Alicia Witt Announces Surprise Guest on New Gig – With a Hallmark Twist

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Hallmark Channel star Alicia Witt has recently been making a real go of it as a singer/songwriter, appearing on “The Masked Singer” and performing live shows from her home. Now on May 25, she is performing live at the Nashville City Winery to kick off her EP release and she just announced a special guest who is joining her.

Alicia Witt Announced the ‘Incredibly Gifted’ Paul Freeman is Performing With Her on May 25

Witt announced in April 2023 that she would be performing a live show at the Nashville City Winery to launch her EP “Witness.” Then on May 22, she announced that musician Paul Freeman is joining her.

“Guess what – this incredibly gifted and incredibly dear one will be joining me for a couple of songs at my Nashville EP Release show at City Winery this Thursday ❤️ @paulfreemanreal, it will be a deep gift to have you there,” wrote Witt. “It’s been a wonderful day, and there’s a stunning sunset right now. Tickets for all upcoming shows: aliciawittmusic.com/tour.”

Freeman recently released his first full-length album, titled “Shotgun Skyline,” which he called “a new chapter” on his website.

The website also details his star-studded career:

The album’s release is a breakthrough moment for Freeman, an artist who is no stranger to big moments. Freeman has toured the world and performed with a veritable “who’s who” of pop and rock music: James Blunt, Chris Cornell, Chris Isaac, Joe Cocker, Roger Daltry, Ron Wood, Todd Rundgren and Steve Winwood just to name a few. He’s played guitar on Blunt’s iconic recording of “You’re Beautiful,” written a 2017 Top-40 Billboard hit for Sleeping with Sirens, and has written songs covered by Robbie Williams, Meat Loaf, and Mark Owen of Take That. His co-writing credits include work with Deana Carter and Carol Bayer Sager.

On the post announcing that Freeman is joining her, one Hallmark fan wrote, “I wish you and @paulfreemanreal would preform at Christmas Con Kansas City as well! 🎶❤️,” to which Witt replied, “We would be very happy to! There isn’t a performance scheduled as of now for this one, though!”

In a fun Hallmark twist, Freeman is married to actress Erin Cahill, who has starred on 10 different Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Mysteries TV films over the years.

Alicia Witt Says Her Life Has Been ‘A Whirlwind’ Lately

In an Instagram video, Witt said that everything has “been a whirlwind” lately, but she’s excited about what’s been happening — and no, she’s not giving up acting to turn full-time musician.

“It has been a whilrwind over here … if you feel like some live music from my Nashville living room later from wherever you are in the world, please join me,” said Witt, directing her fans to the tickets at stageit.com/aliciawitt.

In another post from a few weeks ago, she said that the band they have assembled for the show is “just stellar.”

“The band we’re assembling is just stellar. I can’t wait to play for you on the beautiful Main Stage – where I’ve been a spectator to so many incredible artists. Please join me if you’re in Nashville – tickets and reserved seating at the link in my bio, or on citywinery.com. Go choose your favorite table today and I’ll see you in three weeks – on the grand piano,” wrote Witt.

In addition to the show at the Nashville City Winery, Witt has two other live shows that fans can attend this summer — on June 6 in New York City and on June 12 in Evanston, Illinois, which is a northern suburb of Chicago.

“Hello, my friends! I wanted to let you know that I’ve added some new shows to my ‘Witness’ EP Release Tour. The single is out now everywhere, and I can’t wait to share this new music with you,” wrote Witt on the tour website, adding, “Will you be my Witness?”

But Witt has also assured fans that she hasn’t given up acting to be a full-time musician.

“No, I haven’t given up acting – I have a movie with Nicholas Cage coming out in movie theaters later this year or early next year! But – I do have a new EP, my 6th album, and with it the title track ‘Witness’ that is out now. So I’m playing a lot of shows to celebrate! ahead of my Nashville, NYC and Chicago live concerts with band – I’m playing a few acoustic shows from my living room on my @casiomusicgear #PXS7000 and they are so much fun,” wrote Witt on Instagram.

The EP “Witness” drops May 25, though, as Witt said, the title track is out already. In a March 29 Instagram post, the actress wrote of the song, “‘Witness’ is a deeply personal anthem about getting thru an unimaginably hard chapter – and coming out the other side, forever changed. Most of all, it’s about those who walked with you through it. It’s a love song above all else.”

In late 2021 and early 2022, Witt was undergoing treatment for breast cancer while also reeling from the sudden loss of her parents.