Media release: 20 Years Of Eli Paperboy Reed - Australian Tour 2025
Announcement posted by Jameson & Co 09 Dec 2024
Marking 20 years since his debut, Eli Paperboy Reed has announced that he will celebrate his milestone with an extensive Australian tour in May 2025, including an international headliner position at Blues On Broadbeach.
Known for his sweaty, searing performances and his raspy, soulful voice, Reed will bring his sensational new show to our shores, featuring special guests and recent Grammy® nominees, The Harlem Gospel Travelers (HGT), who will also perform their own shows.
Now with famed indie label Yep Roc Records as his home and nine acclaimed albums to his name, Reed also produced HGT's latest album, Rhapsody, which earned the nod for Best Gospel Roots Album, making the unique trio - the first openly queer group to be nominated for a Grammy Award®.
Despite their name, the group members hail from across New York City, uniting through Harlem's Gospel For Teens program, where they were mentored by Reed.
Offering an exhilarating live experience that will be unique to Australian audiences, The Harlem Gospel Travelers will join the line-up for the first leg of the 20 Years Of Eli Paperboy Reed Tour. they will perform in Melbourne (Corner Hotel, May 8), Castlemaine (Theatre Royal, May 9), Canberra (The Baso, May 10) and Sydney (Metro Theatre, May 11), concluding their dates with Blues On Broadbeach (May 16-18).
In these shows, HGT will deliver their own dynamic gospel funk sets as well as joining Reed on stage with their sweet, fervent vocals.
Also joining the lineup are The Meltdown, Melbourne's purveyors of southern soul from the Great Southern Land, featuring rich instrumentation with a blend of Stax and Motown vibes. Members of The Meltdown will also form part of Reed's and HGT's respective bands. They will travel with Reed for his entire tour, which for the second leg, extends to Perth (Perth Blues Club @ The Charles Hotel on May 20; Freo Social on May 22), Adelaide (The Gov, May 23), Queenscliff Town Hall (May 24) and Gippsland (Meeniyan Town Hall, May 25).
In an exclusive, one-off event, Eli Paperboy Reed will stage an intimate duo setup at Wollongong's Centro CBD on Tuesday, May 13. He will be joined by The Meltdown's charismatic frontman, Simon Burke.
Of his forthcoming third return to Australia, Reed says, "I can't wait to get back to Australia and reconnect with my fans over there - hopefully make some new ones too.
"My passion for performing is stronger than ever and my brand new show is guaranteed to get everyone dancing and sweating. We're gonna have a great time, I promise you that!
"I'm also honoured to be one of the headliners at the iconic Blues On Broadbeach, sharing the stage with some phenomenal local and international artists."
Two decades after busking in Harvard Square and honing his craft, this trailblazing soul man continues to write, sing, and perform on his own terms, delivering electrifying performances that connect deeply with audiences.
He adds, "I could never have imagined that 20 years ago, when I was starting out, playing for tips on the streets of Boston, that music would take me where it has.
"The lessons I've learned over the last two decades have made my music more mature and my live show the best it's ever been. I can't wait to see what the next 20 years bring."
Don't miss this soul-stirring celebration that pushes gospel and soul into bold, exciting territory.
Tickets are on sale from Monday, December 9 at 10am AEDT.
* Eli Paperboy Reed is available for Zoom and phone interviews between 8am and 1pm AEDT w/c Dec 10 and Dec 17.
* Radio announcers: For exclusive music content from Eli Paperboy Reed, please contact Erin Jameson.
* Interviews can also be arranged with available members of The Harlem Gospel Travelers upon request.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Erin Jameson
erin(at)jamesonandco(dot)com | +61 419 323 663
FOLLOW ELI PAPERBOY REED
Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/elipaperboyreed
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elipaperboyreed
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elipaperboyreed
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/elipaperboyreed
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/37D1QyrEFNkcv0f62xo46x
Website: elipaperboyreed.com
FOLLOW THE HARLEM GOSPEL TRAVELERS
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harlemgospeltravelers/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harlemgospeltravelers
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@harlem.gospel.travelers?lang=en
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/16Nni80EpZ7s54i3hJKvft?si=nDSO30GGQhWQ0Fx2M_vBUg
Website: https://harlemgospeltravelers.com
FOLLOW THE MELTDOWN
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_meltdown
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themeltdowntown
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6O0WkZMlHi7yqizwsA8uVf?si=T8blVdIFSgWPq_GeMYmqjw&nd=1&dlsi=be0cf1de5bca4753
Website: themeltdown.com
20 YEARS OF ELI PAPERBOY REED TOUR DATES:
ELI PAPERBOY REED +
THE HARLEM GOSPEL TRAVELERS + THE MELTDOWN
Thursday, May 8
Corner Hotel, 57 Swan St, Richmond, VIC
7.30pm
$90+bf
Tickets via Oztix | cornerhotel.com
Friday, May 9
Theatre Royal, 30 Hargraves St, Castlemaine, VIC
7pm
$90+bf
Tickets exclusively via Oztix (Ph 1300 762 545)
theatreroyalcastlemaine.com.au
Saturday, May 10
The Baso, 2 Cohen St, Belconnen, ACT
7pm
$80+bf
Tickets exclusively via Oztix (Ph 1300 762 545)
Sunday, May 11
Metro Theatre, 624 George St, Sydney, NSW
7.30pm
$90+bf
Tickets via Ticketek | metrotheatre.com.au
Thursday, May 15 - Sunday, May 18
Blues On Broadbeach, Gold Coast, QLD
https://bluesonbroadbeach.com/
—————————————————-
ELI PAPERBOY REED + THE MELTDOWN
Tuesday, May 13 (Duo with Simon Burke of The Meltdown)
Centro CBD, 28 Stewart St, Wollongong
8pm
$65+bf (Dinner & show also available)
Tickets via TryBooking
Tuesday, May 20
Perth Blues Club @ The Charles Hotel, 509 Charles St, Nth Perth, WA
7pm
$75
Tickets via TryBooking
Thursday, May 22
Freo Social, Parry St, Fremantle, WA
7pm
$75+bf
Tickets via Moshtix | freo.social
Friday, May 23
The Gov, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, SA
7pm
$75+bf
Tickets via Oztix | thegov.com.au
Saturday, May 24
Queenscliff Town Hall, 50 Learmonth St, Queenscliff, VIC
7pm
$75+bf
Tickets via queensclifftownhall.com.au
Sunday, May 25
Meeniyan Town Hall, 97 Whitelaw St, Meeniyan, VIC
6pm
$80+bf
Tickets via Oztix | lyrebirdartscouncil.com.au
20 YEARS OF ELI PAPERBOY REED
"It's been twenty years since I've had a real job", laughs Eli Paperboy Reed from his Brooklyn apartment. In some ways, he's not joking, though those two decades have been chock full of the round-the-clock hustle that it takes to make a career in the fickle music industry. Indeed, Reed has found a way to maintain a famously high standard for both his critically acclaimed albums (nine and counting) and his notoriously sweaty, searing and soulful live sets. None of this was a foregone conclusion.
Reed cut his teeth in the early 2000s, first in the juke joints of Clarksdale, MS where he moved after graduating high school in 2002, and then in the southside Chicago church of Soul legend Mitty Collier. By 2005 though, Reed was back in his hometown of Boston, driving a van delivering flowers in the mornings ("the best job I ever had") and spending his free afternoons busking in Harvard Square, Cambridge for tips. He put in the proverbial 10,000 hours playing guitar, harmonica and singing for 3-4 hours a day, as long as it was above 50 degrees. He had just "released" his first album, the optimistically titled "Sings Walkin' and Talkin' (and other Smash Hits). It was recorded all live to analog tape in mono and Reed scraped together the money to press up 300 CDs.
Around the same time, he put his first band together, composed of an oddball collection of musicians who could play everything from avant garde jazz to modern gospel. They all coalesced around Reed's rough and ready guitar playing and astonishingly soulful voice, making for an exciting, unpredictable and potent blend. The band's live show, and in particular Reed's singing, began to get noticed around the Boston area and came to the attention of musician and producer Ed Valauskas who worked out of Q Division Studios in Somerville, MA.
What "Ed V" (as he was known) didn't know was that Reed was prepared for this moment with a batch of newly penned original songs and an unshakeable sonic sensibility. The two clicked, Reed stepped into the studio with his band in tow and the tape rolling and proceeded to make magic. "Roll With You", Reed's first album of all original music, was released in 2008 and the world began to stand up and take notice. Soon there were calls coming in from everywhere: Television shows in the U.K. and France, festivals in Australia and a jaw-dropping of national and international tour dates.
"Roll With You" was critically lauded and Reed's blow-off-the-roof live set at the famed SXSW music festival in Austin, TX brought major labels calling. A deal was inked with Capitol Records in 2009 and saw the release of "Come and Get It" the following year, along with more dates, more festivals and more positive press. At the same time, Reed added another arrow to his quiver: Licensing. Songs from "Come and Get It" began to show up in movies, television shows and commercials. The album's follow up, 2014's "Nights Like This" recorded this time for Warner Bros. followed the same trend all while Reed continued to wow audiences on five continents.
In 2015, the music industry, and major labels in particular were in freefall and Reed fell victim to the death rattle. Some fans balked at the poppier sound of "Nights Like This" and without the support of a major label, Reed returned to his home base of Brooklyn, NY to regroup. He was down, but not out. In a span of six weeks, he wrote an entire LP's worth of material that became the album "My Way Home." It's an album that's both back-to-basics and startlingly current and it began Reed's relationship with famed indie label Yep Roc Records, a partnership that continues to this day.
With the whirlwind of the major label experience behind him, Reed emerged older, wiser and more mature as a songwriter and performer. Parenthood also gave him a newfound perspective; his daughter Stella was born in 2016 and son Oscar in 2019. He returned to the south to record his seventh full-length "99 Cent Dreams" at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording studio in Memphis, TN. This time around he was joined by soul legends The Masqueraders on background vocals. The title track was given an unexpected boost with a feature by hip-hop pioneer Big Daddy Kane! No Depression wrote: "Reed never disappoints and on 99 Cent Dreams he takes his musical game to a new level, elevating us with it."
With every step forward, Reed attempts something new, different and untested. The COVID lockdowns of 2020 inspired him to fulfil a dream he'd had since the very beginning: To record an album's worth of songs by country music legend Merle Haggard. Reed's versions of The Hag's classic songs like "Workin' Man Blues" and "Mama Tried" brought another milestone: An invitation to perform on the venerable stage of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry where he brought the house down.
Reed was one of the very first of the new wave of singers and songwriters to embrace unabashedly soulful music and he's still doing it his way, two decades on. He's celebrating that milestone with a 20th anniversary reissue of the album "Walkin' and Talkin'" from 2005, this time on vinyl. "Listening back to those songs and my 21 year-old self" he says, "is a strange sensation." "I can hear the wheels turning, the speed picking up, taking me in the direction I wanted to go, but I didn't know where it would lead me or how long it might take to get there." Twenty years on, Reed is still singing, playing and writing his heart out, heading towards the next stop.
THE HARLEM GOSPEL TRAVELERS
With their 2024 album - the recently Grammy Award® nominated Rhapsody, the extraordinary vocalists Ifedayo Gatling, Dennis Bailey, and George Marage are able to fully explore the entire range of music that influenced them. The follow-up to their acclaimed 2021 release Look Up!, the record is a dive into a lesser-known but hugely important era in the evolution of gospel music.
Starting in the mid-1960s, local gospel groups and singers began incorporating elements of popular soul and funk styles and in 2006, Chicago-based reissue label Numero Group released Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal. HGT's longtime friend and mentor Eli Paperboy Reed approached the group with the idea of digging through the Numero catalog and recording some of the gospel funk material, reinterpreted in their own way—from the high-energy, old-school soul of "God's Been Good to Me" to the hip-hop-inflected "Get Involved."
The Harlem Gospel Travelers story began when Gatling and Marage met while studying under Reed's tutelage. The group put out their debut LP, He's On Time, to rave reviews in 2019, earning them high profile fans like Elton John and landing them festival slots everywhere from Pilgrimage to Telluride Jazz. Originally a quartet, they brought in Bailey and reconfigured as a trio prior to recording Look Up!, their first album of all original material.
At a moment when the world is reconsidering the concepts of genre and category and who's allowed to participate in which traditions, HGT are squarely on the cultural pulse. "We always found it difficult to stay in this one lane of what people think gospel is supposed to be," says Gatling. "This record allowed us to hear people that were innovators in their own time, pushing how gospel music sounded, and now we've created this project that is message-wise gospel, but the feeling and the sound can be whatever you want it to be."
CHECK OUT ELI PAPERBOY REED WITH THE HARLEM GOSPEL TRAVELERS
ELI PAPERBOY REED VERSUS THE HARLEM GOSPEL TRAVELERS AT THE KENNEDY CENTER
WATCH THE HARLEM GOSPEL TRAVELERS ON SHOWCASE SOUTH HADLEY