Premiere: Taylor Barton’s House Of Light

Out of sorrow, into the light

Taylor Barton will release her soulful, introspective House of Light this fall, a courageous and personal story of going through emotional traumas and coming out on the other side. When working on the songs for this album, Barton’s mother died, and separately, a friend’s suicide affected her family. Production shut down while producer Tony Shanahan’s wife was operated on for a brain tumor, and husband GE Smith’s father—Barton’s father-in-law—died. Ultimately, these personal songs are about redemption and forgiveness.

Married early to guitarist Smith, Barton hung backstage with legends like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Jerry Garcia; in fact, her first song was conceived in the back of Dylan’s tour bus. Barton still hangs with royalty: Tony Shanahan is Patti Smith’s bandleader, and lends bass, background vocals, acoustic guitar and synthesizer to the album. Saturday Night Live alumnus GE Smith plays mandolin, bass, acoustic guitar, slide and electric guitar, and Americana star Sarah Jarosz adds mandolin, banjo and background vocals to a couple of songs.

Barton’s gift for melody and elegant phrasing earned her ten ASCAP awards, and this may well earn her an eleventh. The mystic sounds of the title track, “House of Light” opens the record and sets its tone. Barton told Elmore “’House of Light’ is a song about taking refuge, a place to go where one can be safe. A sacred spot, where I hope the listener can be introspective.”