Galactic has recorded a new album with Irma Thomas, Audience With The Queen, that will be released on April 11.

The album will contain eight new songs written specifically for Thomas, and a new take on Nancy Wilson’s “How Glad I Am.”

Irma Thomas at Jazz Fest 2024.
Photo by Noe Cugny / OffBeat

The first single, “Lady Liberty” is a poignant, powerful track that explores racially fueled violence and social justice, with Thomas singing, “Another black man shot down last night and they keep adding up /Is this the world that we’re living in? The one we raise our children in? /Lord save us all, Lady Liberty took a fall.”

“It’s about what’s happening now,” says Irma Thomas, “and now isn’t going anywhere. No protesting is involved, it’s just that what’s happening around us needs to be sung about and heard. I’m making people more aware, through song, to pay attention to what’s going on.”

“The music is super funky on this track, but I was also really excited to hear Irma Thomas tackle lyrics about such important social issues,” says Galactic co-founder Robert Mercurio. “The subject matter is a departure for her. She gave me goosebumps when we were recording this song in the studio. Hearing a person of her stature sing about social injustice in America really hits home for me.”

Ben Ellman, Robert Mercurio, Stanton Moore, Jeff Raines, and Rich Vogel of Galactic, at Tipitina’s, New Orleans, LA. November 2018. Photo by Melissa Stewart

Audience With The Queen: Galactic with Irma Thomas marks a landmark departure from Galactic’s 10 previous studio LPs, most of which revolved around the band’s core instrumentalists – Ben Ellman (saxophones, harmonica), Robert Mercurio (bass), Stanton Moore (drums), Jeff Raines (guitar) and Rich Vogel (keyboards) – accompanied by a mix of different vocalists.