SARI Schorr fans in Glasgow will be the first to hear tracks from her upcoming album when she performs at the Oran Mor this week.
The blues rock “force of nature” is coming to the West End venue on Thursday as part of her intimate run of UK headline dates.
Audiences can expect a very different set to that on her sold out European tour and they will hear two new songs from her upcoming album which is set for release in autumn.
She says the record goes back to her love of rock and blues with elements of soul.
“One of the songs, called Highway 69, I've been working on for four years and I believe it’s ready for public consumption,” Sari says.
“I write a lot of songs, but my goal is to only play the good ones so until I’m really sure that a song is working to the absolute best it can, I don’t put it into the repertoire but for this song I finally found a lyric that sat with the melody I had.
“I’m looking forward to playing it. You feel a little naked the first time you're debuting a song because no matter what you think of it ultimately, it’s your fans who decide whether they like it or not.”
Sari burst onto the blues rock scene in 2016 with her debut album A Force of Nature, produced by British blues pioneer Mike Vernon (David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac) and came after years of “trudging the rugged road of life of the hard-working blues woman”.
Sari says the new tracks she’ll debut are more light-hearted than on previous albums "at the request of her producer".
She explains: “We’re living in such challenging times and a lot of the recent songs I have been writing were slow, heavy, depressing songs that fit the mood I’ve been in but he said ‘use music to convey all the different aspects of the human experience and try to elevate yourself'.
“That’s what music does for everyone. So, these songs are uplifting, they’re fun, they’re just meant to make people feel good.”
Sari says she decided to debut the new songs in Glasgow because the first time she set foot in the city “I felt a strange, undeniable connection to the city as if I had been there before”.
“Many years ago, a very famous psychic in New York said that I had lived there and that I was a great warrior, the leader of many men on a big white horse, which is strange because I used to ride a big white horse as a kid,” she reveals.
“I’m not saying I believe in these things 100% but I try to keep an open mind.”
The “warm and open people” of Glasgow are one of the things Sari says she loves about coming here.
She says: “Coming from New York we have a little bit of an edge to get through our daily lives, but there’s a feeling of we’re all in this together and I get that feeling [in Glasgow] too.”
The Oran Mor show will also feature songs from the Joyful Sky album that Sari recorded with guitarist Robin Trower and there will be a tribute to the late Tony Clarkin after Magnum’s drummer Lee Morris joined her band.
“I never had the pleasure of meeting [Tony] but I’m very well aware of the contribution he’s made to the UK music scene,” Sari says.
“Throughout Europe everybody loves the music of Magnum and Lee has seen a lot of their fans at our show.
“It’s wonderful to see the outpouring of support for the band and Tony’s legacy will live on forever.”
Sari Schorr will be at the Oran Mor on April 18 and will be supported by special guest Matt Pearce and The Mutiny.
They will be collecting donations for Tony Clarkin’s animal welfare fundraiser.
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