Category: new releases

Umphrey’s McGee new studio album

Umphrey’s McGee get the show started with a new studio album. Photo: google

The music of Umphrey’s McGee unfolds like an unpredictable conversation between longtime friends. Its six participants—Brendan Bayliss [guitar, vocals], Jake Cinninger [guitar, vocals], Joel Cummins [keyboards, piano, vocals], Andy Farag [percussion], Kris Myers [drums, vocals], and Ryan Stasik [bass]—know just how to communicate with each other on stage and in the studio. A call of progressive guitar wizardry might elicit a response of soft acoustic balladry, or a funk groove could be answered by explosive percussion. At any moment, heavy guitars can give way to heavier blues as the boys uncover the elusive nexus between jaw-dropping instrumental virtuosity and airtight songcraft. On July 16, Umphrey’s McGee will release twelve fan-favorite intro songs on an album called You Walked Up Shaking In Your Boots But You Stood Tall And Left A Raging Bull. This instrumental album is comprised of fist-pumping, genre-spanning “intros” originally conceived as “walk-on” music for their live shows. (Umphrey’s McGee, 2021)

Fans were recently treated to an early listen of the single “Leave Me Las Vegas,” which made its live debut at Workplay Soundstage in Birmingham, Alabamaphrey’s on March 5, 2009. A filtered drum-machine intro turns unison-riff heavy right off the bat before the dissonant guitar theme rears its head. There is a chunky weight to “Leave Me Las Vegas,” but among the distorted guitars, the foundational groove never wavers. Like most of the songs on You Walked Up Shaking In Your Boots But You Stood Tall And Left A Raging Bull, “Leave Me Las Vegas” climbs and climbs on an upward, sometimes intense trajectory; something the members of Umphrey’s channeled impeccably during their pandemic-driven long-distance, remote recording sessions. Fans can listen to “Leave Me Las Vegas” now and pre-order or pre-save You Walked Up Shaking In Your Boots But You Stood Tall And Left A Raging Bull ahead of its July 16 release right here.

Umphrey’s McGee is a touring powerhouse, performing 85+ shows per year, headlining annual shows across the US including Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado and the Beacon Theatre in New York. Umphrey’s is a constant US festival staple, with performances at major events including Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Rothbury, and Bonnaroo, as well as international festivals Fuji Rock Festival (Japan), and Byron Bay Blues Festival (Australia). The band hosts their own festival in Illinois, Summer Camp Music Festival, where they perform three nights and have hosted the likes of Primus, Jane’s Addiction, Thievery Corporation, and Willie Nelson, to name a few. Umphrey’s McGee has also hosted and headlined Jam in the Dam, a three-night mini-festival at the Melkweg in Amsterdam.

You Walked Up Shaking In Your Boots But You Stood Tall And Left A Raging Bull is only a part of what Umphrey’s McGee has been working on over the course of the last year off from touring. 

You Walked Up Shaking In Your Boots But You Stood Tall And Left A Raging Bull Track list:
Catshot
There’s No Crying In Mexico
Leave Me Las Vegas
Depth Charge
You Got The Wrong Guy
Tango Mike
Nipple Trix
Le Blitz
Le Sac
Gurgle
Restrung
October Rain

Catch Umphrey’s McGee On Tour:
June 18 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
June 19 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
June 20 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
June 25 – Lafayette, NY – Apple Valley Park
June 26 – Lafayette, NY – Apple Valley Park
June 27 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios
June 29 – Frederick, MD – Showtime At The Drive-In
June 30 – Frederick, MD – Showtime At The Drive-In
July 1-4- Scranton, PA – The Peach Music Festival
July 9 – Pelham, TN – The Caverns Outdoor Amphitheater
July 10 – Pelham, TN – The Caverns Outdoor Amphitheater
August 5 – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
August 6 – Beech Mountain, NC – Beech Mountain Summer Series
August 7 – Beech Mountain, NC – Beech Mountain Summer Series
August 8 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company

 

2021-07-16T13:58:00

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New album release: Parallax – Awaken

The full length album Awaken from Parallax is available now on all streaming platforms. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Hailing from the Air Capitol, Wichita Kansas, Parallax is here to disrupt traditional sound of modern heavy metal with their distinctive mashup of chaotic yet atmospheric Groove, Hardcore, Tech, Death, Alternative, and Nu-Metal. Their newest release Awaken, is a concept album about one’s descent into evil and madness. The character finds himself infected with a demonic parasite that brings about the destruction of planet Earth. The full length album was self-produced, recorded, and mixed by guitarist Jason Catlett and Parallax at Magnitude Creative Recording Studio in Wichita, Kansas while mastering duties were handled by legendary mastering engineer, Alan Douches at West West Side Music in New York. Alan is known for his work with the bands Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Converge, and Mastodon. (Parallax, 2021)

** Parallax has just announced a brand new live show date. They will be playing at The Cotillion in Wichita, KS on Thursday August 26 supporting Trivium along with Revisionist. Tickets are on sale now here.

The band will follow up the December 2020 release of Awaken’s heavily streamed lead off track “Hands” with the premiere of their anticipated music video for the official second single, “Esoteric” on July 30, 2021. The full length album, Awaken from Parallax is available now on all streaming platforms.

Since forming in December 2015, Parallax has released 3 EPs, including 2016’s In The Path Of A Cannibalistic Galaxy and 2018’s Disease & Disposition. In late 2019 the band signed with Fine Swine Records and began working on their newest album, Awaken.

Awaken Track listing:
1. Awaken (03:03)
2. Descent (03:12)
3. Sleep (04:19)
4. Solstice (03:07)
5. Blood Moon (04:05)
6. Hands (03:03)
7. Symbiotic (03:03)
8. Esoteric (04:19)

Parallax is:
Nick Hale – Vocals
Jason Catlett – Guitar
Mike Reed – Bass/Vocals
Clayton Gossett – Drums/Vocals

Parallax – Hands

David Ferguson to release ‘Nashville No More’ on Fat Possum Records

Legendary producer David Ferguson steps out of the control room and up to the microphone to make his own album Nashville No More. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

David Ferguson’s name frequently comes up when one starts to dig into who is behind Nashville’s most revered recordings of the last 40 years. A Grammy Award-winning recording engineer, studio owner, video game soundtrack composer, and collaborator with the likes of Johnny Cash, John Prine, and Sturgill Simpson, there is one title Ferguson has never been called until now – a recording artist. That is all about to change with his upcoming, star-studded release on Fat Possum Records, Nashville No More. Out September 3, Nashville No More finds Ferguson—better known around town as “Fergie”—exiting the control room and entering the spotlight with a self-produced, ten-song collection that will erase any doubt about his lack of history as the name on the marquee. (Fat Possum Records, 2021)

This is no greenhorn debut album, but a long-marinated and much-awaited reveal of a warm and familiar voice of a generation. Fans were recently treated to the first track from Nashville No More, the sweet fiddle and steel waltz of “Knocking Around Nashville.” The Pat McLaughlin-penned song has swirled around in Ferguson’s mind for a couple of decades now. “I’ve known this song since I recorded the first demo on it in the mid-90s,” he says. After his famed studio, The Butcher Shoppe, closed in 2020 when the entire property was sold, the weight of the song grew in Ferguson. “It just seems to become more relevant with every day that passes.” Fans can hear “Knocking Around Nashville” now at this link and can pre-order or pre-save Nashville No More ahead of its September 3 release right here.

The company Ferguson keeps on Nashville No More speaks much more highly of him than written words in promo materials can. Bluegrass power couple Sierra Hull and Justin Moses lend their voice and instrumental prowess to album closer “Hard Times Come Again No More” and reigning Americana queen Margo Price jumps in on the country-meets-bossa nova feel of “Chardonnay.” But it keeps going beyond those featured tracks—the entirety of Nashville No More’s roster is A-lister after A-lister. Bluegrass fans will easily pick out the playing of Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Béla Fleck, Ronnie McCoury, and Tim O’Brien, to name a few, and the more guitar-minded will catch the six-string picking and strumming of Dan Auerbach, Mark Howard, Billy Sanford, and Kenny Vaughan. Add in Nashville studio greats like Russ Pahl on pedal steel, Sam Bacco on percussion, Mike Rojas on keyboards, and Mike Bub and Dave Roe on bass, and the end result is a mutual admiration society of taste and respect not equaled in most Nashville recordings of today. All of those instruments and all of those people are in turn enveloped by Ferguson’s resonant baritone singing his favorite songs and the results are breathtaking.

Nashville No More Track list:
Four Strong Winds
Boats to Build
Fellow Travelers
Nights With You
Looking for Rainbows
Chardonnay
Early Morning Rain
Knocking Around Nashville
My Autumns Done Come
Hard Times Come Again No More

David Ferguson – Knocking Around Nashville
2021-09-03T12:29:00

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Rising Appalachia’s surprising new album release

Rising Appalachia channel rush of inspiration on surprise new release The Lost Mystique of Being in the Know. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith, known musically as Rising Appalachia, are stewards for their earth and its peoples as well as musicians. Framing their foundation of traditional American music with West African n’goni and Celtic-Irish fiddle, Rising Appalachia have landed on something that has the potential to grow its own roots, rather than leaning on one particular past—folk music from different corners of the world all working together as one, used as a sharpened tool for cultural and environmental preservation and education. Their most recent album, Leylines, has been a defining record for the sister-led band, garnering praise from a wide swath of critics and solidifying their place in the greater Americana musical movement. (Rising Appalachia, 2021)

BrooklynVegan called “Speak Out,” one of the album’s standout tunes featuring Ani DiFranco, “an appealing dose of fiddle-fueled folk and close harmonies.” NPR praised album closer, “Resilient,” as an “uplifting, original folk anthem” and Rolling Stone called their sound “protest music for the modern age bolstered by delicate, skillful musicianship and otherworldly vocal harmonies.” On May 21, Rising Appalachia surprised fans with the release of The Lost Mystique of Being in the Know, a full-length album of new music dreamt up and recorded simultaneously after having not seen each other in over 10 months. This new collection of nine songs is abstract; a concept album which the band calls “the most dynamic fun we have ever had in the studio.” Rising Appalachia—Leah Song, Chloe Smith, Biko Casini, Arouna Diara, Duncan Wickel, and David Brown—removed themselves from the outcome, let the songs lead, and were rewarded with a gorgeous snapshot of not just the music, but the time and circumstance that forged it. Fans can stream or purchase the entirety of The Lost Mystique of Being in the Know right now at this link.

The Lost Mystique of Being in the Know Track list:
Catalyst
Ngoni
Silver
Tempest
Lost Girl
Top Shelf
Clay
Keep Going
Depth

Rising Appalachia – Resilient

John Smith’s new video for ‘Hold On’

Escape with John Smith into the ethereal Welsh countryside in his new video for Hold On from his new album The Fray Photo: google

John Smith was born in Essex and raised on the Devon seaside. Known for his intimate songwriting, his honey-on-gravel voice, and pioneering guitar playing, he has spent the last fifteen years touring internationally and has amassed over 40 million streams on Spotify. As a session musician, he has played guitar with artists as diverse as Joan Baez, David Gray, Joe Henry, Lianne La Havas, and Tom Jones. His new album The Fray is out now as is the video for Hold On from this new album. (IV-PR, 2021)

Throughout The Fray, Smith touches on not just his own emotional turmoil experienced over the past year, but also his observance of the pain of those around him. But it is Smith’s stubborn optimism that shines through and differentiates his experiences and songs from his influences and contemporaries, which PopMatters and Americana Highways recently touched on, the latter highlighting his “excellent, consistent songwriting.” His traits of holding onto hope, forgiving transgressions, and reckoning with his place in a world which does not always reciprocate are not only necessary for Smith to deal, but they are also contagious to anyone who finds themselves in similar situations, adrift in the wind. For those who echo that sentiment, from experience, Smith shares his message on The Fray; “If we don’t hold on, we’re lost.”

Fans can follow this link to see the full video for “Hold On,” a song which Under The Radar called “an unrelentingly warm and uplifting ballad, one that was as healing for Smith to write as it is to take in as a listener” from a record that The Bluegrass Situation applauded as “an album of searing honesty and lithe beauty whose songs amplify the emotions and experiences of so many of us this year—the reassessed relationships, the self-reflection, and the ultimate search for hope.”

A drove of critics went on to also praise the instrumentation and production of The Fray. No Depression called Smith’s work “a meticulously constructed album that expresses its sadness but doesn’t get bogged down in it”; Fretboard Journal exclaimed “beautiful, introspective and loaded with great guitar tones”; and Associated Press wrote “There’s a comforting sway to the album’s melodic folk-pop, built on Smith’s subtle guitar work…12 tunes of resilience, devotion and hope, with determination in the lyrics and buoyancy in the music.” Fans can follow this link to purchase or stream The Fray in its entirety now.

The Fray Track list:
1. Friends
2. Hold On
3. Sanctuary
4. Deserving
5. The Best Of Me (feat. Bill Frisell)
6. Star-Crossed Lovers (feat Lisa Hannigan)
7. To The Shore
8. Eye To Eye (feat Sarah Jarosz)
9. Just As You Are
10. The Fray (feat. The Milk Carton Kids)
11. She’s Doing Fine
12. One Day At A Time

John Smith ‘Hold On’

Sam Filiatreau shares first track from self-titled debut

Sam Filiatreau’s self-titled debut album from Gjenny Records. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

As a teenager who began writing songs almost as soon as he learned to play guitar, Sam Filiatreau found his calling in the storytelling songs of ‘70s country, along with John Prine and Randy Newman. Deciding to pursue music full-time at 16, Filiatreau quit high school, moved out of the family home, and joined a rock band. However, most of his free time was dedicated to traveling to area festivals, absorbing what he calls “sad mountain music,” and honing his own songwriting and singing. Along with his own gigs, Filiatreau has also played shows with Houndmouth and the Felice Brothers. His self-titled debut on Gjenny Records is now out this month with “Wrecking Ball” being the first single. (IV-PR, 2021)

The story behind Kentuckian Sam Filiatreau’s new record is one of chance and good fortune. A last-minute house show gig that just so happened to be in front of the right guys—Taylor Meier and Matt Vinson, who were on their way to AAA stardom with their band Caamp—led to a quick friendship and mutual respect which eventually landed Filiatreau the first spot on Meier’s new record label, Gjenny Records. American Songwriter premiered “Wrecking Ball,” an effortless indie-two-step which, in Sam’s words, “is a nod to the old time music I’ve always been so drawn to.” But, like the rest of Filiatreau’s tunes, there is a clever, quirky depth that might be missed on the first listen. American Songwriter notes, “Without saying too much, the artist’s stripped-back styling elicits a certain unifying nostalgia—even the empty spaces still brim with emotion.” Fans can hear the single now at this link.

“I don’t have a theme, other than it is honest and not trying too hard,” says Filiatreau. “I feel like whenever I’m writing songs or music, I’m trying to find that fine line of doing something well, but also not taking it too seriously. To me, this record feels loose and fun. I feel like we captured exactly what was going on there.”

Sam Filiatreau Track list:
Hold The Door
Wrecking Ball
El Camino
Hold Me
Ashes
Tired
Silver Highway
Fine By Me

Latin Grammy nominated Buyuchek joins forces with Los Askis

Buyuchek joins forces with Los Askis on a norteño-Andean version of the beloved cumbia song “Cariñito.” Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Two-time Latin Grammy nominees Buyuchek continue to expand their repertoire and musical influences with the release of their new collaboration with the internationally renowned Los Askis, a norteño-Andean version of the beloved cumbia song “Cariñito.” (Buyuchek, 2021)

On this special occasion, Buyuchek delves into a musical fusion, exploring sounds beyond their typical repertoire and demonstrating that music has no borders. They join Andean–cumbia international Mexican stars Los Askis who blend cumbia with Andean music and pre-Hispanic musical elements.

Founded in 2012, Buyuchek is a norteño band from General Tehran, Mexico that has earned two Latin Grammy nominations (2019 & 2020) for Best Norteño Album. The band has quickly become fan favorites in both Mexico and the U.S. thanks to their collaborations with the 82-year old singer Irma Silva, aka La Abuela. She is both a vocalist and the grandmother of the leader and founder of the band, Jorge Loayzat.

Originally from General Terán, Mexico, La Abuela grew up in poverty and in a male-dominated environment, which made it nearly impossible for her to follow her musical dreams. She spent the majority of her life as a seamstress, always singing along with her radio while working. La Abuela Irma Silva is also the niece of Eugenio Ábrego, accordionist and second voice of the legendary Norteño duet Los Alegres De Terán. The duet is one of the founding fathers of norteño music.

The name Buyuchek is a play on words of the International Büyükçekmece Culture and Art Festival in Istanbul, Turkey, where they performed. Buyuchek and La Abuela Irma Silva released their first collaboration album in 2018, titled Las Canciones de la Abuela. The album was conceived as an 80th birthday gift for Irma Silva and went viral, earning a Latin Grammy nomination and launching La Abuela’s new artistic career. The album’s music videos were filmed at Hacienda El Granjenal, where Irma Silva lived for more than 50 years.

The High Hawks’ new self-titled album

The High Hawks’ new album will be out June 11, 2021. Photo: google

With close to 150 years of collective experience as professional touring musicians, The High Hawks—Vince Herman  (Leftover Salmon), Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth), Chad Staehly (Hard Working Americans), Adam Greuel (Horseshoes & Hand Grenades), Brian Adams (DeadPhish Orchestra), and Will Trask (Great American Taxi)—have maintained a generation-spanning presence at the forefront of the roots music scene for over two decades. On June 11, their debut album The High Hawks will be released via LoHi Records. (IV-PR, 2021)

In the first few seconds of The High Hawks’ debut single, a flurry of pulsing electric piano, kick drum, and Townshend-esque guitar strums give way to a flat out J.J. Cale groove just in time for the first line to be sung: “If we could just find a highway…might even find a way to make it home.” And thus, The High Hawks take flight. That tune, “Heroes & Highways,” is an appropriate first taste of music from the long-time-coming, feel-good Americana cooperative, naturally expressing the range of which the bands’ members can reach.

This month, Live for Live Music premiered the music video for the aforementioned “Heroes & Highways,” a song the band calls “a nod to the ever-present tension of the thrills and experiences of ‘the highway’ and the comfort and pleasures of home sweet home.” Live for Live music echoed that sentiment, calling the tune “a much-needed reflection on the way of the road.” Fans can watch the video for “Heroes & Highways” now at this link and pre-order or pre-save The High Hawks ahead of its June 11th release right here.

The baker’s dozen of songs that make up their debut have the strong identity and cohesiveness of a band three records into their career. The summery, fiddle-infused opener “Singing a Mountain Song,” with its self-referential line—Soaring like a high hawk across this mountain top—acts as a kind of mission statement for the whole collection. There is plenty of good feeling and optimism in these grooves, from the celestial cowboy vibe of “White Rider” and the revved-up Cash rockabilly of “Bad Bad Man,” to the catchy, sauntering “Do Si Do,” which sounds like a lost Grateful Dead track, the spare emotional cover of Woody Guthrie’s “Fly High,” and “Just Another Stone,” a moving ode to love’s redemptive power. Throughout, the creative hand-offs between four songwriters and four distinct singers all come together to channel influences from bluegrass to folk to reggae to cosmic Americana into a singular, appealing voice. “These songs wouldn’t sound like High Hawks songs if it was just one of us playing them,” Adam Greuel says. “When it all comes together, there’s a sound.”

As touring starts to wind back up, the band is ready to get these new, feel-good songs out in front of a live audience.

The High Hawks Track list:
Singing A Mountain Song
Talk About That
Heroes & Highways
Just Another Stone
When The Dust Settles Down
White Rider
Fly High
Bad Bad Man
Do Si Do
Home Is
Blue Earth
Trying To Get By
Goodnight Irene

The High Hawks On Tour:
June 2 – Pearl Street Brewery – La Crosse, WI
June 3 – The Hook & Ladder Under The Canopy – Minneapolis, MN
June 4 – WIJAM Presents Sol Dance at Jones Park – Appleton, WI
June 5 – Mackey’s Hideout (outdoor stage) – McHenry, IL
June 6 – The High Hawks Invitational @ Long Bridge Golf Course – Springfield, IL

 

Heroes & Highways by The High Hawks

Dallas Burrow finds a new kind of adventure on self-titled LP

Dallas Burrow’s new LP will be out July 23, 2021. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

A Texas-born Americana artist rooted in the tradition of his home state’s songwriting heroes, Dallas Burrow built a career on both sides of the Atlantic with his 2019 debut, Southern Wind. Recorded in Nashville, the album reached Number 25 on the UK Americana Chart and Number 4 on the US Alt-Country chart, paving the way for a string of cross-country shows alongside fellow road warriors like Charley Crockett. Dallas Burrow has built his own unique brand of American roots music. It is a sound rooted in folk, shaped by classic country, and heavily influenced by the Texan craftsmen who came before him. On July 23, he will be introducing a new side of himself on record, that of a newly sober man embracing the stability of fatherhood and family life. (IV-PR, 2021)

The full-length, self-titled album, Dallas Burrow, is a collection of songs about maturing and finding one’s path, recorded to two-inch analog tape by producer Bruce Robison and shot through with the rich storytelling, organic Texas twang, and authentic Americana that have all become Burrow’s sonic signature. Last week, Holler premiered the first single from Dallas Burrow, the groovy, slow-burn blues of “Born Down In Texas.” Holler praised the album’s old-school, straight-to-tape recording process, saying, “That live feel crackles throughout Dallas Burrow, which, when thread through Burrow’s singular voice, captures the humidity and haunts of the Texas countryside that formed him.” Fans can hear “Born Down In Texas” now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Dallas Burrow ahead of its July release right here.

The result is a 14-song collection of western Americana, sung by Burrow in a voice that bears both the road-worn weariness of a lifelong highwayman and the fierce fire of a man reborn. This is an album about craft and conviction, from the moody western folk of the opening song, “Country Girl,” to the woozily gorgeous closer, “Outlaw Highway.” The latter track features lyrics written long ago by Burrow’s father, whose own songwriting helped lay the brickwork for his son’s career. Album highlights “Easter Sunday,” “American Dream,” and the anthemic “Independence Day” double down on that family theme, with Burrow nodding to his new role as a father and husband. Dallas Burrow is a celebration of fresh starts and new beginnings. Burrow is not cheating death anymore; instead, he is rediscovering a new way to live, with this self-titled album serving as the soundtrack.

Dallas Burrow Track list:
Country Girl
American Dream
Born Down In Texas
Easter Sunday
Holy Grail
Independence Day
Look At Us Now
My Old Friend The Shadow
Father’s Son
The Other Side
Street Hustler’s Blues
River Road
Keep On Tryin’
Outlaw Highway

When Burrow is not making records or on the road, he is the owner and proprietor of the newly opened Redbird Listening Room in New Braunfels, Texas; an intimate listening room inspired by places like Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe and Kent Finlay’s Songwriter Circle at the Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, TX, where Burrow and countless others cut their teeth.

2021-07-23T13:24:00

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Jamestown Revival releases first track from upcoming EP

Prospector Blues is the first track from Jamestown Revival’s upcoming Fireside With Louis L’Amour EP which will be out May 28, 2021. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

In 2020, Jamestown Revival released A Field Guide To Loneliness, an intimate collection of songs that finds Clay and Chance reflecting on recent times whereby human contact was limited more than ever. A Field Guide To Loneliness follows Jamestown Revival’s 2019 critically acclaimed release, San Isabel. Recorded in a remote cabin in the majestic and calming landscape of central Colorado, the band embraced a minimalist approach in the recording of San Isabel. Finding inspiration in ‘60s and early ‘70s folk and pop, the original songs on San Isabel show reverence for early John Denver and Bob Dylan, as well as Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. (IV-PR, 2021)

The frontier stories of American novelist Louis L’Amour have been an influence on Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance of Jamestown Revival since the band’s formation. At the age of 23, both Clay and Chance read L’Amour’s memoir, “The Education Of A Wandering Man,” and since then, fans have not had to dig very deep to find their hat tips to the late great legend. On May 28, Jamestown Revival’s newest project, an EP titled Fireside With Louis L’Amour, will forever immortalize the guys’ love for L’Amour’s storytelling in a six-song roundup of tunes directly inspired by his short stories. When it was all said and done, Jamestown Revival was successful in their effort to distill a half-dozen tales from “The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour, Volume 1: Frontier Stories” from 30-page adventures down to three and a half minute songs; each directly inspired by individual stories from the collection—Jamestown Revival’s tune “Bound for El Paso” comes from L’Amour’s “The Gift of Cochise,” “Fool Me Once” was inspired by “The Man from Bitter Sands,” and so on. This past Friday, the band released “Prospector’s Blues,” their thumping, resonator-driven album-closer inspired by L’Amour’s tale of cautious-turned-reckless mining in “Trap of Gold.” Fans can listen to “Prospector’s Blues” here and pre-order or pre-save Fireside With Louis L’Amour ahead of its May 28 release with this link.

“They say that L’Amour was the master of the short story and we would humbly agree. In 30 pages he manages to draw you in, make you invest in the characters, and oftentimes hit you with a twist that you truly didn’t expect,” say Clay and Chance. “The songs on Fireside With Louis L’Amour are our attempt to put a musical spin on some of Louis’ short stories found on ‘The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour, Volume 1: Frontier Stories.’ To have the family of L’Amour on board was just icing on the cake for Jamestown Revival. “On top of that, it’s been an absolute honor to have the blessing of Louis’ son, Beau, and the L’Amour estate. We hope these songs inspire you to pick up ‘The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour’ and read the true inspiration behind the music,” they say, before adding “We also feel it’s worthwhile to mention these songs should be best enjoyed sitting next to a fire with a nip of whiskey in the glass.”

Fireside With Louis L’Amour Track Listing:
1. Bound for El Paso
2. Fool Me Once
3. The Ballad of Four Prisoners
4. The Killing Type
5. Beyond the Ridge
6. Prospector’s Blues