Byron Bay artist Kyle Lionhart will release his highly anticipated debut album Too Young on Friday 20 September! To celebrate the news, Kyle has released the album’s anthemic new single, ‘Holding On’ – accompanied by the stunning video, directed by Nick Maguire and shot in the height of Japan’s charming cherry blossom season.
Off the back of Kyle’s recent May tour in support of previous single ‘So Close’ – a track that has accrued almost 800,000 streams to date and one that will also feature on Too Young – Kyle has announced his Too Young album tour will take place in October and November this year. The run will see Kyle play his biggest headline shows to date, including Melbourne’s Corner Hotel as well as shows across Hobart, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Adelaide, Fremantle & more.
AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES
FRI 18 OCT | THE TAH, HOBART TAS (18+)
SAT 19 OCT | CORNER HOTEL, RICHMOND VIC (18+)
FRI 25 OCT | WOOLLY MAMMOTH, BRISBANE QLD (18+)
SAT 26 OCT | THE NORTHERN HOTEL, BYRON BAY NSW (18+)
THU 31 OCT | GRACE EMILY HOTEL, ADELAIDE SA (18+)
FRI 01 NOV | THE RIVER, MARGARET RIVER WA (18+)
SAT 02 NOV| FREO SOCIAL, FREMANTLE WA (18+)
FRI 08 NOV | THE FACTORY, SYDNEY NSW (18+)
SAT 09 NOV | MIAMI MARKETTA, MIAMI QLD (18+)
SAT 16 NOV | DARWIN RAILWAY CLUB, DARWIN NT (18+)
The video for second single ‘Holding On’ came together after Kyle was shown a clip on YouTube made by a dance class in Japan, set to his song ‘Heart out First’. Both the sentiment and the incredible choreography led to Kyle connecting with the dancers online and discussing the possibility of a collaboration. Within a month, Kyle was filming in Japan – resulting in his most visually striking video to date.
On his debut album, Too Young, singer-songwriter Kyle Lionhart practices self-therapy, asking life’s big questions with stunning results. Written through a turbulent time when Lionhart grappling with his place in the universe & seeking answers: “What’s it all about? Why are we here? What are we doing it all for?” – Kyle did his searching through song and while he might not have all the answers just yet, the journey has resulted in a breathtaking, life-affirming debut album that hopes to help listeners as much as creating it has aided him.
Enlisting John Hume (Dean Lewis) and Lindsay Jackson to produce the album, the trio decamped to Jackson’s home basement studio in Nashville where they ate, slept and recorded side by side for six weeks as Too Young came to life. While the close quarters felt intense at times, it created a special bond between them.
Right from the opening track ‘So Close’, it’s clear that Kyle’s voice is the undeniable star of the record. Whether it’s whiskey-soaked, whispered, soaring, defiant or broken, it is always compelling. It seems in this case, it’s not the eyes that are the window to the soul, but the voice.
However, it’s not only Lionhart’s pipes that show his versality as an artist, but his songwriting as well. Songs like ‘Happy Now’ grow from simple guitar motifs to full blown anthems, ‘Too Young’ and ‘Sorry I’m Gone’, the latter a duet with Nashville singer Emily Reed, are tenderly pared back and stripped to their most essential elements. There are songs like ‘Flying’ which genuinely evoke a sense of weightless elation and in ‘Keep Pushing’, a brooding political call-to-action. ‘Some Things’, on the other hand, could easily soundtrack a drive along the Californian coast, windows down, the sun setting over the water, shimmering and warm.
Too Young follows Kyle’s two EPs, Keep In Mind and Eleven & Two – releases that have amassed over 17 million streams, led to sold out shows across Australia, festivals such as Splendour In The Grass & Byron Bay Blues festival as well as shows with good pal Ziggy Alberts and Xavier Rudd, Foy Vance & Niall Horan.
As well as his headline October tour, Kyle will be performing on the World stage at this year’s Splendour in the Grass. Don’t miss your chance to catch one of Kyle’s powerful live shows this year & pre-order his debut album Too Young now!