6/09/2020

Black Pumas Release "Fast Car" (Tracy Chapman Cover)

BLACK PUMAS

Upcoming Live Performances: 
A Night For Austin Benefit on Wednesday, June 9
Texas Lottery Livestream Concert on Sunday, June 21
Photo credit: Lyza Renee

Black Pumas, the Grammy-nominated duo of vocalist Eric Burton and guitarist Adrian Quesada, release their cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” today. The band’s powerful performance of the track became a fan favorite at their live shows, and its poignant lyrics about dreaming of a better life take on a personal resonance for Burton, who traveled the country as a street performer before forming Black Pumas. “To me, ‘Fast Car’ is a song of hope, dreams and a relentless heart to go somewhere and be someone,” says Burton. “I learned the song when I first began to busk and of the covers that I knew, it garnered the most attention from the random passerby. As a musician and artist, I’m attracted to songs that make us reflect on our daily struggles for making life worth living for.” Listen to Black Pumas’ stunning cover of “Fast Car” HERE.

“Fast Car”’s release today comes alongside a B-side of a brand new mix of their single “Fire” that’s currently shooting up the radio charts. Listen to “Fire (Steady Groovin Mix)” HERE.

Black Pumas will be performing a remote livestream set as part of the virtual benefit concert A Night For Austin this Wednesday, June 10. The two-hour event was organized by Paul Simon, Edie Brickell, and Willie and Annie Nelson and Black Pumas are joined on the lineup by James Taylor, Patty Griffin, Norah Jones, Gary Clark Jr., Alejandro Escovedo, Bonnie Raitt, and more. The show starts at 8pm CDT; streaming details are HERE. On Sunday, June 21, Black Pumas will play an entire set presented by Texas Lottery, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of their Grammy-nominated self-titled debut album. The show will be streamed on Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, and YouTube; all details are HERE

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Black Pumas’ self-titled debut album was released on ATO Records last year to acclaim from Rolling StonePitchforkNPR MusicBillboard, and many more; it has since passed over 120,000 album equivalents worldwide. Following its release, the band was nominated for Best New Artist at this year’s Grammy Awards and sold out tours across the U.S. and Europe. Black Pumas’ hit single “Colors” has been streamed over 50 million times, and the official live video of the track has been viewed over 23 million times on YouTube. In the past year Black Pumas brought their amazing live performance to The Ellen ShowThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonJimmy Kimmel LiveCBS This Morning, and PBS’s Austin City Limits. The band recently released another incredible live video for their single “Fire”; watch it HERE.

PRAISE FOR BLACK PUMAS:

“Few artists seem to tap the collective unease of the national moment quite like Austin’s Black Pumas... never missing a beat is the tireless, charismatic energy of singer Eric Burton.” — Rolling Stone

“A debut so perfectly realized by the standards they’ve set themselves that you wonder what could possibly come next.” — The Guardian

“So much more expansive than retro soul...sounds like a record that The Black Keys would do with Marvin Gaye.” — NPR Music

“The duo’s flair for drama is so stirring, they can seem acutely cinematic.” — Pitchfork

“Mesmerizing” — Essence

“Wu-Tang Clan meets James Brown…radiates soul at a wattage that may not be exactly street legal.” — KCRW

“Staggering…the world does indeed need Black Pumas and their message right now.” — MOJO

“Stirring retro soul.” — FADER

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