out Friday, Jan. 13, that asks a question essential to the process of moving on: “Where do we go now?”
Across scattered releases and concise EPs, like 2020’s minor and 2021’s This Is What It Feels Like, the 23-year-old singer and songwriter has packaged snapshots of the coming-of-age experience into song with masterful precision. At the close of 2022, Abrams shared her second release of the year, following “Block Me Out” with another Aaron Dessner-assisted single, “Difficult.”
“It’s difficult to imagine these songs living anywhere other than my most secret places,” Abrams shared in a statement announcing Good Riddance, created in close collaboration with Dessner. “But Aaron reminded me that holding space for brutal honesty in songwriting is kind of the whole point.”
She added: “I feel an unbelievable amount of gratitude for the opportunity to have made this album. Writing this record allowed me to grow up in ways I need to. It forced me to reflect and be accountable. It allowed me to walk away from versions of myself that I no longer recognized. It allowed me to let go.”
Abrams created large portions of the album at Long Pond Studio in New York’s Hudson Valley with Dessner, who plays in the National. The studio’s secluded location allowed the pair to unplug and sift through the tangled and complicated webs of young adulthood as she had experienced it thus far. Last year, Abrams described the act of sharing the music they made together to Rolling Stone as “handing out formal invitations to hang out inside my brain.”
In her album announcement, Abrams continued: “There will never be enough words to describe the gift that is Aaron’s friendship. He is one of the very few people in this world capable of making others feel safe to their core when they are exploring the parts of themselves that are most raw. He is rare and generous.”
Following the February release of Good Riddance, Abrams will embark on an 18-date headlining tour, with Tiny Habits joining on each date. The tour will begin on March 7 at the House of Blues in Chicago and will conclude at the Fillmore in San Francisco on April 10. The singer will make stops in Toronto, New York, Atlanta, Nashville, Austin, Los Angeles, Portland, and more. General sale begins Friday, Jan. 13, at 10 a.m. local time. Additional information can be found on the official Gracie Abrams website.
“Thank you all for your support,” Abrams concluded her statement. “I’m so nervous. I’m so relieved. I hope with my whole heart that there’s something in here that makes you feel less alone. I’ll be thanking you all for the rest of my life for taking this record and making it yours.”
Gracie Abrams Spring 2023 North American Tour
March 7 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
March 9 – Toronto, ON @ History
March 10 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
March 12 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues – Boston
March 14 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
March 15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
March 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
March 18 – Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre
March 20 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
March 21 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
March 22 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
March 25 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin
March 26 – Dallas, TX @ The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
March 29 – Los Angeles, CA The Fonda Theatre
April 5 – Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
April 7 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
April 8 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
April 10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore