Five-time GRAMMY winner Lalah Hathaway turns childhood memories, musical heritage and Chicago’s cultural history into MADE IN CHICAGO, a nine-track album co-produced with longtime collaborator Phil Beaudreau.
The project began with Hathaway imagining herself overlooking Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline. That image brought back memories of travelling to school with a Walkman and hearing Earth, Wind & Fire, Queen and Stevie Wonder without separating them by genre.
I feel these songs live at the intersection of nostalgia and melancholy.
New single Can’t Let Go is Hathaway’s quiet storm. A restrained, slow-burning ballad informed by Norman Connors, Glenn Jones, Anita Baker and Luther Vandross.
Only time will tell if you and I are really meant to be / but I still believe in the way we used to be.
Rather than recreating one specific event, the production draws on “sense memories”: the emotional atmosphere that remains after the details have faded.
Earlier single 47th Street links Hathaway’s family history with the Great Migration, Chicago’s South Side and Bronzeville’s Black renaissance:
You can occupy these streets / but you can’t evict what lives in me.
Featuring Amber Navran, Hailey Niswanger and Elena Pinderhughes, MADE IN CHICAGO updates classic soul and Quiet Storm through modern production and Hathaway’s distinctive low register.
LIVE DATES
September 5th, 2026 – Columbus, OH – CBus Soul Festival
September 12th, 2026 – Chicago, IL – 79th Street Renaissance Festival
September 18th, 2026 – Boston, MA – Berklee School of Music
September 19th, 2026 – Boston, MA – Berklee School of Music
September 20th, 2026 – Pittsburgh, PA – Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
September 25th, 2026 – Meridian, MS – MSU Riley Center
September 26th, 2026 – Mableton, GA – Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre
October 2nd, 2026 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
October 3rd, 2026 – Orlando, FL – Judson’s Live
October 4th, 2026 – Orlando, FL – Judson’s Live
October 7th, 2026 – Charlotte, NC – Knight Theatre
October 8th, 2026 – Alexandria, VA – The Birchmere
October 9th, 2026 – Alexandria, VA – The Birchmere
October 11th, 2026 – New York, NY – Blue Note w/Glasper
October 24th, 2026 – Napa, CA – Blue Note Summer Sessions
November 7th, 2026 – November 10th, 2026 – 2026 Soul Train Cruise
November 13th, 2026 – Hampton, VA – Annual Jazz Legacy Foundation Festival
November 15th, 2026 – New York, NY – Sony Hall
November 16th, 2026 – Annapolis, MD – Maryland Hall by Rams Head
December 10th, 2026 – Detroit, MI – Motor City Casino