Ratboys release new song “Penny in the Lake,” announce release day benefit show

Z Marciniak

On Friday, Ratboys will release their excellent new album Singin’ to An Empty Chair, which just earned Treble’s coveted Album of the Week. Today, they’ve released one more single before the album’s out, “Penny in the Lake,” which you can hear below.

“I wrote this song on a sunny summer day while sitting outside in my backyard, and then we recorded the album version up at the Driftless Cabin in Wisconsin, about as close to nature as we could get,” said singer Julia Steiner. “We wanted everything to feel live and loose, and we chose to leave the final recording as unadorned as possible. Chris [Walla] dubbed this approach ‘photographic realism,’ and I love to think of the song that way, as a snapshot of our band in a room playing a song together, living in the moment and having a great time.”

The band have also announced a release-day show at Chicago’s Beat Kitchen, with proceeds to benefit Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Albany Park Mutual Aid.

Read our review of Singin’ to An Empty Chair.

Ratboys tour dates:

Fri. Feb. 6 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen

Wed. Feb. 25 – Detroit, MI @ El Club ~
Thu. Feb. 26 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace ~
Fri. Feb. 27 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB ~
Sat. Feb. 28 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair ~
Sun. March 1 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom ~
Tue. March 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ~
Thu. March 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw ~
Fri. March 6 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~
Sat. March 7 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry ~
Sun. March 8 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall ~
Tue. March 10 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle ~
Wed. March 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West ~
Thu. March 12 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ~
Fri. March 13 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar ~
Sat. March 14 – Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium ~
Tue. March 24 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway •
Wed. March 25 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar •
Thu. March 26 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge •
Fri. March 27 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada •
Sat. March 28 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk •
Mon. March 30 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad •
Tue. March 31 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar •
Wed. April 1 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar •
Fri. April 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom •
Sat. April 4 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall •
Mon. April 6 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret •
Tue. April 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos •
Wed. April 8 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater •
Fri. April 10 – Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club •
Sat. April 11 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Urban Lounge •
Mon. April 13 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater •
Wed. April 15 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room •
Thu. April 16 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line •
Fri. April 17 – Madison, WI @ Atwood Music Hall •
Sat. April 18 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre +
Sun. 10 May – Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade
Tue. 12 May – Hamburg, DE @ Aalhaus
Wed. 13 May – Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghain
Fri. 15 May – Diest, BE @ JH Tijl
Sat. 16 May – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling Festival
Sun. 17 May – The Hague, NL @ Paard
Mon. 18 May – Paris, FR @ Le Chinois
Wed. 20 May – Southampton, UK @ Joiners
Thu. 21 May – London, UK @ The Garage (Footsteps Festival)
Fri. 22 May – Leeds, UK @ Belgrave Music Hall
Sat. 23 May – Bristol, UK @ Dot To Dot Festival
Sun. 24 May – Nottingham, UK @ Dot To Dot Festival
Tue. 26 May – Dublin, IE @ The Grand Social
Thu. 28 May – Glasgow, UK @ Mono
Fri. 29 May – Manchester, UK @ YES