Emmylou Harris’s second Nonesuch album, Stumble Into Grace, was released on September 23, 2003. Ahead of its twentieth anniversary, Nonesuch will release the album on vinyl for the first time. On this, her second consecutive album of original material, following her Nonesuch debut album, Red Dirt Girl, Harris is joined by guests like Linda Ronstadt, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Gillian Welch, Jane Siberry, Buddy Miller, and Daniel Lanois.
Stumble Into Grace was produced by Malcolm Burn, as was Red Dirt Girl. Like its predecessor and 1995’s Wrecking Ball, which was engineered and mixed by Burn, Stumble Into Grace shows Harris working in a sonic landscape far removed from the more traditional sound of her 1970s and '80s recordings—with her sophisticated songwriting adding an additional dimension to the music. As Newsweek says, “Her stellar voice takes on new depth when tied to songs this personal.”
Harris’s personal history is inscribed in Stumble Into Grace via the participation of female artists from within her musical community. Longtime collaborator and friend Linda Ronstadt sings on “Strong Hand,” which is dedicated to the late June Carter Cash. Kate and Anna McGarrigle co-wrote “Little Bird,” as well as the traditional “Plaisir d’Amour”—and also join in on both songs’ vocals—in a reciprocation of Harris’s contribution to their celebrated album The McGarrigle Hour. “I Will Dream” features Jane Siberry, who also sings on “Lost Unto This World.” Julie Miller sang on “Here I Am,” and Jill Cuniff of Luscious Jackson co-wrote “Time in Babylon.”
Shortly after the release of Stumble Into Grace, Emmylou Harris participated in a cross-venue Carnegie Hall festival, for which she curated four concerts in the then-new, intimate Zankel Hall. The Zankel performances featured Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Buddy and Julie Miller; the mini-festival culminated with Harris’s own performance in Carnegie's main stage, Stern Auditorium.
