Rufus Wainwright announces new album of reworked folk classics featuring Chaka Khan, David Byrne, ANOHNI and more

"Down in the Willowed Garden" featuring Brandi Carlile is the first taster of Wainwright's Folkocracy album, and follows his appearance on Carly Rae Jepsen's "The Loneliest Time" single in October 2022. Carlile says, "Singing with Rufus feels like watching birds swirl around together instinctively in flight. It’s anticipated but somehow as natural as can be. His voice is so special to me that I hear it sometimes when he’s not even singing with me. I loved every second of flying around in this music with him."

Wainwright adds, "Brandi I see a lot, often with Joni Mitchell. I chose us a cheery little number – not! The song is so blatantly brutal and masochistic that I had to sing it with a woman. Sadly, we still live in a violent world. The amazing thing about so many folk songs is that, content wise, they sound very contemporary. Think of the gun crime in the States right now."

Folkocracy, produced by longtime collaborator Mitchell Froom (Paul McCartney, Crowded House), will follow his 2022 album Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios, and will feature collaborations with Chaka Khan, David Byrne, ANOHNI, Andrew Bird, Nicole Scherzinger, John Legend, Martha Wainwright and more.

"This album is almost like a recorded birthday party and birthday present to myself," Wainwright explains. "I just invited all the singers that I greatly admire and always wanted to sing with."

He adds, "The older I get, the more I appreciate how valuable my folk knowledge is, to have had it ingrained in me as a child. I’m from a bona fide folkocracy who mixed extensively with other folkocracies such as the Seegers and the Thompsons. I spun off into opera and pop. Now I’m back where it all began."

Later this week Wainwright will join Miley Cyrus for her Endless Summer Vacation Backyard Sessions Disney+ special.

Tracklist:

1. Alone (Feat. Madison Cunningham)
2. Heading for Home (Feat. John Legend)
3. Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon) (Feat. Susanna Hoffs, Chris Stills & Sheryl Crow)
4. Down in the Willow Garden (Feat. Brandi Carlile)
5. Shenandoah
6. Nacht und Träume
7. Harvest (Feat. Andrew Bird & Chris Stills)
8. Going to a Town (Feat. ANOHNI)
9. High on a Rocky Ledge (Feat. David Byrne)
10. Kaulana Na Pua (Feat. Nicole Scherzinger)
11. Hush Little Baby (Feat. Martha Wainwright & Lucy Wainwright Roche)
12. Black Gold (Feat. Van Dyke Parks)
13. Cotton Eyed Joe (Feat. Chaka Khan)
14. Arthur McBridge
15. Wild Mountain Thyme (Feat. Anna McGarrigle, Chaim Tannenbaum, Lily Lanken, Lucy Wainwright Roche, & Martha Wainwright)