Sometime this summer or early fall, βAmerican Idolβ alum Taylor Hicks plans to release a new album.
It will be his fourth since the βIdolβ win in 2006 when he released his eponymous debut on Arista that followed his 2005 indie release βUnder the Radar.β And it will be his first since βThe Distance,β which he released on his own Modern Whomp label in 2009.
This new album will mark a dramatic departure from everything he has done in the past and one that returns him to the music of his Southern birthright.
Hicks, who brings his βNight Movesβ show to Fox Tucson Theatre on Friday, April 12, grew up on what he calls Southern soul, the kind of country and Americana roots music you would find at the roadhouses in his native Alabama.
βAll of that music that I grew up with in the South, whether it was country or rock, the Delta blues to soul,β he said. βI grew up in the heart of Dixie. Being in the heart of Dixie, you can grab a lot of influences around the South, and thatβs kind of what my music, sonically, you can hear.β
βNight Movesβ includes Hicksβ earlier more pop-leaning songs, as well as songs from βIdol,β but the focus is on songs from Bob Seger, one of the musicians who inspired a young Taylor Hicks as he was finding his voice.
βA lot of those singers taught me how to sing with their music,β he said, adding Van Morrison and Rod Stewart to the list.
But Segerβs soulful, mid-range baritone style fits most comfortably in Hicksβ wheelhouse, he said. βNight Movesβ was born out of Hicksβs annual Toys for Tots benefit concert featuring Rod Stewart covers and holiday classics. He did a few one-offs of βNight Movesβ that went over so well with audiences that he turned it into a full tour a couple of years ago.
βThe idea to do a little Bob Seger has just been a hit and I am super excited to come to Tucson,β said Hicks, who was here last in 2009 playing Teen Angel in the Broadway touring production of βGrease.β βI love the area. I have a lot of friends there.β
For his show at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Fox, 17 W. Congress St., Hicks will perform Segerβs ubiquitous βNight Movesβ as well as βMainstreetβ and βAgainst the Windβ and some of his more obscure songs. He also will play two of his latest singles β βPorch Swingβ and βTeach Me to Dance,β both recorded at Zach Brownβs Nashville studio.
βIβm a Southern country soul guy. Thatβs kind of where my wheelhouse is, very Stapleton-esque,β he said describing the direction the new album is taking. βThe record is a Southern country soul record and thatβs just where I am.β
Tickets for Fridayβs show are $20-$62.50 through foxtucson.com; enter βPROUDβ at checkout and get two-for-one.