Christian Lopez recorded his just-released album Magdalena in self-imposed exile in a remote corner of New Mexico. But for his new video “Harpers Ferry,” the singer-songwriter-guitarist went home again.
A West Virginia native, Lopez would frequently visit nearby Harpers Ferry, a historic site in the U.S. Civil War and beyond, as a kid. When he returns now, for a video directed by his frequent collaborator Steve Jawn, Lopez has an evolved perspective on Harpers Ferry’s innate beauty. It’s a feeling we all have for places dear to us.
“I wrote this song about when I would bring my new wife to Harpers Ferry and how I’d witness her fall in love with it,” he says in a statement. “It was like me falling in love with it all over again. The feeling that Harpers Ferry gives you is one you wish you could carry around at all times.”
Lopez has been one to watch on the roots-music scene since the release of his 2017 album Red Arrow when he was just 22. Since then, he’s turned heads with synthy rock songs like “Say Goodbye” and a bare-bones cover of John Prine’s “That’s the Way the World Goes ‘Round.”
“As I get older, my only goal is leaving behind the purest form of what I can do and give,” Lopez says of Magdalena. “This album is just that.. no frills, no cowrites, no studio band, no compromises… Just me.”
Christian Lopez tour dates:
June 10 — Winchester, VA @ The Monument
June 15 — Washington, DC @ Pearl Street Warehouse
June 16 — Morgantown, WV @ Ruby Amphitheater
June 28 — Weehawken, NJ @ Concerts On The Hudson
July 5 — Durham, NC @ Duke University ” Music In The Gardens”
July 9 — Bernalillo, NM @ Solaente Natural Plaster
Aug. 6 — Solvang, CA @ Lost Chord Guitars
Aug. 10 — West Hollywood, CA @ The Peppermint Club
Aug. 18 — Lake Oswego, OR @ The Barge on Lake Oswego
Sept. 17 — Nashville, TN @ The Bluebird Cafe
Oct. 4 — Asheville NC @ The Grey Eagle
Oct. 5 — Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Oct. 6 — Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
Oct. 13 — Amsterdam , Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome