Academy Award nominee Amy Irving (“Yentl”) chatted about her forthcoming studio album “Always Will Be,” which will be released on April 25 via Queen Of The Castle Records/Missing Piece Records.
The late author, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou once said: “All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike.” This quote applies to Amy Irving.
Irving collaborated on her new album with her bandleader Goolis (Jules David Bartkowski). “I have Jules in my back pocket, who is my secret weapon,” she admitted.
Song selection approach for the album
On the song selection process for the new album, she said, “When I did my first album ‘Born in a Trunk,’ there was a song on it that Willie gave me called ‘I’m Waiting Forever for You’ and he sang on it with me. When he heard that and the album, he became very enamored of Jules’ arrangements.”
“Jules is very much the reason why I am still doing this,” she said. “I present songs to him and Jules changes them and makes them into something different for us to explore. That was the most thrilling part of this whole project.”
Irving continued, “When Willie heard what Jules did with it, and what I did with him, he was the one that suggested that I make an album of his music. Willie and I go way back thanks to ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ and we stayed friends all these years.”
“Willie sent me 20 songs that he suggested for me, and Jules and I picked out the 10 that made it on the album because we wanted to create some sort of fluidity to the story,” she explained.
“I am a romantic, and I really am all about romance,” he admitted. “My first foot forward is always straight from the heart, and not from the head.”
“Once we picked out the 10, songs I had to interpret them. Each song had to come from inside of me,” she noted.
“Willie wrote eight of the 10 songs, and two of the songs Willie actually put on the map and recorded them, and he suggested I use them. Then, it was just about which songs had something to say that I wanted to express,” she elaborated.
“It was a journey of meeting someone, falling in love, losing, dying, pets, and everything,” she added.
Favorite song on the album
Irving listed “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” as her personal favorite tune on the album and noted that it’s her favorite Willie Nelson song ever. “Willie wrote it for my character in the movie ‘Honeysuckle Rose,” and when he sings it, the song moves me so much,” she explained.
“So, to be able to sing it and have his guitar on it is really special,” she admitted.
“Recently, I went back, and I listened to his version, which is on the ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ album, and I swear his guitar solo is far superior on my new album ‘Always Will Be.’ Willie just really put out for us. It really is a gorgeous rendition,” she elaborated.
City Winery show in May
In order to promote this new record, Irving announced album release shows at New York’s City Winery on May 4th and at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York, on May 31, 2025.
Irving is looking forward to the City Winery show in New York this May. “I launched my first album there, which was a really amazing night, and they invited us back for this,” she said.
“It is nice to go back on a stage that you’ve already been on. It’s a great venue,” she noted. “City Winery is spacious… we have a large band with a lot of horns, and I can get overpowered by them if I don’t have the space to let the music breathe. This venue really does give you the space.”
Forthcoming concert at Levon Helm Studios
“At the end of the month, we go to Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York,” she said.
“I sang there last year for Levon Helm’s birthday concert in memory of Levon Helm. Amy invited me up to sing ‘Always Will Be’ with her and we did ‘Whispering Pines,’ which was pretty thrilling. It’s a great venue as well,” she elaborated.
“Overall, I can’t wait for both shows,” she exclaimed.
Oscar nomination for ‘Yentl’
In 1984, Irving earned a “Best Supporting Actress” Oscar nomination for her acting work in “Yentl,” which was directed, co-written, co-produced by Barbra Streisand.
“That nomination was so ‘out of the blue’ for me because I wasn’t living in Hollywood back in those days,” she admitted.
“I was living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I am on the side of a mountain and alone in my house, and I hadn’t known they were announcing the Oscar nominations that day. So, it was fun,” she recalled.
“My sister lives in Santa Fe; she is a teacher, and I called her, and she came over, and we jumped up and down together. That was nice, and a really nice pat on the back,” Irving exclaimed.
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age, Irving said with a sweet laugh, “It is definitely a new world.”
“The good thing about the digital age is that I don’t have to go around the world to go and do press to promote something,” she said. “I like the fact that I can do press from home. These days, you have to get involved with Instagram and Facebook.”
“My son, Gabriel Barreto, is the one who really got me singing. He is the one who produced my albums, and he shot the video that we just did. Gabriel has done it all for me,” she said.
Advice for young and emerging artists
For young and aspiring artists, she said, “It is so hard to be an aspiring artist in this world today. Back in the day, you used to be able to make a living as an actor.”
“Now, it’s more like a privilege to be on the stage. I see these musicians having to tour and tour because they can’t make money with the songs. It’s a really tough world out there. You really have to love it to do it,” she explained.
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she said, “Still trying to figure things out.”
“Right now, I think I started my last act, and it’s in the world of music,” she attested.
Superpower of choice
If she were to have any superpower, it would be “to be invisible.” “My favorite part of being in the entertainment world is rehearsing and working with the other artists and creating,” she said.
Irving is an ‘interpretive artist’
“I am an interpretive artist; as an actor, you interpret roles. It’s the same thing in music. I am interpreting the music and telling the stories in the best way that I can. I am finding the truth from my heart,” she added.
Success
Regarding her definition of the word success, Irving said, “I’ve never paid attention to how much a movie makes, or what the box office says. I don’t pay attention to sales or how many people are the audience. I feel successful when I become one with the character; that’s what I strive for.”
“To always become one with the songs or to become one with the character I play. It’s about having tunnel vision and that kind of concentration,” she noted.
Closing thoughts on the new album
For her fans and listeners, Irving remarked about the new album, “I hope the new album brings people joy. When I listen to it, I find that there is enough interest in it, and there is also great beauty in it. I am very proud of this album.”
Her album “Always Will Be” is available for pre-order by clicking here.
For more information on Oscar nominee Amy Irving and her new music, follow her on Instagram, and check out her Facebook page.
