Today, acclaimed singer/songwriter Rhett Miller announced A lifetime of riding by night, his tenth studio album that will be released on October 10 via ATO Records. Produced by his Old 97’s bandmate Murry Hammond, the 13-song collection was recorded just days before undergoing a high-risk surgery on his vocal cords. Threaded with his lived-in reflection on mortality and love in all forms, the album contains some of Miller’s most unguarded material yet—an achievement he attributes to revelations gleaned through his recent work in teaching songwriting at The New School in Manhattan, as well as the eclectic lineup of co-writers including Turnpike Troubadours frontman Evan Felker, Caitlin Rose, Nicole Atkins, and Jesse Valenzuela of Gin Blossoms. The album is now available for pre-order, including a limited edition vinyl run of 300 copies pressed on frosted Coke bottle, available only via Rhett Miller’s and ATO’s webstore.

This morning, Miller released the album’s first single “Come As You Are” that features Evan Felker, who also co-wrote the song, on background vocals. Miller has also announced a national album release tour that will kick off this October and make stops in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Dallas, St. Paul and many more. Find a full list of tour dates below or visit his website.

Watch the official video for “Come As You Are.”

About the song, Miller explains, “That song came together at a time when Evan and I were both wrestling with the difficulty of leaving our loved ones behind to go on tour. It’s a sweet song but there’s a sadness to it, which feels reflective of the true human condition. Evan’s band Turnpike Troubadours recorded a version of the song a few years back as a single, but it’s always been in my mind that I wanted to record my own version of the song. Despite it being a co-write, ‘Come As You Are’ feels like a really personal moment. That said, I get a tickle out of hearing Evan’s harmony on there – he’s such a talented guy and a great friend.”

Evan Felker adds, “Rhett has been a never-ending source of inspiration and wit and humility for my career and for the times when I didn’t have one. He writes with a passion for the world that is as reckless as it is correct and smart. Whatever deal he made with the devil, I want that one too. He’s the prime example of why you should meet your heroes.”

Mainly recorded at Dave’s Room in Los Angeles, the album marks Miller’s first time enlisting Hammond as a producer since his solo debut album Mythologies (a 1989 LP created when he was 17-years-old). “Murry was a mentor to me when we made that first record all those decades ago, and this album felt like the right time to work with him in that capacity again,” Miller says. “I gave him carte blanche in a way I never have with any other producer—we went in and recorded 20 songs, and I flew home to New York without even knowing which songs he’d end up using or what the finished versions would sound like. I just let go and trusted Murry completely.”

His first solo effort since 2022’s The Misfit (an extravagant collision of dream-pop and psychedelia), A lifetime of riding by night centers on a gorgeously sparse form of folk/indie-rock that reveals every nuance and idiosyncrasy of Miller’s vocal performance. “There’s a lot of terrifying stories about the type of surgery I received, and I wanted to record the album first because I knew the worst outcomes were on the table,” he says. “I was in a lot of physical pain as I was singing these songs; there are moments when you can hear me really struggling. But as much as I thought about going back and re-recording the vocals once I’d recovered, I knew those imperfections were part of the DNA of the record. To me there’s something very human about a singer trying to sing the best he can despite being compromised.”

A lifetime of riding by night follows Old 97’s 2024 album American Primitive that celebrated their 30th anniversary. The album was featured in Rolling Stone, SPIN, BrooklynVegan, Texas Monthly and AllMusic, who proclaimed, “Most bands don’t sound as fresh, confident, and willing to take chances three decades into their career as the Old 97’s do on American Primitive; they’ve quietly but firmly matured into one of America’s best roots rock acts.” The band also made their return to network television to perform three songs on CBS Saturday Morning.

A lifetime of riding by night tracklist:
1) A Little Song (Prologue)
2) All For You
3) Ellie On The Wharf
4) Come As You Are
5) Be Mine
6) People Are Lifted
7) A Little Song (Interlude)
8) The Bells of St. Mike’s
9) All Over Again
10) Time Again
11) A Lifetime of Riding by Night
12) A Little Song
13) Brand New Heart

Tour Dates:
Aug. 24 – Amagansett, NY – The Stephen Talkhouse
Aug. 27 – Pawling, NY – Daryl’s House Club
Sep. 12 – Arlington, TX – Texas Live!
Oct. 2–4 – Halifax, NS, Canada – The Carleton
Oct. 9 – Worcester, MA – Off The Rails
Oct. 10 – Bar Harbor, ME – Criterion Theatre
Oct. 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Largo at the Coronet
Oct. 16 – Ramona, CA – Ramona Mainstage
Oct. 17 – Hermosa Beach, CA – Saint Rocke
Oct. 18 – Fontana, CA – Stage Red
Oct. 20 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
Oct. 21 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley
Oct. 23 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
Oct. 24 – Portland, OR – The Showdown
Oct. 25 – Seattle, WA – Clock-Out Lounge
Oct. 28 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
Nov. 6 – Houston, TX – McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Nov. 8 – Fischer, TX – Devil’s Backbone Tavern
Nov. 9 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
Nov. 12 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
Nov. 13 – Cleveland, OH – Music Box Supper Club
Nov. 14 – Bloomington, IN – Buskirk-Chumley Theater
Nov. 15 – Covington, KY – Madison Theater
Nov. 16 – Bloomington, IL – The Castle Theatre
Nov. 20 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club
Nov. 22 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
Nov. 23 – Tulsa, OK – Mercury Lounge
Dec. 2 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi
Dec. 3 – Madison, WI – Atwood Music Hall
Dec. 4 – Milwaukee, WI – Vivarium
Dec. 5 – Davenport, IA – Raccoon Motel
Dec. 11 – Washington, D.C. – Union Stage
Dec. 12 – Wayne, PA – 118 North
Dec. 14 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern

Philadelphia’s They Are Gutting a Body of Water (TAGABOW) announce their new album, LOTTO, out October 17th via Julia’s War x Smoking Room x ATO Records, a North American tour, and release the new single/video, “trainers.” Haunting spoken-word vignettes hold a warped mirror up to modern life in small town America alongside menacing riffs, soaring leads and whaling distortion. The sound of TAGABOW is defiant. In a world of automated scam calls and AI content optimized to keep us scrolling, LOTTO is the sound of four human musicians in a room.

Watch the Video for “trainers”

TAGABOW began as the solo project of singer Doug Dulgarian, and is now a fully fleshed out band with bassist Emily Lofing, guitarist PJ Carroll, and drummer Ben Opatut. Dulgarian, the son of a dirt track racecar driver, grew up in the Hudson Valley before relocating to Albany for court-mandated rehab in 2010. Soon after getting clean in 2013, he attended his first house show. Inspired by this community of musicians self-releasing and organizing shows in makeshift spaces, he dove into DIY. “I chased that shit like I chased drugs,” he says. “Just being in a band—touring, playing awful fucking shows.”

Hailed by Stereogum as “the most important band in modern shoegaze,” TAGABOW made their name approaching the genre with an experimental edge. Over the years, their extensive DIY touring has earned them a cult following, with fans driving hours for shows and sneaking cell-phone pictures of their pedal boards. Their live show incorporates EDM interludes, drawing on influences like ’90s drum & bass and N64 soundtracks. They perform on the floor, purposely facing each other. No matter what chaos erupts in the mosh pit around them, TAGABOW looks inward. LOTTO is undoubtedly a live record on tape. A “touching of grass.”

With 2022’s Lucky Styles, TAGABOW leaned into stylistic collage. Their next release, swanlike (loosies 2020 – 2023), continued down the path toward digital texture and manipulation. In writing LOTTO, Dulgarian challenged himself to put his guitar first. By abandoning digital technology and fully embracing the live-band format, LOTTO finds TAGABOW attempting to correct the course in a personal way. “In a world of perpetually increasing artifice, this record is my attempt to surface through the sea of false muck,” says Dulgarian. “It’s rife with perceivable mistakes, ebbing and flowing with the most humanity I can place on one record. The more I utilized [technology], the softer I got. I return again and again to that world because it’s more comfortable than my physical body. The dopamine flooding my brain. And in moments of clarity, I am often very aware that we’re currently watching the homogenization of art right before our very eyes. I am afraid that technology and convenience will cure the world of life.”

Following the “rapturous” (Paste) “american food,” “trainers” captures the energy that made TAGABOW a lynchpin of the American underground. The song contains a wall of fuzz under buzzing leads that spiral and sputter out into the ether. Dulgarian calls the song “a vignette, a day in the life; desiring something wholesome while still grappling with the reality presented clearly by my subconscious. I’ve built this life for myself, idealizing escape like we all do, I live in this house built on what I can only perceive to be bad decisions and shame, of comfort and distraction. walk to the store to buy some dumb thing that won’t help, after fantasizing about escaping it all. glance back at the comfort of my house and consider staying outside in the world tonight, because the escape isn’t big enough, it just never is.”

Since 2021, Dulgarian has also headed up his own record label with the groundbreaking Julia’s War. The label has released music from countless artists, including early releases by Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, Feeble Little Horse, and Glixen, proving that Dulgarian’s influence on the scene is not confined to his own musical output. Praising the influence of Julia’s War, The FADER writes that Dulgarian’s taste and philosophy have “inarguably helped shape the sound of indie rock music right now.”

Tickets for TAGABOW’s North American tour are on sale this Friday at 10am local time and can be purchased here. The annual Julia’s War Festival will be held this weekend in Philadelphia at Ukie Club, featuring Chanel Beads, NAH, Draag, MSPAINT, Bedridden, & more. A full lineup, plus can be found below, and tickets can be purchased here.

PRE-ORDER LOTTO

STREAM “trainers”

WATCH “american food” VIDEO

LOTTO TRACKLIST
1. the chase
2. sour diesel
3. trainers
4. chrises head
5. rl stine
6. slow crostic
7. violence iii
8. american food
9. baeside k
10. herpim

TAGABOW TOUR DATES
Thu. October 30 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s
Fri. October 31 – Detroit, MI @ Edgemen Printing
Sat. November 1 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
Sun. November 2 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Underground
Tue. November 4 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
Wed. November 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell
Thu. November 6 – Boise, ID @ Shrine Basement
Fri. November 7 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
Sat. November 8 – Vancouver, BC @ Kingsway Club
Sun. November 9 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
Tue. November 11 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Thu. November 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
Fri. November 14 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
Sat. November 15 – Mesa, AZ @ The Underground
Sun. November 16 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
Tue. November 18 – Austin, TX @ 29th St. Ballroom
Wed. November 19 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
Fri. November 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade: Purgatory
Sat. November 22 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings Barcade
Thu. December 4 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Fri. December 5 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit
Sat. December 6 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Sun. December 7 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
Tue. December 9 – Somerville, MA @ Arts at the Armory
Thu. December 11 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Fri. December 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church

Today, the GRAMMY-winning, OSCAR-nominated Adrian Quesada continues where he left off, carrying forth a mission to celebrate, preserve and reinvent the baroque, eccentric sounds of Latin American balada music from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Out June 27th on ATO Records, the Texas producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and Black Pumas co-founder’s next opus, Boleros Psicodélicos II, is a sequel to 2022’s acclaimed Boleros Psicodélicos LP, and the start of something sprawling, fresh and far more expansive. Like the first Boleros Psicodélicos – which led to performances for Austin City Limits and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, reached cult status and resonated with a global audience of vinyl enthusiasts begging for more – Boleros Psicodélicos II is a deeply personal but profoundly communal album that combines brand new, original music, with reimagined renditions of classic baladas. Just as Boleros Psicodélicos “tapped into an emerging mood in Latin music” (The New York Times), and did “for psychedelic boleros what the Buena Vista Social Club did for the Cuban son” (Rolling Stone), Boleros Psicodélicos II honors a specific moment in time, while introducing a wider world of listeners to a vital and enduring subgenre, in all of its romantic glory.

Produced by Adrian Quesada and Alex Goose (Aaron Frazer, Childish Gambino), Boleros Psicodélicos II increases the music’s intensity, blending harpsichord flourishes, distorted guitar lines, lyrical drama and other bolero signatures with hip-hop elements and heavy grooves that cut through the haze of heartbreak. Across the album’s twelve tracks, collaborations come from a cast of Latin Alternative stars, including Los Angeles singer-songwriter Cuco, pop auteur Angélica Garcia, Chilean singer-songwriter Gepe, Cuban singer Daymé Arocena, Colombian gypsy-jazz combo Monsieur Periné, Chihuahua’s lo-fi troubadour Ed Maverick, Swiss-Ecuadorian duo Hermanos Gutiérrez and more, as well as Puerto Rican vocalist and former Calle 13 member iLe, who reunites with Quesada following their epic “Mentiras con Cariño,” from the first Boleros Psicodélicos. Opening Boleros Psicodélicos II is the mournful yet sumptuous “Ojos Secos” (feat. Cuco), available now.

Pre-order Boleros Psicodélicos II, listen to “Ojos Secos” (feat. Cuco) via ATO Records, and watch the music video, directed by Bobby Astro: HERE 

“I was surprised at how many people knew about Boleros Psicodélicos. In record stores and radio stations, people all over the world were asking me if I was doing a volume two. But I definitely needed another perspective, because I didn’t want to make the same album twice. I gave Alex Goose one of the tracks to see what he could do with it, and the following day sat behind him in the studio and watched him work. It was like handing the project to a hip-hop producer. He kept the essence of it, but made some really bold decisions. I still wanted the album to feel timeless, but I didn’t want to pretend like it was recorded in the ‘70s anymore. I wanted it to play just as loud next to a Bad Bunny record. The first Boleros Psicodélicos was done remotely during the pandemic, and no one was in the studio with me. I had written more songs in that same style, and wanted to give myself the opportunity to expand. I could write a hundred songs in this same vein. It’s just where I’ve been, both sonically and mentally. It’s my favorite place to be.”

-Adrian Quesada

“‘Ojos Secos’ is all about heartbreak,” adds Cuco. “I wanted it to feel like an old bolero, something timeless and romantic.”

In the three years following the first Boleros Psicodélicos, Adrian Quesada released an instrumental noir called Jaguar Sound, created the soundtrack for the film Home Free, toured the world in support of Black Pumas’ Chronicles of a Diamond, and, most recently, earned an Academy Award nomination for his song “Like A Bird,” from A24’s Sing Sing. But having grown up bilingual, living on the Texas/Mexico border city of Laredo, his obsession with Latin American balada music dates back two and a half decades, to when he first discovered a song by Los Pasteles Verdes on one of Austin, TX’s local AM radio stations. Since then, he has worked with everyone from Prince to Los Lobos and Wu-Tang’s GZA, bridging the gap between musical worlds, and extending his influences even further.

This spring, Adrian Quesada will perform music from Boleros Psicodélicos on tour with Hermanos Gutiérrez, with shows including Miami’s Fillmore, Austin’s ACL Live, Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre and more listed below, and on-sale at adrianquesada.net/tour.

Boleros Psicodélicos II Tracklist
Ojos Secos (feat. Cuco)
Bravo (feat. iLe)
No Juego (feat. Angélica Garcia)
Cuatro Vidas (feat. Mireya Ramos)
Afuera (feat. Ed Maverick)
Primos (feat. Hermanos Gutiérrez)
Hoy Que Llueve (feat. Trish Toledo)
Agonía (feat. Monsieur Periné)
Te Vas y Yo Te Dejo (feat. Gepe)
El Diamante
Tu Poder (feat. Natalia Clavier)
No Temeré (feat. Daymé Arocena)

Adrian Quesada Tour Dates
4/3 – Austin, TX – Terrace at the Long Center
5/7 – Miami, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach*
5/9 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater*
5/10 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall*
5/11 – Dallas, TX – Longhorn Ballroom*
5/13 – San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theatre*
5/15 – Tucson, AZ – The Rialto Theatre*
5/16 – San Diego, CA – The Sound*
5/17 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre*
5/20 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater*
5/21 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24*
5/24 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen*

*Adrian Quesada’s Trio Asesino supporting Hermanos Gutiérrez

Today, Pachyman — the musical project of Puerto Rican-born, Los Angeles-based musician Pachy Garcia that’s amassed an international following on the back of a dub reggae sound that pays homage to genre masters like King Tubby and Scientist not only via technique and form but through a kindred pursuit of bleeding edge, boundary-expanding sonics — announces Another Place, his fifth album for ATO Records due out May 23. 

Another Place is Pachyman’s most daring project to-date, one that builds upon its forebears by leaning into the idiosyncratic elements lurking beneath previous projects. In doing so, it synthesizes the myriad scenes that have recontextualized the methods and aesthetics of dub — from pioneering synth-pop weirdos like William Onyeabor and Yellow Magic Orchestra to Basic Channel’s amniotic dub techno — into a sound that, while still anchored in dub reggae’s glorious walls of sound, is undeniably Pachyman’s own.

Pre-order / Pre-save Another Place here. 

Accompanying the album announcement is lead single “Hard To Part,” a skeletal drone-funk workout Pachy describes as “influenced by ESG and so many other sounds of that era that were cut from the same cloth as reggae and dub.” It’s an early contender for 2025’s best one note guitar riff. 

The track doubles as a cowbell-addled ode to Pachy’s adopted hometown of Los Angeles, one made ever the more poignant in the wake of the city coming together to help those impacted by the tragic wildfires of January 2025. Of the “Hard To Part” music video,  Pachy writes:

i’ve learned much from los angeles and its inhabitants, many who are diaspora or migrants. we all come here for some reason, we all find ourselves shedding a past skin and having some sort of rebirth. it’s a city that embraces you even if you try to resist. 

after seeing the fires nearly destroy the city, we decided to scrap the original “hard to part” video idea and shoot a sort of love letter or homage to los angeles.

the locations featured in the video are all places that I frequented or have been part of my commute, places i’ve met people that became lifelong friends, or spots I went to decompress. the sunset dancing shot was taken at one of my favorite places to rest during rides along my most frequented cycling routes.

shot and directed by the giraffe sisters, nicola and juliana, two artists and los angeles natives.”

Watch the video for “Hard To Part” — shot and directed by Los Angeles artists the Giraffe Sisters, Nicola and Juliana — here. 

Recorded, as ever, in his basement studio 333 House, Another Place marks an artistic breakthrough for Pachy. “I was trying to understand who I am as a musician — not just operating in a distinct lineage but how I’ve metabolized and expanded upon it,” Pachy explains. “Who am I behind all of this? It’s a very personal, vulnerable journey. I wanted to build my own world and create these new connections in my brain, incorporating everything: vaporwave, chillwave, soul-jazz, James Brown, Kosmiche musik and krautrock, the driving repetition of drum n bass.”

Another Place delivers on this far-reaching vision. “Berlin” pairs a pastoral, Boards Of Canada-cribbing organ sound with the kind of obscured, textural percussion that might suit a Berghain techno night. “In Love” is a joyful, egg-melting-on-the-sidewalk haze in the vein of Washed Out or Neon Indian. And the Slits-inspired “False Moves” uncovers fresh nuance in what Pachy describes as “a working class, anti-establishment DNA” shared by dub and post-punk music.

Pachyman is preparing to take the alchemical, indelible sound of Another Place around the world. Beginning at the end of February, he’ll be embarking on headlining dates throughout New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and the UK. He’ll also be joining Darkside for select North American dates this spring. Full dates below — keep an eye out for more to be announced later this year.

Another Place
Calor Ahora
In Love
Berlin
SJU
Take Me To Dance
False Moves
Strikes Back
Hard to Part
Another Place
ADSH

Tour Dates
Feb 27: Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
Feb 28: Wellington, NZ @ Meow
March 1: Lyttelton, NZ @ Port Noise Festival
March 2: Hamilton, NZ @ Hamilton Arts Festival
March 5: Sydney, AU @ The Vanguard
March 6: Adelaide, AU @ Summertown Studio
March 7: Melbourne, AU @ Brunswick Music Festival
March 9: Tasmania, AU @ Panama Festival
March 13: Mapleton, AU @ Mapleton Pub
March 14: Brisbane, AU @ Warehouse 25
March 15: Bangalow, AU @ Flo Records Courtyard
April 4: Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater^
April 5: Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre^
April 6: Seattle, WA @ Showbox^
May 21: Hamburg, DE @ Knust
May 23: Stockholm, SE @ Hosoi
May 24: Gothenburg, SE @ Nefertiti
May 25: Copenhagen, DN @ Ideal Bar
May 28: Berlin, DE @ LARK
May 29: Munich, DE @ Import Export
May 30: Zurich, CH @ Moods
May 31: Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
June 1: Utrecht, NL @ De Nijverheid
June 3: Paris, FR @ Le Point Ephémère
June 4: Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin
June 5: London, UK @ Jazz Cafe
June 6: Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade
June 7: Nottingham, UK @ Rough Trade

^ = with Darkside

Follow Pachyman

Facebook // Instagram // Soundcloud // Tiktok // Twitter // Youtube

Acclaimed singer-songwriter-pianist Neal Francis is ringing in the new year with his eagerly anticipated third studio album, Return To Zero, arriving Friday, March 14 via ATO Records. Pre-orders are available now.

Francis’ first full-length studio effort in more than three years and most extravagantly realized work so far, Return To Zero sees the Chicago-based singer-songwriter-pianist creating a beautifully strange entangling of timeless rock ’n’ roll and ’70s-era dance music. Merging supremely heavy guitar riffs with lush and pulsating grooves, Francis constructed the album sans digital programming in keeping with his long-standing devotion to all things analog. The album is heralded by today’s premiere of the gorgeously sprawling power pop anthem, “What’s Left Of Me,” available everywhere now. A piercingly candid reflection on life on the road co-written with chart-topping Nashville-based songwriter Chris Gelbuda (Sabrina Carpenter, Meghan Trainor, Zac Brown Band), the track is accompanied by an official music video streaming now.

“Chris and I are good friends and we got to talking about the challenges of being in a committed relationship while you’re on tour,” says Neal Francis. “A lot of these songs were influenced by Electric Light Orchestra and the way Jeff Lynne synthesizes classical music and pop songwriting, and ‘What’s Left Of Me’ was definitely one where I was going for an ELO vibe.”

 LISTEN TO “WHAT’S LEFT OF ME”

 WATCH “WHAT’S LEFT OF ME” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

PRE-ORDER RETURN TO ZERO

Co-produced by Francis alongside frequent collaborator Sergio Rios and recorded live in the studio with members of his touring band, Return To Zero is further highlighted by the playfully swaggering, deliberately over-the-top confession of romantic desperation, “Back It Up,” joined by an official music video directed by Alec Basse and streaming now.

LISTEN TO “BACK IT UP”

WATCH “BACK IT UP” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

Hailed by SPIN as “a mesmerizing performer,” Francis will celebrate Return To Zero with an epic international tour schedule that will see him traversing the globe through 2025 and beyond, with full details to be announced soon. The first leg of North American headline dates begins March 20th in Cleveland, OH, and continues through mid-April. A pair of Japanese headline shows will be followed by a second US headline run, getting underway May 7 on the West Coast. In addition, Francis will also bring his show-stopping live set to an array of festivals around the world, beginning this weekend at Bobby Weir’s annual Dead Ahead in Riviera Cancun, Mexico (January 9-13), followed by Byron Bay, Australia’s famed Byron Bay Bluesfest (April 17-20), a two-night stand at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival set for New Orleans, LA’s historic Tipitina’s (May 2-3), and Denver, CO’s Outside Festival (May 31). Additional dates will be announced. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.nealfrancis.com/tour.

 # # #

NEAL FRANCIS – TOUR 2025

JANUARY

9-13 – Riviera Cancun, Mexico – Dead Ahead *

MARCH

20 – Cleveland, OH
21 – Pittsburgh, PA
22 – Toronto, ON
26 – Boston, MA
27 – New York, NY
28 – Philadelphia, PA
29 – Portland, ME

APRIL

1 – Raleigh, NC
2 – Charleston, SC
3 – Asheville, NC
4 – Atlanta, GA
5 – Nashville, TN
8 – Oklahoma City, OK
9 – Kansas City, MO
10 – St. Louis, MO
11 – Louisville, KY
12 – Indianapolis, IN
17-20 – Byron Bay, Australia – Byron Bay Bluesfest *
24 – Tokyo, JP – Shibuya Club Quattro
25 – Osaka, JP – Umeda Shangrila

MAY

2 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival @ Tipitina’s *
3 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival @ Tipitina’s *
7 – Solana Beach, CA
8 – Los Angeles, CA
10 – Stateline, NV
13 – Chico, CA
15 – Bend, OR
16 – Portland, OR
17 – Seattle, WA
31 – Denver, CO – Outside Festival *

* Festival Appearance

# # #

NEAL FRANCIS
RETURN TO ZERO
(ATO Records)
Release Date: Friday, March 14, 2025 

Download Hi-Res Artwork

Tracklist:
Need You Again
Don’t Wait
Broken Glass
Back It Up
What’s Left Of Me
150 More Times
Dance Through Life
Dirty Little Secret
Already Gone
Can’t Get Enough
Return To Zero

# # #

ABOUT NEAL FRANCIS:

Neal Francis’s music is an intoxicating blend of funk, soul, and rock that evokes the glory days of the late 60s and 70s but is undeniably fresh. Francis has been making music at the piano since the age of four, sitting in with countless Chicago bands as a teenager before setting out on his own solo career. His 2019 debut album, Changes, swiftly drew lavish applause, hailed as “the reincarnation of Allen Toussaint” by BBC Radio 6 and lauded by KCRW, which raved, “What do Dr. John, Leon Russell and boogie woogie piano have in common? Neal Francis is the answer.”

Francis’s acclaimed second LP, In Plain Sight, followed in 2021. Highlighted by the top 5 Americana radio favorite, “Can’t Stop The Rain,” the album once again earned international praise from such publications as MOJO, which wrote, “Francis digs deep on guileless rock and soul with bold flourishes, a la Lowell George or Randy Newman.” A wide range of prestigious accolades also followed, including a 2022 Americana Music Honors & Awards nomination for “Emerging Act of the Year” as well as top Libera Awards nominations in both 2022 and 2024.

A remarkably gifted live performer, Francis has sold out headline shows across the globe, shared the stage with Wilco and members of The Meters, supported the likes of My Morning Jacket, Marcus King, and Black Pumas, appeared at major festivals such as Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock, Newport Folk, Bourbon & Beyond, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and Lollapalooza, lit up  CBS This Morning with an electrifying three-song “Saturday Sessions,” and even performed at historic venues like Carnegie Hall. The dazzling power of Francis’s energetic live performances was officially captured for posterity with 2023’s double live album and concert film, Francis Comes Alive, which GRAMMY.com noted “could’ve been cut in 1973 or 2023 — as if The Band, The Meters, Wings and Dr. John had become unstuck in time.”

CONNECT WITH NEAL FRANCIS

NEALFRANCIS.COM | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE