SOUTH AFRICAN ROCKER STEVE LOUW RELEASES NEW ALBUM THUNDER AND RAIN

FEATURING JOE BONAMASSA, AND DOUG LANCIO PRODUCED BY KEVIN SHIRLEY

“I'll Be Back”

VIDEO |

Thunder And Rain Album

ALBUM STREAM/PURCHASE

Cape Town, South Africa - Today, sees the release of Steve Louw’s latest album, Thunder and Rain and the video for, “I’ll Be Back”, the third single lifted from this powerful 10-track, Kevin Shirley-produced album.

The interplay on Thunder and Rain is often subtle, yet it’s undeniably soulful, the songs benefiting from the easy turns of phrases and chord changes. Steve conveys these emotions through strength on “I’ll Be Back”, a song where acoustic guitars give the track a steady, windblown propulsion, one that muscles through on the chorus – he’s a man on a mission, one dedicated to the task at hand.

As with 2021’s Headlight Dreams album, 2022’s Thunder and Rain, besides Steve and Joe, is flush with talent. From Greg Morrow on drums, Rob McNelley on guitar and Slide Dobro, Doug Lancio on guitar and mandolin, Kenny Greenburg on guitar, Alison Prestwood on bass guitar and Kevin McKendree on keyboards, amongst others, Thunder and Rain is as impressive in lyrics and compositions as it is in heavyweight genii, all adding multiple layers of arresting accompaniment.

ABOUT STEVE LOUW: South African musician Steve Louw’s career began with his first band All Night Radio who released two records including 1986's The Killing Floor, the album where he first collaborated with Kevin Shirley. Louw came to stardom as the leader of Big Sky, a group who put out their first album, Waiting for the Dawn, in 1990. During their time together, Big Sky released five albums, a discography highlighted by 1995's acclaimed Horizon. The band earned accolades from the industry, including winning the FNB Music Award for Best SA Rock Act in 1996. At the end of their run as a band, Big Sky was the opening act for Rodriguez on his valedictory tour of South Africa, a journey captured in the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man. The tour raised Louw's international profile, leading to his collaboration with Queen's Brian May and Eurythmics' Dave Stewart on "Amandla," a song on 2003's Nelson Mandela-inspired AIDS awareness project 46664.

Following the release of Big Sky’s Trancas Canyon in 2008, Louw retreated from the spotlight. He broke his silence with his solo debut Headlight Dreams, a rousing comeback delivered in 2021. Thunder and Rain, his sophomore release, will be available November 11, 2022.

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SOUTH AFRICAN ROCKER STEVE LOUW RELEASES NEW SINGLE “MOTHER DON’T GO” FEATURING JOE BONAMASSA

NEW ALBUM THUNDER AND RAIN AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 11

Photo Credit: Jacqui van Staden

“Mother, Don't Go” single

VIDEO | LISTEN

ALBUM PRE-SAVE

NEW YORK, NY - Hot on the heels of “Thunder and Rain”, the title track from Steve Louw’s brand new 10-track album dropping on November 11 comes “Mother, Don’t Go”, a track that welcomes guitar legend Joe Bonamassa back to the fold.

On this latest single, “Mother, Don’t Go”, Steve celebrates restorative, nourishing love. This insightful, insistent tune, graced by guitar wizard Joe Bonamassa brings out the song’s incandescent spirit as he intertwines his playing with that of Doug Lancio, the recently inducted guitarist into Louw’s orbit of abundantly talented players.

Recorded at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, under the watchful eye of long-time friend and award-winning producer Kevin Shirley, “Mother, Don’t Go” hits emotional chords in its subject, supported by a group of well-seasoned and respected heavyweights playing out the songs infectious melodies and pleading chorus.
“It’s about love,” Louw explains of the album, “we’re born with love, we’ll leave with love, and it heals along the way.”

ABOUT STEVE LOUW: South African musician Steve Louw’s career began with his first band All Night Radio who released two records including 1986's The Killing Floor, the album where he first collaborated with Kevin Shirley. Louw came to stardom as the leader of Big Sky, a group who put out their first album, Waiting for the Dawn, in 1990. During their time together, Big Sky released five albums, a discography highlighted by 1995's acclaimed Horizon. The band earned accolades from the industry, including winning the FNB Music Award for Best SA Rock Act in 1996. At the end of their run as a band, Big Sky was the opening act for Rodriguez on his valedictory tour of South Africa, a journey captured in the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man. The tour raised Louw's international profile, leading to his collaboration with Queen's Brian May and Eurythmics' Dave Stewart on "Amandla," a song on 2003's Nelson Mandela-inspired AIDS awareness project 46664. 

Following the release of Big Sky’s Trancas Canyon in 2008, Louw retreated from the spotlight. He broke his silence with his solo debut Headlight Dreams, a rousing comeback delivered in 2021. Thunder and Rain, his sophomore release, will be available November 11, 2022.

“Thunder and Rain” single

VIDEO | LISTEN

                                      KEEP UP WITH STEVE LOUW

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SOUTH AFRICAN ROCKER STEVE LOUW ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM THUNDER AND RAIN AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 11

PRODUCED BY KEVIN SHIRLEY FEATURING JOE BONAMASSA AND DOUG LANCIO

Photo Credit: Jacqui van Staden

“Thunder and Rain” single

VIDEO | LISTEN

ALBUM PRE-SAVE

NEW YORK, NY - Veteran South African rocker Steve Louw announces his sophomore solo release Thunder and Rain, available November 11, 2022 through BFD / The Orchard, with the release of the first single and title track today. The album was produced by Kevin Shirley (John Hiatt, Robert Cray Band, the Black Crowes) and features contributions from guitar wizards Joe Bonamassa, and Doug Lancio.

Thunder and Rain follows hot on the heels of Headlight Dreams the 2021 album that found Steve Louw returning to active duty after a thirteen-year absence. After this prolonged period away from the spotlight, Louw discovered an audience who was eager to hear new music from the singer/songwriter: Headlight Dreams received strong reviews and earned a nomination for Best Rock Album from the South African Music Awards in 2022. 

On the album's opening title track, “Thunder and Rain,” it's possible to hear and feel bad weather creep in over the horizon. “The world is navigating through a fraught time, economically and politically,” explains Louw. “The geography of where I was coming from crept into the music; fire, wind and rain.” Those elements also creep into the video created by Jacqui van Staden.

While it’s an ominous beginning to the album, waiting for light to emerge after darkness is a thematic undercurrent on Thunder and Rain, a record where Louw balances these opposing impulses with strength and compassion. He may open the record with a sense of foreboding—a feeling that resonates strongly in 2022, as the world picks up the pieces left after a global pandemic—yet he doesn’t dwell in the darkness.

“It’s about love,” Louw explains of the album, “we’re born with love, we’ll leave with love, and it heals along the way.”

Louw celebrates the restorative, nourishing love on “Mother, Don’t Go,” an insightful, insistent tune graced by guitar wizard Joe Banamassa, who brings out the song’s incandescent spirit as he intertwines his playing with that of Doug Lancio, a guitarist who has just entered Louw’s orbit. The album winds its way through "The Road Fades from Sight," a ballad built upon the soul-sustaining power of longtime love, then reaches the finish line with “I’m Coming Home,” an invigorating conclusion that leaves no doubt there’s room for optimism in these troubled times. By finding space for this full range of emotion, Thunder and Rain operates on a refreshingly human scale, emphasizing deep emotions and interpersonal interactions—it's music that's meant to be felt as much as heard. 

ABOUT STEVE LOUW: South African musician Steve Louw’s career began with his first band All Night Radio who released two records including 1986's The Killing Floor, the album where he first collaborated with Kevin Shirley. Louw came to stardom as the leader of Big Sky, a group who put out their first album, Waiting for the Dawn, in 1990. During their time together, Big Sky released five albums, a discography highlighted by 1995's acclaimed Horizon. The band earned accolades from the industry, including winning the FNB Music Award for Best SA Rock Act in 1996. At the end of their run as a band, Big Sky was the opening act for Rodriguez on his valedictory tour of South Africa, a journey captured in the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man. The tour raised Louw's international profile, leading to his collaboration with Queen's Brian May and Eurythmics' Dave Stewart on "Amandla," a song on 2003's Nelson Mandela-inspired AIDS awareness project 46664. 

Following the release of Big Sky’s Trancas Canyon in 2008, Louw retreated from the spotlight. He broke his silence with his solo debut Headlight Dreams, a rousing comeback delivered in 2021. Thunder and Rain, his sophomore release, will be available November 11, 2022.

KEEP UP WITH STEVE LOUW

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify | YouTube