Simone White (Photo: Kenda Benward)

If you’re a fan of Damon Albarn’s Honest Jon’s label, you’ll know that it’s earned its reputation through eclectic releases, from 1950s London calypsos to Moondog busking in NYC to Tony Allen’s Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. It’s a real celebration of music. And HJ’s only singer-songwriter signee is Simone White. White was born and raised in Hawaii and her gentle, Smithsonian Folkways–style songs are about a million miles away from the showbizzy style of her grandma—a burlesque performer who kept a pet leopard and always encouraged White to wear sparkly jewelry onstage. Fans of White’s I Am the Man album in 2007 can now look forward to her newie, the Mark Nevers–produced Yakiimo—and you can expect to hear a goodly portion of new songs at tonight’s midnight show at The Living Room.

The next bit of good news is that we have a track that doesn’t appear on Yakiimo and isn’t up on White’s MySpace page: her cover of the Elizabeth Cotton classic “Freight Train” (after the jump, watch uncovered footage of Cotton telling Pete Seeger about writing “Freight Train”). And then there’s the lovely “Psalms,” which appears only as a bonus digital download on the album. Enjoy.