Julia Stone has revealed “Dance,” accompanied by a new video starring Danny Glover and Susan Sarandon. The track appears on her new album Sixty Summers, out February 19th via BMG.
Directed by Jessie Hill, the video features Glover and Sarandon preparing for their first date. They gleefully get ready in their New York apartments, with Glover wearing a face mask and Sarandon drinking wine in an elegant robe. Stone sings on Sarandon’s television: “You’ve got that hold on me/I got that hold on you.” They meet that night, dancing on the sidewalk in front of brownstones.
“‘Dance’ was written as I thought about those very rare and often very special times when strong messages are sent and received silently between people,” Stone said in a statement. “I was thinking about the moments we can share, when words are ineffective to communicate to those you love or are just unnecessary in a moment of deep connection… When there’s nothing else to say or do, ‘Why don’t we dance’… It occurs with love and happiness but also pain and empathy. Heart, in all its appearances.”
“After Danny said ‘OK, I’m in,’ he asked me, ‘So who are you thinking for the leading lady?’” Hill tells Rolling Stone of directing the video. “And I said to him, ‘Who’s the most incredible woman who comes to mind over 60?’ He didn’t skip a beat and said, Susan Sarandon! Then he spoke about their connection through politics. Both Susan and Danny had met supporting and attending Bernie Sanders rallies over the years. We spoke about some other actresses as well, but I already knew Susan was the one.”
“Particularly in this moment, I wanted to make a memorable video with a whimsical message about love,” she added. “A story reflecting the times, where more than ever we need to come together and connect. I also wanted to explore an oft-neglected demographic and reframe the way we look at age.”
“Dance” follows the singles “Unreal” and “Break.” Sixty Summers is Stone’s first solo album in eight years, after 2012’s By the Horns. She’s released four albums with her brother as part of the duo Angus and Julia Stone, the most recent being 2017’s Snow. The new LP was co-produced by St. Vincent and Thomas Bartlett (a.k.a. Doveman). It also features the National’s Matt Berninger and Bryce Dessner.
