Ohio champions Hawthorne Heights have announced a new EP, confirming the September 8th release of Lost Lights via Pure Noise Records. The project was the result of period of disconnect for frontman JT Woodruff, one that found the veteran musician retreating to the silence of rural Ohio in pursuit of some artistic clarity.

Paired with the news of the new EP, Hawthorne Heights have unveiled the first single from the sessions with arrival of “The Storm” – an incendiary first showing that underscores the kind of quality songwriting that resulted from Woodruff’s creative recess.

Woodruff set the scene, detailing the kind of working environment that resulted in the powerful first track, “The Storm was written in the middle of the night, deep in the throes of a worldwide shutdown, as I locked myself in a crimson red cabin in rural Ohio.”

Woodruff confided the kind of headspace he was in during the darkest times of lockdown and how he managed to make the period of isolation something productive. “I needed to withdraw from the noise, in a world where everything was falling apart.  No internet.  No cable.  No cell phone service.  You truly have to be prepared for that type of silence.  If you aren’t comfortable inside your own head, the silence can swallow you whole.  I welcomed it.  I let the calm and quiet slowly drag me under.  The only sound I could hear was the gentle roar of a creek that was behind the cabin, knifing through the desperate forest that I was purposefully lost in.”

Paired with a masterful visual helmed by J.T, Ibanez, the director managed to capture the scene that inspired Woodruff to pen “The Storm”. Woodruff shared how the imagery and the music came together for the EP introduction. “It came to me as I was staring into the fire that was raging in an old timey, wood burning hearth.  I tossed another log into it, and noticed how quickly it turned to embers, and how long it took for the embers to smolder from orange to black.  Within that darkest black, I saw what seemed to me like a bright future.  I felt myself letting go of things that I didn’t realise that I was hanging on to, and I immediately felt relief. I realised that I needed to set a fire inside of myself, and burn it down.  I imagined what it would be like to stand on the ridge that was overlooking the cabin, and see the most beautiful fire that my eyes could register.  The deepest orange of a thousand halloweens.  The war at home is neverending.”

Lost Lights, the compelling new EP from Hawthorne Heights lands September 8th via Pure Noise Records. The EP is available for pre-order – HERE.

En route to the release date, the band continue their specially-curated Is For Lovers Festival, with six remaining markets including North Carolina, Iowa, California, Ohio, Tennessee and Massachusetts rounding out the schedule. Hawthorne Heights will also top a succession of headlining dates stretching through the second week of November in support of the release. Dates and cities can be found below.

29th July 2023 – Is For Lovers Festival 2023 Manteo, NC
19 – 20th August 2023 – Is For Lovers Festival 2023 Council Bluffs, IA
26th August 2023 – Is For Lovers Festival 2023 Silverado, CA
9th September 2023 – Is For Lovers Festival 2023 Cincinnati, OH
10th September 2023 –  Is For Lovers Festival 2023 Pelham, TN
12th September 2023 – Delmar Hall Saint Louis, MO
13th September 2023 – Deluxe Indianapolis, IN
15th September 2023 –  Riot Fest 2023 Chicago, IL
17th September 2023 – Is For Lovers Festival 2023 Mansfield, MA
27th September 2023 – Taft Theatre Cincinnati, OH
28th September 2023 – Marathon Music Works Nashville, TN
1st October 2023 – Atlanta Symphony Hall Atlanta, GA
4th October 2023 – Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts Patchogue, NY
5th October 2023 – Bergen Performing Arts Center Englewood, NJ
6th October 2023 –  Warner Theatre-Torrington, CT Torrington, CT
7th October 2023 – Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA
12th October 2023 –  Warner Theatre-DC Washington City, DC
13th October 2023 – Portico at del Lago Resort and Casino Waterloo, NY
14th October 2023 – Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort Atlantic City, NJ
18th October 2023 – Sunrise Theatre Fort Pierce, FL
20th October 2023 – Goodyear Theatre Akron, OH
22nd October 2023 – Roxian Theatre Mckees Rocks, PA
24th October 2023 – The Louisville PalaceLouisville, KY
25th October 2023 – Murat Theatre at Old National Indianapolis, IN
26th October 2023 – Staphanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts Sheboygan, WI
27th October 2023 – Genesee Theatre Waukegan, IL
28th October 2023 – James W. Miller Auditorium Kalamazoo, MI
30th October 2023 – Fitzgerald Theatre West Saint Paul, MN
2nd November 2023 – Capitol Theatre Davenport, IA
3rd November 2023 – Hoyt Sherman Place Des Moines, IA
5th November 2023 – The Astro Theatre Omaha, NE
9th November 2023 – McCallum Theatre Palm Desert, CA
11th November 2023 – Fox Theater Oakland, CA