Tag: country music

Upcoming new album release: Rio Bravo – Scott Ballew

Texas’ modern renaissance man Scott Ballew announces new album Rio Bravo due out March 29. Photo: Google/Viberate

Austin-born Scott Ballew’s resume is staggering, from his work as Yeti’s Head of Content, directing shorts featuring Ryan Bingham, to more recent independent ventures, including a documentary on Terry Allen and a film, All That is Sacred. A true artistic visionary, Ballew’s latest undertaking is a near-obsessive pursuit of quality songwriting. The medium has changed, but his razor-sharp ability to tell a story hasn’t. Sonically, his music–specifically Rio Bravo–is if Townes Van Zandt was produced by Ennio Morricone. Ballew’s writing is a world of contrasts–poignant but humorous, relatable but cerebral, simple but cinematic. “If you can make someone laugh and cry in the same paragraph, there’s no closer reflection to real life.” (Scott Ballew, 2024)

After an introduction to Terry Allen by mutual friend Ryan Bingham, Ballew’s approach to art (and life) was drastically altered. “[What Terry taught me is that] the audience is irrelevant. What’s important is that you wake up and you show up and you follow whatever it is that’s in your head or your heart.” The ‘showing up’ can be heard on Rio Bravo, a 9 song collection releasing March 29, 2024, via independent powerhouse, La Honda Records.

“People, they don’t change,” sings Scott Ballew on the first line of the first song of his junior album, Rio Bravo—an unexpected remark from a man whose life has been punctuated by personal evolution. A reductive synopsis would be as follows: Texas football star turned film director turned junkie turned musician.

“Writing has become a survival mechanism,” says the songwriter, musician, filmmaker and Texan. “This came to me later in life. I have four decades of experiences, anxieties, and thoughts that I am purging and have found that idle time is not healthy for me.”

Ballew recently shared “Suicide Squeeze,” the first single to be heard from Rio Bravo ahead of its March 29 release on La Honda Records. “I wrote this on a napkin inside Alamo Drafthouse Movie Theater watching ‘Licorice Pizza’ by Paul Thomas Anderson,” Ballew recalls. “Inspired by perfect running montages, I resonated with the kid who had ambitions to take a huge bite out of life.” The screening conjured up feelings from Ballew’s childhood like grandiose schemes or desires for widespread acclaim, or in his words, “the feeling that an older woman, or sports accolades, or some degree of celebrity was necessary to achieve success.”

“Suicide Squeeze” can be streamed today at this link, and Rio Bravo is available to pre-order or pre-save ahead of its March release right here.

Rio Bravo track list (Courtesy Photo)
True Love Can’t Surf
Trouble Darling
Suicide Squeeze
Can You Hear Me Smile
Rio Bravo
Impossible Smile
Mutiny
Old Fashioned
All That Is Sacred
A Funny Masterpiece

1711719473

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Rio Bravo release date

New album release: The Carousel – Backstrom

The Carousel is Backstrom’s debut album. It is available now on Spotify. Photo: Backstrom, used with permission.

When it comes to music, I love all types of music. Well, almost all of them, but my favorite genre is rock. With the new year comes the release of new music by artists everywhere. Today I am pleased to announce a new release this month from Backstrom.

Backstrom is a Swedish songwriter in the genres of Folk, Country, and Rock. His debut album The Carousel (feat. Bart Topher) was released today. If you enjoy this type of music or just enjoy discovering new artists, consider this new release. Backstrom’s music is available on Spotify and you can follow the artist on Instagram. (Backstrom, 2024)

Get to know a little bit about Backstrom in this Q & A:

Question: Who are the band members and what do they play?
Backstrom: Backstrom was initially the only “band member” or the songwriter. But I worked with a lot of great session musicians who played a huge role in this project and more or less became band members in the end. For this album, Bart Topher does vocals on eight songs and has also written three lyrics. Tommy Jones wrote three lyrics as well. Fransisco Paz plays all drums and percussion and helped out with a lot of instrumental production. Luca Giannotti plays a lot of guitars on the folk songs and also some bass. Kimberly Faith does harmonies on 6 songs. Hernan Ian plays guitars on the country songs. Maciek Szczyciński play most bass. And there’s a lot more who deserves credit in this project.

Q: Can you tell us anything about the recording process?
B: I wrote the ground material in the winter season and started out by doing a simple demo myself of the songs during the spring – then I spent the rest of the year hiring different session musicians to improve the sound and instrumental quality of the songs. So the whole album is more or less done online and I’ve been sending files back and forth around the world. Gabe Wolf made a great contribution mixing and mastering the songs in the end.

Q: How and where did you get together?
B: I hired all musicians through Fiverr.

Q: Have you played any notable gigs, festivals or other events?
B: No, this is mostly about songwriting and not live performance.

Q: What are the band’s main influences?
B: In general Leonard Cohen, Mark Lanegan but it stretches all the way from Townes Van Zandt to the Rolling Stones and beyond in some songs.

Q: Can you briefly describe what the song/each song is about?
A: It’s not always a deep thought behind every line, it needs to sound good as well, and I prefer to leave the underlying interpretation to the listener!

Q: What are you most happy about with the record?
A: I think we managed to get a quite unique sound, it doesn’t sound so much like anything else out there.

Sponsored Post

New album release: Back to the Valley – Low Water Bridge Band

Low Water Bridge Band announces sophomore LP Back to the Valley. Photo: Low Water Bridge Band.

Forged by firelight picking, Low Water Bridge Band’s romping, stomping, country-grass Americana is not for the faint of heart. Since coming together in 2020, they have gone from barnstorming the Shenandoah Valley to festival stages along the East Coast and now, to the delight of their rapidly growing fanbase, the band has announced the follow up to their latest LP, Midnight in Virginia. On November 17, Low Water Bridge Band—Logan Moore (guitar, vocals), Alex Kerns (bass, vocals), Riley Kerns (drums, background vocals), James Montgomery (lead guitar), Justin Carver (pedal steel, banjo),and Rudy Bzdyk (fiddle, trumpet, keyboards)—will release Back to the Valley, an all new, ten song LP. (IV-PR, 2023)

Low Water Bridge Band shared Back to the Valley’s opening track, “Siren Of The Shenandoah,” a shapeshifting ode to the great river that created the valley from with the band was created. “This song came to light after a full moon, overnight canoe trip down the Shenandoah River,” says Moore, the song’s writer and lead singer. “I kept hearing a lonely fox following us along the riverbanks shouting her terrifying scream. I imagined it was the sound of the mythological siren crying out to lure me into the mighty Shenandoah River.” Moore’s imagination went from there, fleshing out the lick-laden song that deftly switches back and forth between a full-time train beat and a funkier, half-time groove. Encompassing everything that Low Water Bridge Band fans are already hip to—clever songwriting, complimentary musicianship, and the ability to creatively freeze a place and time in song—“Sirens Of The Shenandoah” is the perfect lead off track for this next chapter in the burgeoning band’s career.

Back to the Valley was produced by band members Riley Kerns and Logan Moore and recorded and mixed by Kerns at BerryTone Sound Recorders in Berryville, Virginia. Micah Howard contributed vocals on “She Don’t Answer;” “Dear Lord” and “Small Town Affair” feature background vocalists Laura Steinmetz and Jessica Mitchell; and Jake Smith plays baritone saxophone on “Hope It’s You.”

Fans can hear “Siren Of The Shenandoah” now and stay up to date on Back to the Valley ahead of its November 17.

Back to the Valley track list:
Siren Of The Shenandoah
Whiskey Dark
Slow Down
600 Reasons
Hope It’s You
Clarke County Clay
Place On A Hill
Dear Lord
Small Town Affair
She Don’t Answer

1700230024

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Back to the Valley release date

Upcoming new album release: The Golden Crystal Kingdom – Vincent Neil Emerson

The Golden Crystal Kingdom will be out November 10, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

From humble beginnings booking his own barbecue joint shows to touring with label mate Colter Wall and fellow Texan Charley Crocket, Vincent Neil Emerson built a career the old fashioned way, bar gig by bar gig, singular music fan by singular music fan. Vincent Neil Emerson is no stranger to work ethic. His life’s journey has been tumultuous, hard-nosed, and the stuff of songs. It all brings the young Choctaw-Apache man’s journey to the announcement of his new Shooter Jennings-produced record, The Golden Crystal Kingdom—out on November 10 via Emerson’s longtime label home La Honda Records and new partner, RCA Records. The Golden Crystal Kingdom is the follow-up to his first two LPs, Fried Chicken & Evil Woman and Vincent Neil Emerson, which established him as a refreshing voice in the Texas songwriter landscape. (IV-PR, 2023)

The Golden Crystal Kingdom shares more of the man behind the artist than any of his previous records, his songwriting and heritage on proud display throughout the new album. Emerson expands his sound, tapping into the storied influence of electrified folk legends like Leon Russell and Link Wray. As with his early work, the diamond-sharp storytelling remains Emerson’s focus under the big and explicit aesthetic of rock and roll.

Emerson continues the La Honda Records x RCA Records partnership with his first single, “Little Wolf’s Invincible Yellow Medicine Paint,” a full-throttle meeting of Western comic book influences inside a Neil Young guitar tuning. “The story was, basically, that a medicine man was tasked with motivating warriors to go into battle—they were going up against a bunch of white men with guns, and they knew they were going to die if they went into battle—and he came up with this special paint, this yellow medicine paint, and said, ‘If you wear this into battle, you’ll be invincible. No arrow can pierce you. No bullet can pierce you,’” Emerson remembers. “It’s an old-West-themed song, it’s not a modern-day story for sure,” says the man who proudly embraces his Choctaw-Apache heritage. “These are indigenous stories, whether or not that old West comic was true.”

To accompany “Little Wolf’s Invincible Yellow Medicine Paint,” Emerson enlisted the help of Native American bareback horse race champion, Sharmaine Weed, to star in a music video. An ethereal glimpse into the dedication and training required to become a champion, the music video, directed by on-the-rise visionary Mike Vanata, was filmed in Wyoming near the Wind River reservation. “Little Wolf’s Invincible Yellow Medicine Paint” can be streamed or purchased and fans can pre-order or pre-save The Golden Crystal Kingdom ahead of its November release.

The Golden Crystal Kingdom track listing:
Time of the Rambler
The Golden Crystal Kingdom
Time of the Cottonwood Trees
I’ll Meet You in Montana
Hang Your Head Down Low
Cod’ine
Blackland Prairies
On the Banks of the Old Guadalupe
The Man From Uvalde
Voices (On the Spanish Isle)
Clover on the Hillside
Little Wolf’s Invincible Yellow Medicine Paint

Catch Vincent Neil Emerson On Tour:
October 27, 2023 – Globe Hall – Denver, CO
October 28, 2023 – Globe Hall – Denver, CO
November 1, 2023 – Saturn – Birmingham, AL
November 2, 2023 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
November 3, 2023 – Growlers – Memphis, TN
November 4, 2023 – Songbirds – Chattanooga, TN
November 7, 2023 – The Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
November 9, 2023 – Songbyrd – Washington, DC
November 10, 2023 – Elkton Music Hall – Elkton, MD
November 11, 2023 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
November 15, 2023 – World Cafe Live – Philadelphia, PA
November 16, 2023 – The Southern Café and Music Hall – Charlottesville, VA
November 17, 2023 – Motorco Music Hall – Durham, NC
November 18, 2023 – New Brookland Tavern – Columbia, SC
November 19, 2023 – Charleston Music Hall – Charleston, SC
November 21, 2023 – Eddie’s Attic – Decatur, GA
December 9, 2023 – Antone’s Nightclub – Austin, TX

Upcoming album release: Fear of Falling Stars – Kristen Grainger & True North

Kristen Grainger & True North launch new album Fear of Falling Stars – due out November 10, 2023. Photo: Kristen Grainger & True North

In a world thirsting for authenticity and genuine connection, Kristen Grainger & True North offers a wellspring of soul-stirring songs. Led by the enchanting vocals of Kristen Grainger and drawing on elements of bluegrass, country, and Americana, the Pacific Northwest string band writes songs that connect us, illuminating universal truths with haunting beauty. The band is made up of three champion instrumentalists, Dan Wetzel, Martin Stevens, and Josh Adkins, and is fronted by lead vocalist Kristen Grainger, a storied songwriter who has taken top honors at some of the nation’s most prestigious songwriting competitions, including Telluride Bluegrass Festival, MerleFest, and the USA Songwriting Contest. Kristen Grainger & True North launch their new album with the first single Across the Mountains. The new album, Fear of Falling Stars, will be out November 10, 2023. (IV-PR, 2023)

In the first four measures of Kristen Grainger & True North’s new tune Across the Mountains, listeners experience the full range of what sets the award-winning Americana quartet apart; tried and true musicianship and songcraft steeped in both the old and new. With equal focus on compelling songwriting and excellent instrumental execution, this new album offers ten songs that nestle in the ear on the way to the heart. From heart-wrenching ballads to foot-stomping anthems, Fear of Falling Stars reveals a series of musical zoom shots through the windows of modern life.

Fans can stream or purchase Across the Mountains, watch the lyric video, premiered by The Bluegrass Situation, and stay up to date on Fear of Falling Stars ahead of its November release.

Fear of Falling Stars track list:
Don’t Take Me Back
Go-Nowhere Town
Extraordinary Grace
Memories and Moments
Across the Mountains
It’s the Little Things
The Avalanche
Pent-Up
What Might Have Been
Stop Me If I Told You This Before

Catch Kristen Grainger on tour:
November 4 – Seattle, WA – Concerts At Our House Series
November 10 – Portland, OR – PNC Live Studio Concert
November 18 – Portland, OR – Alberta Rose Theatre
November 29 – Sisters, OR – The Belfry

1699625104

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Fear of Falling Stars release date

New album release: River – Bonnie Montgomery

Bonnie Montgomery’s new album River will be out November 3, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Raised in rural Arkansas on a soundtrack of southern gospel, Texas swing, Delta blues, and Ozark bluegrass, Bonnie Montgomery trained as an opera singer before launching her award-winning career in outlaw country. While she is not in the spotlight of big budget beer commercials, at least yet, she may just be the most interesting woman in the world. From the high-brow—Montgomery is a classically trained opera singer and wrote a folk opera that ran at New York’s Medicine Show Theatre and was praised in The New Yorker; to the “low-brow”—she was crowned “Outlaw Female” at the infamous Ameripolitan Awards for her non-operatic, country-tinged solo career, amongst a slew of other awards; to life well-beyond music where she became a certified Reiki master in the ongoing process of healing her body from years on the road and from a commercial airline crash in 1999 when she was still a teenager. In all, Montgomery has lived a wonderfully diverse life, full of ups and downs, but until now, has not managed to connect all of her dots in a way she has been happy with. (IV-PR, 2023)

On November 3, Montgomery will release a brand new album entitled River, an eclectic and electrifying amalgamation of every corner of her life and music career up until now. River is a versatile record that shows just how broad Montgomery’s vision of American roots music can be as it flows freely from one genre to the next. It is the crystallization of a sound Montgomery has been creating for years, blurring the boundaries between different formats while presenting Montgomery not only as a powerhouse vocalist but as an autobiographical storyteller and captivating songwriter, too.

“This is the most straight-from-the heart album I’ve ever cut,” says Montgomery, who headed to Texas to record River with co-producer Kevin Skrla. “I’ve always been a multi-genre artist. I have a classical background, but I’m a big fan of soul music and rock, too. Country music was the soundtrack of my childhood. All of that went into River. Making that album felt like the first time I could be me, sing my heart out, and not worry about fitting into any specific box. It was pure. It was freeing.”

With the help of Holler., Montgomery recently premiered the first listen from River with her song “Modern-Day Cowgirl’s Dream.” Dubbed “A real life account of what Montgomery calls “honky-tonkin’ around Texas,” “Modern-Day Cowgirl’s Dream” rides a half-time country backbeat and phase-shifted Telecaster licks to tell the story of “cowboys, neon nights, jumping in the cold springs, and crashing at Miss Whitney Rose’s house—she also sang on the track—and waking up just to do it all over again.” The accompanying music video was directed by actor, singer, Broadway-veteran, and GRAMMY-winner, Zachary James. “We had fun shooting it at the White Water Tavern in Little Rock, where I’ve played hundreds of times,” remembers Montgomery. “The Shoot turned out a little raunchy and reckless, just like the song.”

Fans can watch the video for “Modern-Day Cowgirl’s Dream” and pre-order or pre-save River ahead of its November release. Tour dates and ticket information is available online. 

River tracklist:
River
Modern-Day Cowgirl’s Dream
No Way Around It
I Was Fine
Half Drunk
Leon
Check For Your Time
Seventeen
I’ll Know
This Town

1699019712

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

River release date

New single: Two Faced – Stella Prince

Evocative and enchanting, Stella Prince releases her 8th single, Two Faced, with Steve Fishell on August 4, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Born and raised in Woodstock, NY, Stella Prince is the only child of creative parents. She was immersed in music from an early age thanks to her parents’ extensive all-genre CD collection and her frequent attendance at concerts where she first encountered artists like Levon Helm, Amy Helm, Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary), Tracy Bonham, and Natalie Merchant. Growing up, Stella was also heavily influenced by pop and oldies music; she has always known that she wanted to be a performer for as long as she can remember. In 2021, she began to release music and play live, travel to Nashville and Los Angeles, gain representation in the music industry, and book her own performances. Stella released four singles in 2021: “The Rain Might Fall,” “Scared,” “Before You Leave,” and “Alone for the Holidays.” Stella is thrilled to continue to release music into 2023 with her 8th single, “Two Faced,” featuring Steve Fishell on steel guitar. It will be independently released on August 4. (Dreamspider Publicity, 2023)

Authentic and from-the-heart, Stella Prince’s melodies delve deep into your spirit with her evocative and relatable songs. Her poetic lyrics, in tandem with the atmospheric sounds of her vocals, acoustic guitar, and musical compositions, appeal to a diverse, multi-generational audience. Stella Prince’s musical influences span decades—from country and folk music’s renowned voices of Judy Garland, Karen Carpenter, Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris, and Dolly Parton; to the pop icon Taylor Swift. Think Country Press says, “Imagine the perfect mixture of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and Judy Collins all packed into one young musician.” Fans can pre-save “Two Faced” ahead of the release. 

For this newest single, Stella had the pleasure of working with Steve Fishell, a Nashville-based pedal steel guitarist, Grammy-winning record producer, and educator. Emotionally moving from the start, accentuated by Fishell’s pedal steel, with the harrowing opening lines, “You got her right where you wanted… Lonely enough so she’d take the bait… Blinded by words that were only an empty promise… Desperation paves way for mistakes.” The heart of the song is in the chorus: ‘There’s all kinds of empty… but the hardest one to take… is lies that seem tempting… Loneliness is two faced.’ Self produced, “Two Faced” was recorded at the legendary Sound Stage Studios on Music Row in Nashville with Sound Engineer Kameron Luchterhand.

“My big goal is for someone to play my song and think, ‘That’s exactly how I feel…’ I want my songs to resonate with everyone, every generation, every issue: loneliness, fear, all of that.” – Stella Prince

1691490763

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Two Faced release date

New album release: Sweethearts – Christian Parker

Christian Parker breaths new life into the Byrd’s classic country leaning album with new LP Sweethearts. It will be out August 18, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Christian Parker is an American recording artist, guitarist and songwriter. He knows his way around a song, and his musical vision enables him to deliver electrifying licks on rock anthems as well as cascading layers of acoustic guitar on ballads of love and loss. Parker started taking guitar lessons when he was 12, the day after John Lennon was killed, and learned how to play “Rocky Racoon” that same night. The New York-based musician released his first album, Reflections of Tomorrow, when he was 17, launching a music career devoted to introspective songwriting marked by its attention to the world around him. Since then he has released six studio albums, including his forthcoming Sweethearts, Parker’s version of the classic Byrds’ album Sweethearts of the Rodeo. His albums have earned him praise from No Depression, Blues Blast, and Jambands. His most recent, Every Passing Mile and Best Kept Secret, contain previously unreleased material written over the last two decades. In addition to his solo work, Parker has played lead guitar in the Waydown Wailers, rockers who have shared stages with Z.Z. Top, Charlie Daniels, Lady A, and New Riders of the Purple Sage. (IV-PR, 2023)

On August 18, Parker will release his version of the Byrds’ now-legendary country-rocker, Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Titled Sweethearts, it features his rollicking band and support from pianist Earl Poole Ball and pedal steel from JayDee Maness—both of whom played on the original record back in 1968.

Just as then-new Byrds member Gram Parsons loved the Louvin Brothers, Merle Haggard, and Cindy Walker—and wanted to deliver faithful versions of their songs “The Christian Life,” “Life in Prison,” and “Blue Canadian Rockies”—so Parker delivers the Byrds’ versions in tender renditions that capture the groundbreaking character of the original album. Throughout Sweethearts, Parker’s vocals echo the purity of Parsons’ efforts to import the clarity of county music into vibrant rock rhythms. In addition to the original eleven songs on Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Parker has included three more classics: “I Still Miss Someone,” “Satisfied Mind,” and “Drugstore Truck Driving Man.”

Parker shared the first single from Sweethearts, the album-opening “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” with premiere partner The Bluegrass Situation. “I first heard this song by Bob Dylan on an acoustic guitar. But I was hooked when I listened to the opening pedal steel guitar on the Byrds album,” says Parker. “This song was in my repertoire for decades, and I felt like I was recording an old friend. Tracer James’ interpretation of Lloyd Greens’ pedal steel guitar opens Sweethearts up perfectly and having Earl Poole Ball in the studio, who played piano on the original version, was magical for me.” Finding room between James’ scampering steel licks and Ball’s gospel-inflected piano runs, Parker delivers the song’s iconic refrain: “Whoo-ee, ride me high / Tomorrow’s the day my bride’s gonna come.” The cascading piano on the outré is Parker’s distinctive take on this buoyant song.

Fans can hear “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Sweethearts ahead of its August 18 release.

Sweethearts track list:
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
I Am A Pilgrim
The Christian Life
You Don’t Miss Your Water
You’re Still On My Mind
Pretty Boy Floyd
I Still Miss Someone
Hickory Wind
One Hundred Years From Now
Blue Canadian Rockies
Life In Prison
Nothing Was Delivered
Satisfied Mind
Drugstore Truck Driving Man

1691487713

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Sweethearts release date

New album release: Blood Brothers – Dallas Burrow

Dallas Burrow paints a full circle picture of his home with the first song “River Town” from his upcoming Jonathan Tyler-produced album Blood Brothers. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Dallas Burrow, a Texas-born Americana artist rooted in the tradition of his home state’s songwriting heroes, built a career on both sides of the Atlantic with his 2019 debut Southern Wind. It 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. For Burrow—a lifelong explorer who had spent his 20s on the move, chasing his muse across most of America and Europe while rubbing shoulders with luminaries like Bob Dylan and Dr. John—being so far away from home felt natural. Even so, he began missing the stability of his new life back in Texas, where he had built a family and gotten sober. His second album, 2021’s Dallas Burrow, marked both a symbolic and literal homecoming for the songwriter, who recorded the material with modern-day legend Bruce Robison in the rural Texas countryside. His new album Blood Brothers finds Burrow telling the story of his musical roots, his father’s influence on his craft, and his own personal journey as a songwriter; all in his signature, gravely baritone. (IV-PR, 2023)

“River Town,” the opening track from his upcoming album Blood Brothers, rides a pulsing country backbeat and is dressed up with a fiddle, organ, electric guitar, and producer Jonathan Tyler singing harmonies. It tells the true story of Burrow’s small-town Texas upbringing, the leaving, and the coming back to start a family. “After getting in a little trouble, doing a lot of traveling, fast living, and soul searching—and finally meeting my wife and starting to settle down a little—in the end, I realized just what a beautiful area it was to live after all, and the perfect place for us to raise a kid,” he says. The Bluegrass Situation premiered the single, diving more into the backstory.

Fans can hear “River Town” at this link and watch the video for Burrow’s previously-released single, “Out My Window” here. 

With Blood Brothers, Burrow wanted to chase something a little more refined and a little more polished than his previous two efforts: Southern Wind and Dallas Burrow. With the creative vision and technical talent of producer Jonathan Tyler, Burrow took everything he had learned from the last two album cycles, plus a lot more experience on tour, and brought a new outlook—not to mention what he calls “some of the best songs I’ve ever written”—into the recording studio, crafting his best work to date. Existing fans of Burrow’s will find his instantly recognizable songs sung in his signature gravelly tone, but there are hints of something deeper afoot. Musically, the pair of Burrow and Tyler chased down new tones influenced by everything from Stax to Muscle Shoals to New Orleans, but lyrically, Burrow’s journey through his own history and influences steals the show. “The songs on Blood Brothers tell about where I’m from, where I’ve been, what I’ve done, and what I’ve seen,” he says.

Blood Brothers track list:
River Town
Starry Eyes
Devil’s Tongue
Out My Window
Motel 6
A Lot of it Was
Only Game in Town
Blood Brothers
Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold
X Old Flames
Wild Bill
You Go On Ahead
True Believer

Catch Dallas Burrow on tour:
June 23 – San Antonio, TX – The Lonesome Rose
June 24 – San Marcos, TX – Cheatham Street Warehouse
June 30 – Houston, TX – The Mucky Duck
July 7 & 8 – Red River, NM – Motherlode Saloon
July 21 – New Braunfels, TX – Freiheit Country Store
Jul 22 – Luckenbach, TX – Luckenbach Dancehall
July 29 – Hunter, TX – Riley’s Tavern
August 2 – La Grande, OR – Union County
August 3 – Portland, OR – Topaz Farm
August 4 – Sisters, OR – The Belfry
August 5 – Carson City, NV – Nashville Social Club
August 6 – Arbuckle, CA – Burgie’s
August 7 – Bakersfield, CA – Pyrenees Cafe
August 9 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley
August 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon
August 11 & 12 – Lake Havasu, AZ – Jermey’s Juke Joint
August 13 – Mesa, AZ – Roosters Country
August 25 – Kingsbury, TX – 1281 Sherrill Rd
August 26 – New Braunfels, TX – Riley’s Tavern
September 8 – Driftwood, TX – Wings Over
September 22 – La Grange, TX – Bugle Boy
September 23 – Boerne, TX – Salvador DOBBS
September 30 – Red River, NM – Motherlode Saloon
November 25 – New Braunfels, TX – Riley’s Tavern

 

New album release: Little Songs by Colter Wall

Colter Wall’s new album Little Songs will be out July 14, 2023. Photo: Google

Colter Wall and his music are from the prairies of southern Saskatchewan, where he lives and works. He is a La Honda Records/RCA Records recording artist and has appeared abroad, including Austin City Limits and most recently at the Ponoka Stampede. “Evangelina” is the first release from Wall’s upcoming album, Little Songs which is due out on July 14 via Wall’s longtime label La Honda Records and new partner RCA Records. On Little Songs, Wall’s fans will find the same hardscrabble voice they have loved over the years connecting the contemporary world to the values, hardships, and celebrations of rural life. The ten-song LP features eight originals inspired by—and written in—Wall’s home of Battle Creek, Saskatchewan, along with a Hoyt Axton cut and a cover of Ian Tyson’s “The Coyote & The Cowboy.” (IV-PR, 2023)

“Evangelina,” originally written and recorded by Hoyt Axton, paints a thirsty picture of longing and half-laid plans to chase down a lost love; all backed up by a band steeped in the traditional sounds of Wall’s prairie homelands. Fans can hear “Evangelina” at this link and pre-order or pre-save Little Songs ahead of its July 14 release right here. Wall is also gearing up for two rare live appearances at Denver’s Dusty Boots festival on July 1 and Montana’s Under The Big Sky on July 14. More information and tickets are available online. 

With his longtime touring band, Wall returned to Yellowdog Studios in Wimberly, Texas, where he cut his 2020, Billboard-charting album, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs, to track the ten tunes that make up Little Songs. With co-producer Patrick Lyons, Wall tracked eight original songs and two fan-favorite covers from Ian Tyson and Hoyt Axton. Little Songs is an upbeat, sometimes somber glimpse into the rural work and social life of the Canadian West, and, more so than with previous albums, opens emotional turns as mature and heartening as the resonant baritone voice writing them.

This release of new music follows the recent partnership between Wall’s longtime label La Honda Records and RCA Records, with Little Songs as the first album on the joint venture. Prior to the new album, Wall released two standalone singles—“Cypress Hills and the Big Country” and a cover of Cowboy Jack Clement’s “Let’s All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)”—as well as the 2020 LP Western Swings & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs and Colter Wall and the Scary Prairie Boys’ Live In Front Of Nobody, a 2021 livestream, full-band show turned indie record store, vinyl-only release–a coveted and limited release. 

Little Songs track list:
Prairie Evening/Sagebrush Waltz
Standing Here
Corralling The Blues
The Coyote & The Cowboy
Honky Tonk Nighthawk
For a Long While
Cow/Calf Blue Yodel
Little Songs
Evangelina
The Last Loving Words

1689331887

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Little Songs release date