Elton John Shows Support for Yola Cover of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”

In the latter part of this week, Yola released a deluxe version of her Grammy-nominated, critically acclaimed album Walk Through Fire featuring two new bonus tracks, including a Dan Auerbach-produced studio recording of Elton John’s classic “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” which was personally premiered by Elton John on his social media.

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Elton John has previously praised Yola in a special edition of his Rocket Hour radio show on Beats, featuring fellow Highwoman, Brandi Carlile. Elton exclaimed, “If you haven’t heard of Yola… go and see her… you’ll be delighted at what you hear.”

The deluxe album also includes the song “I Don’t Wanna Lie,” which was co-written by Yola, Auerbach, and legendary keys player Bobby Wood. Musicians who performed on the track included bassist Dave Roe (Johnny Cash) as well as Wood and drummer Gene Chrisman, who played on hits by Dusty Springfield and Elvis Presley.

“Can’t believe it has only been a year since we announced Walk Through Fire, working with Dan Auerbach and the team has been an absolute dream and so proud of everything we have achieved. So many great songs from that session didn’t make the final cut, including “I Don’t Wanna Lie.” I’m a HUGE Elton fan and we’ve been playing “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” on the tour and wanted to cut a version for this release which Dan also produced! And then for Elton to personally premiere it, well that is the icing on the cake!

Queen of country-soul Yola recently received four nominations at the 62nd Grammy Awards including Best New Artist and three nominations in the Roots category including Best American Roots Song, Best American Roots Performance (for “Faraway Look”) and Best Americana Album for her debut Dan Auerbach-produced album, Walk Through Fire. Auerbach also received a nomination for for Producer of the Year for his work on albums including Walk Through Fire. The 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 26, 2020, at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

The album, which was released in February 2019 to tremendous critical acclaim, received support from tastemakers from the New York Times to NPR, which stated the record was “the work of an artist sure to stun audiences for years to come.” KCRW made “Faraway Look” their number 1 song of the year. Variety called the album “one of 2019’s best musical breakouts,” while Rolling Stone, included Walk Through Fire in their top 50 albums of 2019 and called Yola “an artist you need to know” and “the voice of 2019.”

Yola toured the US extensively in 2019, from the Hollywood Bowl to Newport Folk Festival, SXSW, and Farm Aid. She recently performed at Nashville’s Bridgestone arena, opening for Kacey Musgraves alongside Maggie Rogers, with a special appearance from Harry Styles. Additionally, Yola has performed with The Highwomen and Dolly Parton. She will close the year with a handful of performances, including a sold-out show in London, Holiday Cheer for FUV with Mavis Staples, Nathaniel Rateliff and Mumford And Sons in NYC on December 10, and two New Year’s performances with Old Crow Medicine Show at the Ryman in Nashville.

Yola’s Walk Through Fire continuing world tour includes shows across the US, Canada, and Europe. Next year’s dates include Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, Indianapolis’s Hi-Fi, Austin’s Scoot Inn, San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall, and two nights at the Troubadour in LA; additional shows will be announced shortly. All dates are on sale now. Amythyst Kiah is confirmed to support on various dates of the US run. (Full details available at iamyola.com and below.)

In addition to her Walk Through Fire tour, Yola will perform at Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend and will open for Chris Stapleton on his An Outlaw State of Kind Benefit alongside Willy Nelson and Sheryl Crow. Yola will also perform with Chris Stapleton and Willie Nelson on March 14 at Globe Life Field.

YOLA TOUR DATES 2019-20

DEC 10 TUE – WFUV Holiday Show @ The Beacon, NY

DEC 11 WED – Garcia’s, Port Chester, NY, United States

DEC 30 MON – The Ryman w/ Old Crow Medicine Show, Nashville

DEC 31 TUE – The Ryman w/ Old Crow Medicine Show, Nashville

JAN 7, 2020 TUE- The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA

JAN 8, 2020 WED – Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

JAN 10, 2020 FRI – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

Jan 11, 2020 SAT – World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA*

JAN 12, 2020 SUN – Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto ON,

JAN 14, 2020 TUE – SPACE, Evanston, IL

JAN 15, 2020 WED, – Turf Club, St. Paul, MN,

JAN 17, 2020 FRI , – Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO,

JAN 18, 2020 SAT – Hi-Fi, Indianapolis, IN

JAN 19, 2020 SUN- A&R Music Bar, Columbus, OH,

JAN 21, 2020 TUE- Ballroom At The Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, OH,

JAN 22, 2020 WED – The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC

JAN 23, 2020 THU- Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC

JAN 24, 2020 FRI – Terminal West, Atlanta, GA

JAN 29 WED – Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, Puerto Alvaro Obregon, Mexico

FEB 7, 2020 FRI – The Heights Theater, Houston, TX*

FEB 08, 2020, SAT – Scoot Inn, Austin, TX*

FEB 9, 2020 SUN – The Kessler Theater, Dallas, TX*

FEB 11, 2020 TUES – Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO

FEB 12, 2020 WED – The State Room, Salt Lake City, UT

FEB 14, 2020 FRI – Pub Station, Billings, MT

FEB 15, 2020 SAT – Top Hat, Missoula, MT

FEB 16, 2020 SUN – The Crocodile, Seattle, WA

FEB 18, 2020 TUE – Venue Nightclub, Vancouver, BC

FEB 19, 2020 WED – Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR

FEB 21, 2020 FRI – Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA

FEB 22, 2020 SAT – Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA

FEB 23, 2020 SUN – Music Box, San Diego, CA

FEB 25, 2020 TUE – Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA

Amythyst Kiah to support on all USA dates except dates indicated with *.

  • Support to be announced.

MAR 14 SAT – Globe Life Field w/ Chris Stapleton, Arlington, TX, United States

MAR 29 SUN – Bluegrass Underground, Pelham, TN, United States

APR 9 THU – Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay, Australia

APR 10 FRI – Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay, Australia

APR 12 SUN – Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay, Australia

APR 25 SAT – A Concert for Kentucky w/ Chris Stapleton, Lexington, KY, United States

JUN 6 SAT – Echoes Through The Canyon w/ Brandi Carlile, George, WA, United States