PJ Morton Releases Cape Town to Cairo

PJ Morton Releases Cape Town to Cairo, New Album Created During a 30-Day Journey Across Africa:

WATCH | LISTEN

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opens June 28th at Disney World, An Historic Collaboration Featuring New Theme Song & Original Music by PJ Morton

Cape Town to Cairo Tour Stretches Through Summer & Fall, Followed by Morton’s Career-Spanning Memoir Saturday Night, Sunday Morning

“I wanted to capture the emotions I felt while I was on the continent, so I made a promise that I wouldn’t write anything before I arrived in Africa, and I wouldn’t write anything after I left – I ended up recording all my vocals before I left too. It really was an experiment in trusting my instincts. I have the ability to overthink as many of us do, so I wanted to spark something that had real stakes. What ended up happening was that all of my raw thoughts and influences came out all at once. There’s of course R&B and soul, but there’s also gospel in songs like ‘Simunye,’ pop in ‘Count On Me,’ jazz on ‘All The Dreamers,’ all combined with the inspiration of Africa. We didn’t have the luxury of time to police which genres would fit where, and the origins of all this music started in Africa anyway. Cape Town to Cairo is the diaspora in music form, done my way.”

Listen to Cape Town to Cairo via Morton Records/EMPIRE, and experience the making of the album in a new full-length lyric video: WATCH

While collaborating with featured artists including Fireboy DML, Mádé Kuti, Asa, Ndabo Zulu, and Soweto Spiritual Singers, producers like P.Priime and The Cavemen., his own live band and local musicians, Cape Town to Cairo finds PJ Morton using music as his greatest common language. He connects New Orleans to Lagos on “Smoke & Mirrors” – recorded a day after Fela Kuti’s birthday festivities – while the transportive arrangements of “Please Be Good” and “Simunye (We Are One)” feat. Soweto Spiritual Singers showcase native sounds and the pride in belonging to something bigger than oneself. Whether the song came all at once or developed across multiple countries, as was the case with “All The Dreamers” feat. Asa & Ndado Zulu, Morton felt a constant sense of gratitude that manifested in “Thank You,” as well as an awareness for his personal lineage and many others’ ancestors who were taken from Africa (“Who You Are” feat. Mádé Kuti). On “Count On Me,” he and Fireboy DML speak to the world as a whole, through an uplifting message about the power of friendship and unity.

In addition to Cape Town to Cairo, PJ Morton also celebrates this month’s debut of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Opening June 28th at Disney World and later this year at Disneyland, the new ride features his original, New Orleans-inspired soundtrack and theme song, “Special Spice,” making Morton the first Black composer to write music for a Disney attraction. See him discuss his “dream come true” in a surreal first look at the adventure and musical finale HERE.

Furthermore, PJ Morton has announced the publication of his career-spanning memoir this fall. Arriving November 12th via Worthy Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning sees him recounting and reflecting upon a trailblazing path that continues to defy expectations and straddle the tensions of music and faith, race and culture, expression and identity. Through his transformation from preacher’s kid to the busiest man in showbiz – performing everywhere from his family congregation to the Super Bowl, collaborating with everyone from his father to Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Jon Batiste and Lil Wayne – he continues a commitment to steadfast independence, making music on his own terms.

Before then, PJ Morton and his band will embark on an extensive, worldwide Cape Town to Cairo Tour, with even more dates to be added soon. On the heels of a headline performance at Roots Picnic, Morton’s North American run stretches from summer through fall, including NYC’s Beacon Theatre, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, LA’s The Wiltern and dozens of other stops, all on top of his Las Vegas residency and other upcoming shows with Maroon 5.

Find the latest dates for the Cape Town to Cairo Tour below, and tickets on-sale now at pjmortonmusic.com/#shows

Photo by Patrick Melon

Cape Town to Cairo Tracklist

Smoke & Mirrors

Count On Me feat. Fireboy DML

Please Be Good

Who You Are feat. Mádé Kuti

Thank You

I Found You

All The Dreamers feat. Asa & Ndabo Zulu

Home Again

Simunye (We Are One) feat. Soweto Spiritual Singers

PJ Morton Tour Dates

6/15 – Boston, MA – Berklee Performance Center

7/10 – London, UK – indigo at The O2

7/11 – Paris, FR – Alhambra

7/12 – Rotterdam, NL – North Sea Jazz Festival

7/30 – Cincinnati, OH – Memorial Hall*

7/31 – Detroit, MI – Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre^

8/2 – Newport, RI – Newport Jazz Festival

8/3 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre*

8/4 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met*

8/6 – Washington, DC – Warner Theatre*

8/7 – Richmond, VA – Dominion Energy Center*

8/9 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy*

8/10 – Orlando, FL – Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts*

8/11 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – The Parker*

8/14 – Baton Rouge, LA – Raising Cane’s River Center Arena*

8/15 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall*

8/17 – Dallas, TX – Winspear Opera House^

8/18 – Memphis, TN – Orpheum Theatre^

8/20 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre*

8/21 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant*

8/23 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre at Old National Centre*

8/24 – Chicago, IL – The Chicago Theatre*

8/26 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium*

8/27 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Theatre*

8/29 – Charlotte, NC – Knight Theater*

8/30 – Raleigh, NC – Joseph M. Bryan Jr. Amphitheater

10/18 – Chandler, AZ – Chandler Center for the Arts^

10/20 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern^

10/23 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater^

10/24 – Sacramento, CA – Crest Theatre^

10/26 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre^

10/27 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre^

11/29 – New Orleans, LA – Orpheum Theatre

*w/ The Cavemen.

^w/ Kenyon Dixon

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