Paula Cole on This Fire 30 years later
Thirty years after This Fire first introduced the world to songs like “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait,” Paula Cole is taking the album back on the road. The This Fire: 30 tour comes to Charleston Music Hall on Friday, November 13, 2026, and I had the chance to sit down with Paula to talk about the album, the music that shaped her, and what happens when a song takes on a life of its own.
The art of making an album
Paula has always thought about her records as complete works, not just collections of individual songs. When she performs This Fire now, she’s playing it in sequence from beginning to end, something she says feels like taking the audience on a ride. We talk about the importance of sequencing and how the songs, sounds, and production choices work together to create that journey.
Paula also shares some of the artists who shaped her approach to making music, including Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel and XTC. Kate Bush in particular was an important example for Paula of what was possible when a woman took control of the creative and production process and followed her own musical instincts.
Dolly Parton and the power of women telling their own stories
Dolly Parton also comes up in our conversation, including her songs “Just Because I’m a Woman” and “The Bargain Store,” which Paula sees as powerful examples of women telling their own stories. Paula also shares a wonderful story about spending an unexpected day in the studio with Dolly while waiting for an engineer to repair some equipment. They spent the day talking, sharing stories, and getting to know each other. Paula still considers that time with one of her heroes a gift.
Sonic Memoir: Demos 1989–1998
Paula’s Sonic Memoir: Demos 1989–1998 offers another look at the music that came before the finished records. The collection features 63 pre-digital recordings, including early versions of “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait,” along with deep cuts and demos that many fans have never heard. There’s no autotune and no polished distance from the process. Instead, you get to hear Paula working through ideas, developing songs and finding her way toward the artist she would become. As Paula describes it, Sonic Memoir is a love letter to her fans.
When a song becomes bigger than its writer
Perhaps the biggest theme running through our conversation is what happens when music leaves the person who created it and becomes part of someone else’s life. Paula has heard from fans who found comfort, strength, and even a new sense of themselves through her music. She has also watched those songs move from one generation to another. That’s the magic of music. You can write a song in one moment of your life and never know where it will eventually land. Thirty years later, This Fire is still finding people.
See Paula Cole in Charleston
Paula Cole’s This Fire: 30 tour comes to Charleston Music Hall on Friday, November 13, 2026, bringing the album that helped define her career back to the stage in its entirety. For Charleston music fans, it’s also a pretty special full-circle moment for me. In 2021, I emceed a Lilith Fair tribute at Charleston Music Hall where local musicians celebrated the music of that era, including Nora Roy performing “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” Five years later, Paula Cole herself will take that same stage.
Get tickets to see Paula Cole in Charleston
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