Yola announces 'My Way,' a new EP, plus pair of spring Nashville concerts

Marcus K. Dowling, Nashville Tennessean
Updated ·2 min read

Critically acclaimed breakout star Yola's releasing a new EP, "My Way," on May 24. She'll celebrate the occasion with an intimate preview in, among five locations, Nashville's Basement East on Mar. 6, 2024, and Mar. 22 in Pelham, Tennessee's The Caverns performance space to record a PBS special.

For more information on ticketing for Yola's March performances in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Nashville and more, visit https://www.iamyola.com/tour.

Six-times Grammy-nominated artist, songwriter, and actor Yola's latest release, an EP entitled "My Way," drops on May 24, 2024
Six-times Grammy-nominated artist, songwriter, and actor Yola's latest release, an EP entitled "My Way," drops on May 24, 2024

Via a press statement, the British-born six-time GRAMMY-nominated artist, songwriter, and actor calls her new music collection "a utopia of black creativity, freedom and power."

Music for the release was written in intentionally diverse rooms and inspired by her appreciation of the artistry of performers, including Anita Baker, Mary J. Blige, En Vogue, Janet Jackson, Anderson .Paak and Parliament.

The work aims to "encompass [her] love of soul, R&B, electronica and beyond" while also "[surrounding herself] with creatives of color, to express myself on every level of making ["My Way"].

"Future Enemies," the EP's lead single, is described as an "eclectic and sonically bold" blend of electronica, progressive R&B and synth-pop that "soulfully explores relationship boundaries and knowing when a future relationship is doomed from the beginning."

"My Way" arrives for Yola after her 2021 release "Stand For Myself." In a 2022 Tennessean feature, the performer noted that album was an "unequivocal statement for women in music broadly and women of color in music specifically that you don't have to be in service to someone else's art or vision of yourself to be worthy of appreciation."

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 31: Yola attends the "Elvis" UK special screening at BFI Southbank on May 31, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 31: Yola attends the "Elvis" UK special screening at BFI Southbank on May 31, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)

Within that album's two-year release cycle, Yola made significant strides as an artist capable of, as she notes, "using her most eclectic influences to crush preconceptions."

Among many honors, she earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture for her acting debut as foundational rock and roll guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe in "Elvis," Baz Luhrmann's musical drama. She also performed at the American Music Awards on the same evening where the soundtrack to Luhrmann's film won Best Soundtrack of the Year.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Yola announces 'My Way,' a new EP, plus pair of spring Nashville concerts