Daniel Lanois brings Belladonna Nocturne to The Hamilton Live on Thursday, Nov 12

The producer behind classic records by Dylan, Emmylou Harris and U2 plays a 700-capacity room on a tour behind his new instrumental album.

Most people know Daniel Lanois's work without knowing his name. Next Thursday, D.C. gets to see the man himself, playing his own music in a 700-capacity room.

Daniel Lanois plays The Hamilton Live on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. Tickets are available through See Tickets. It's a short East Coast run: Pioneer Valley on Nov. 6, the Philadelphia area on Nov. 10 at Ardmore Music Hall, then D.C., then Manchester–Nashua on Nov. 15. Our records show no earlier Washington date for him, which makes this one worth circling.

The production résumé is why the name carries weight. His label's announcement describes him as known for recordings by artists as stylistically diverse as Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson and U2. Rolling Stone Italia singles out Harris's *Wrecking Ball* and Dylan's *Time Out of Mind* among his classic productions.

The tour, though, is about his own music. In June he released *Belladonna Nocturne*, a 14-track instrumental album billed as a thematic sequel to *Belladonna*, his GRAMMY-nominated instrumental record from 2005. He co-produced it with Wayne Lorenz and plays piano and pedal steel and handles what the press release calls "dub orchestration," with Jermaine Holmes and bassist Jim Wilson in the core band. Longtime collaborators Emmylou Harris, Brian Blade and Daryl Johnson guest. He introduced it in May with a video for "Steel Mill", and the track list also includes "At the Foot of the Skyway Bridge."

Most people know Daniel Lanois's work without knowing his name.

Don't expect a hits set. The album is atmospheric and patient: The Afterword found it easy on the ear and sonically distinctive, but as low-key as his earlier solo work, music you have to give yourself over to. It follows his previous album, *Heavy Sun*.

That's the case for seeing him in a room this size. Pedal steel, piano and long instrumental passages need a quiet crowd and a good sound system, and a 700-capacity room on a Thursday is a better bet for that than a festival lawn.

A practical note: an 8 p.m. weeknight start means you'll be out at a reasonable hour. If the new record is unfamiliar, put *Belladonna Nocturne* on before you go, and the set will make more sense.

He's spent decades shaping how other people's records sound. On Thursday the sound is his own.

Sources: Daniel Lanois announces Belladonna Nocturne (Shore Fire Media press release) (shorefire.com); Belladonna Nocturne (Hemifran) (hemifran.com); Daniel Lanois announces new album Belladonna Nocturne and unveils video for Steel Mill (God Is In The TV) (archive.godisinthetvzine.co.uk); Daniel Lanois - Belladonna Nocturne review (The Afterword) (theafterword.co.uk); Daniel Lanois, genio al lavoro (Rolling Stone Italia) (rollingstone.it); Some inspiration behind Daniel Lanois' latest album Heavy Sun (Billboard Canada) (ca.billboard.com); Daniel Lanois at Ardmore Music Hall, Nov 10 (JamBase) (jambase.com); Daniel Lanois at The Hamilton Live tickets (See Tickets) (prod-nts-api.seeticketsusa.us)