SOLD OUT: The Crane Wives, Hannah Laine

media release: Grand Rapids, Michigan based indie rock band The Crane Wives announce their self-produced, rousing fifth studio album Beyond Beyond Beyond due out September 6 and available for pre-order now. Alongside the announcement, the band shares the first taste with anthemic, empowering track and lyric video “Arcturus Beaming” out now. Plus, The Crane Wives will embark on a summer tour across North America kicking off in Milwaukee. Their first project since 2016, Beyond Beyond Beyond sees the band evolve into a guitar-driven, self-assured group who is unafraid to experiment and explore new territory.

Beyond Beyond Beyond, the fifth studio record by The Crane Wives, explores the mixture of fear, joy, and deep vulnerability that occurs when a person is on the cusp of changing the course of their life. The eleven track album is a circular journey that asks heavy questions of the listener: Am I strong enough to change? Am I brave enough to take the risk? Do I deserve the chance to be happy? It offers the listener momentum to move forward, a guide through dark spaces with shimmery other-worldly melodies and an encouraging push to venture forth into the unknown. 

Beyond Beyond Beyond is an electric departure from the Crane Wives’ previous releases, prominently highlighting the lead guitar work of songwriters and singers Kate Pillsbury and Emilee Petersmark. Drummer Dan Rickabus contributes darker, stormy and dynamic rhythms to this record, while bassist Ben Zito creates narrative movement in the songs with his rooting, counter-melodic approach. The album is self-produced by the four-piece collaboration, and engineered & mixed by Zito at his studio, Centennial Sound. The band invited guest violinist Samantha Cooper and guest cellist Jordan Hamilton to help portray a distinct emotional voice. The album was mastered by Heba Kadry. The band’s longtime collaborator, visual artist Rebecca Green returned to create her fifth piece of album artwork for the project.

Rickabus shares that the band collaborated like never before throughout the album creation process. “We tried to challenge ourselves to shake loose from our old patterns and explore what is possible between the four of us. Those brave experiments mean even more to me when I think about the lyrical content of the album. The album begins with inner-conflict, and moves through a very human process of growth toward a bold belief in possibility, and an attempt to create change. So, that sense of creative experimentation really resonates.”   

“Arcturus Beaming” out today, is a triumph of curiosity and bravery, expressing a journey to uncharted spaces through swooping vocals and anthem-esque rhythms. With an exhilarating determination, Kate Pillsbury’s evocative lyrics invite the listener to wonder what is possible beyond their preconceived notions and norms. The song’s building energy culminates in a realization of personal empowerment. “Nothing will change until I change.”

Vocalist and guitarist Kate Pillsbury shares the track was born while she found herself moving through a crucial healing process as she learned to listen to herself, be gentle with herself and take actions to mitigate her problems. “‘Arcturus Beaming’ is about holding grief and gratitude simultaneously as I have stumbled forward through the pain. In an era when it’s justifiably easy for many of us to gravitate toward doom and gloom, 'Arcturus Beaming' is about holding strong to a radical imagining of a better future, and doing the work to cultivate that future, which I believe requires healing ourselves on an individual level so that we can be fortified in the work required to heal our communities.” 

This summer, The Crane Wives will captivate audiences throughout North America. First through the Midwest, including an already sold out show in Madison, WI, then to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, down the East Coast, including another sold out show in Hamden, CT, and concluding in their home state in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Crane Wives formed in 2010 and have captivated audiences across hundreds of stages around the U.S. since. The band has built a global community and has amassed over 1M Spotify monthly listeners and 100M total streams with their unparalleled, spirited live show, evocative lyricism and glimmering harmonies. The group has shared stages with The Avett Brothers, Lake Street Dive, Rusted Root, The Dead South, Joseph, and more. In 2017, they won JBL’s “Best American Band Contest” and were named one of Paste Magazine's “12 Michigan Acts You Should Be Listening To Now,” Featured by Michigan Radio and NPR’s “All Songs Considered”, the band has been the recipient of several local accolades such as the WYCE Best Rock/Pop album for their 2016 full-length studio record, Foxlore. Now, in 2024, The Crane Wives prepare to enter an all-new, dynamic phase of their artistic identity where they learn to trust themselves, dive deeper lyrically and take sonic risks like never before.