Butch Walker announces new album and drops first song

Thursday, June 9, 2016 - 20:38

submitted by

Thomas

Butch Walker announced today that his 8th studio album “Stay Gold” will be released on August 26 via Dangerbird Records. The album will be available for pre-order today as well. In addition, Walker will set out on a North American tour with openers The Wind and The Wave and Suzanne Santo kicking off on August 17th at Orlando's The Social. You can find all the tour dates below along with the album’s first song, “East Coast Girl”.

As a writer of dozens of songs with hooks that stick in your head, Rolling Stone has called Walker, "one of America's best singer-songwriters," as he has penned choruses you want to sing (or shout) along to from acts including Frank Turner, Brian Fallon, Taylor Swift, and many more. He is a teller of authentic stories of exploits and predicaments and romance that are filled with optimism; builder of albums with no boundaries - rock, pop, Americana, singer-songwriter…or, as he says, “I think it’s all just rock & roll.”

This album is a celebration. In Butch’s words, “After coming out of the “Afraid Of Ghosts” album cycle and tour where, at the risk of sounding ridiculous, I spent a lot of time on stage bawling my eyes out, I felt a very calm sense of peace. Like I’d done what I needed to do to get it outta my system. Every song that came after that was almost a nostalgic, celebratory...for lack of a better word - 'jam.' And the songs just kept coming to me, which was good because that’s not always the case!”

The stories on Stay Gold are very well fleshed out, something Butch credits to “growing up on some of those dudes - Elton John and the (Bernie) Taupin lyrics, Springsteen and Joel." It kicks off with the title song, a straight-ahead rocker, loaded with swagger and lyrics that call out native GA locales featuring a nod to the S.E. Hinton novel (and later, a Coppola film), The Outsiders. The lead single "East Coast Girl" and "Mexican Coke" are inspired by Walker's move to Los Angeles, the former effectively combining an anthemic chorus with spoken verses, recorded conversationally on an iPhone. The writerly eye for detail is apparent in one of Stay Gold's standout tracks, "Wilder In The Heart", describing an airport meeting with a girlfriend.

Tour Dates:

08/17 - Orlando, FL @ The Social*^ - http://ticketf.ly/28lpKdn

08/18 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club*^ - http://ticketf.ly/1Zz3l6t

08/19 - Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom*^ - http://tktwb.tw/1Ya8cMu

08/20 - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle*^ - http://bit.ly/1PhW4Ca

08/22 - Charleston, SC @ The Pour House*^ - http://bit.ly/25N2S4n

08/23 - Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre*^ - http://bit.ly/22QTOcX

08/24 - Washington, DC @ U-Street Music Hall*^ - http://ticketf.ly/1swq0FH

08/26 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of Living Arts*^ - http://bit.ly/1UBndkT

08/27 - Asbury Park, NJ @ House of Independence*^ - http://tktwb.tw/1rdDvJn

08/29 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza*^ - http://bit.ly/1OdMncX

09/01 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair*^ - http://bit.ly/1VN6xw1