Grammy-winning singer Corinne Bailey Rae stopped by Later… with Jools Holland to perform two songs from her latest album, Black Rainbows.
As part of her two-song set, Bailey Rae performed “New York Transit Queen.” The song was released as the lead single from Black Rainbows and paid tribute to Audrey Smaltz, who won the New Transit Queen competition in 1954.
Bailey Rae also wowed audiences with a stunning rendition of “He Will Follow You With His Eyes.”
Black Rainbows was released Sept. 15 via Thirty Tigers.
Bailey Rae stated the album was inspired by artworks collected by Theaster Gates at the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago, Illinois.
“I’ve been working on this project for many years. The record represents so much to me – the culture, the pain, the beauty, and the artistic presence of the stories that inhabit the #StonyIslandArtsBank. Stories I was never aware of; stories that are deeply a part of black history,” Bailey Rae wrote in an Instagram caption.
“I wanted to translate this history sonically and worked to produce this record alongside Steve Brown. A very special thank you to Theaster Gates—who without I would have never seen some of the objects and photographs that make this record—creating a cathartic and experimental landscape that was pertinent in showing how much the Arts Bank has impacted me and helps in preserving so much history.”
Black Rainbows follows Bailey Rae’s 2016 album, The Heart Speaks in Whispers.
Bailey Rae toured Black Rainbows throughout the first half of the fall.
She will resume concert dates in support of the album in February 2024. For more ticket information, visit her official website.
Check out Corinne Bailey Rae’s two performances below.