Coming to Hugh’s Room on Friday, April 17 is singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer Gary Louris. He has built a deeply compelling body of music whose artistry and integrity has won the loyalty of an international audience and the respect of both critics and peers. Best known for his seminal work with The Jayhawks and Minneapolis rockabilly group
Safety Last, he has also worked with alt-rock supergroup Golden Smog. Gary's most recent recording, the largely autobiographical Dark Country, was released by Sham/Thirty Tigers in February 2025 and includes the song "Listening To Bobby Charles" which he performs following revealing interviews for WMOT-FM and The Current below.
Jayhawks mainman Gary Louris discusses moving to Canada after playing a few tunes from his new Dark Country album below.
Gary Louris Live at Hugh's Room
296 Broadview Avenue
Tuesday, April 22
8 pm to 10:40 pm (doors at 7 pm)
$35 in advance, $42 at the door
$15 Arts Worker/ Underemployed/ Student
Now making his home in Canada, singer/songwriter and producer Gary Louris of the Jayhawks is returning to Toronto for a show at Hugh’s Room on Tuesday (April 22). He has built a compelling body of music whose artistry and integrity has won the loyalty of an international audience and the respect of both critics and peers. Best known for his seminal work with The Jayhawks, he has also worked with alt-rock supergroup Golden Smog which at various times has included members of Soul Asylum, Uncle Tupelo, the Replacements and Big Star. Gary also formed the band Au Pair with Old Ceremony singer/guitarist Django Haskins in 2015 and apparently released an album that same year called "One Armed Candy Bear."
For Gary's highly anticipated Hugh's Room show on Tuesday (April 22), he'll be performing the songs from his great new solo album Dark Country (which you can check out via your platform of choice right here) and likely a selection of faves from his deep catalog. Get tickets right here. Watch a solo performance for WMOT's 30A Songwriters Sessions followed by an interview with Jessie Scott, a video for "Two Birds" and a few clips from Gary's show at The Loft in NYC last month.
Omnivore marks the 25th anniversary of the Kelly Willis classic "What I Deserve" with an overdue vinyl issue boasting five bonus live tracks!
Here's the scoop from Omnivore HQ...
25th Anniversary expanded edition available on CD and for the first time on vinyl. Both formats include 5 live bonus tracks.
While gigging in Austin, Texas, in the late 1980s, Kelly Willis developed a strong fan base. Among her fans were other Texas musicians like Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith. Griffith introduced her to producer Tony Brown who signed Willis to MCA Records. Soon, she would find herself in the films Thelma And Louise and Bob Roberts, as well as receiving a nomination as Top New Female Vocalist at 1993’s Academy of Country Music Awards. After three records on MCA, and an EP on A&M, Willis finished her fifth release and signed with Rykodisc, who released What I Deserve in 1999.
Featuring originals by Willis, three co-writes with The Jayhawks’ Gary Louris, and songs by Paul Kelly, Paul Westerberg, Nick Drake, Dan Penn, and more—What I Deserve became her highest charting album to date, hitting #30 on the Country charts and #24 on Heatseekers Albums. It is also now revered as a landmark release in Alternative Country and Americana circles—with good reason.
To celebrate its 25th Anniversary, What I Deserve returns—expanded with five previously unissued live performances of songs from the album recorded November 14, 1999 on Mountain Stage. In addition to an expanded CD reissue, the release sees its first appearance on vinyl as a double LP! In addition to the 17 tracks (appearing on both formats), the packaging contains lyrics and new liner notes from Peter Blackstock (No Depression, Austin American-Statesman), all done with Kelly’s approval.
What I Deserve has always deserved another look and listen for those who may have missed it the first time—what you deserve is to lose yourself in Kelly Willis’ incredible What I Deserve and celebrate 25 years of this landmark album. Pre-order a copy of Omnivore's expanded reissue of What I Deserve directly from the label right here.
Watch the release trailer and a couple of Kelly's performances of songs from the album (including a lovely rendition of Nick Drake's "Time Has Told Me" from a Sessions at West 54th show back in 2000), a more recent Live at the Levitt stream, a 1992 appearance with Jerry Jeff Walker on The Texas Connection and an informal chat about nothing in particular with fellow singer/songwriter Jack Ingram from 2022 below.
"Almost Home" – which began as a jingle idea – is off the new Gary Louris album, Jump For Joy out June 4 via Thirty Tigers.
Here's the scoop...
The new Gary Louris single “Almost Home” is the latest song off his forthcoming solo album Jump For Joy, which releases June 4 via Sham/Thirty Tigers. The catchy, bouncy new single is accompanied by a music video Louris made himself.
“‘Almost Home’ started out as a jingle idea for a phone company, it was just the catchy chorus,” says Louris. “When the client didn’t use it, I wrote the verses and then it was a real song, and I’m glad they passed on it. It’s a story of travel and longing.”
His first solo release since Vagabonds in 2008, Jump For Joy includes 10 never-before-released songs written, performed and produced entirely by Louris himself, as well as cover art illustrated by his son, Henry Louris.
Acclaimed musician, singer, songwriter and producer Gary Louris has built a deeply compelling body of work over the last three decades. He is the lead singer/songwriter of seminal band The Jayhawks, and one of the founding members of alt-rock supergroup Golden Smog, which has included members of Soul Asylum, Wilco, The Replacements and Big Star. Louris has also produced records and contributed songs to GRAMMY Award-winning albums by Tedeschi Trucks Band and The Chicks, and recorded with a diverse group of acts including The Black Crowes, Uncle Tupelo, Joe Henry, Counting Crows, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, Roger McGuinn, Nickel Creek and The Wallflowers.
Jump For Joy follows The Jayhawks’ 2020 release XOXO, which garnered high praise from press including HuffPost, Billboard, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, BrooklynVegan and more. The new album is available for pre-order right here.
Check the album's track list following Gary's video for "Almost Home".
The Jayhawks' Gary Louris covers "Kiss Me, Miss Liberty" for The Good Lyre benefit album in support of Sweet Relief out April 2.
Here's the scoop from Wes...
"In tenth place, but only alphabetically, on THE GOOD LYRE is Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, doing Kiss Me Miss Liberty!
"Gary, my comrade-in-dressing-rooms-and-record-stores, is one of my favourite friends in music-making, his band The Jayhawks one of my favourite bands and perhaps America’s finest. I was lucky enough to make my most recent album with them - they are beloved of all British men with taste (including Sir Ray Davies). Someone requested this particular song, "Kiss me Miss Liberty," from JWH's New Deal recorded by the entire band and while that seemed a little ambitious in these days of spatial distancing, I thought we might get as close as possible. Gary pointed out that “I can’t face confinement anymore” has special new meaning now; mind you, he also thought I was singing “policemen” rather than “fall leaves” in the first verse. Glad we ironed that out. He also thought the melody bore more than a passing resemblance to his 2000’s song In The Canyon so I was relieved that mine was written years earlier!
"I also now remember that, it may have been Gary who got this thing going in my head. Because when someone suggested this song by The Jayhawks, I remember thinking: "Hey, that could actually happen!" And I think that's what started this off. So thank you.
"Please pass knowledge of The Good Lyre on to your friends (this has become known, recently, as "sharing") and into the beyond because that is how we will make the most possible money for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund - who receive 100% of the profits - when we release on Bandcamp 4/2!
Various Artists - The Good Lyre: Songs of John Wesley Harding
1. Ryan Miller - Your Ghost (Don’t Scare Me No More)
2. Eric Bazilian - The Person You Are
3. Tanya Donelly - The World (and All its Problems)
Gary Louris and crew are back with XOXO. Watch The Jayhawks perform three songs from the album in St. Paul below.
Here's the scoop...
Against tall odds, The Jayhawks 11th studio album XOXO was released via Sham/Thirty Tigers on July 10th. Recorded in late 2019 at Pachyderm and Flowers Studios in Minnesota, XOXO represents a bold step forward. For the first time, all four members – guitarist Gary Louris, bassist Marc Perlman, keyboardist Karen Grotberg and drummer Tim O'Reagan – contribute writing and lead vocal duties. XOXO is the most diverse and wide-ranging in the group’s storied history. Rather than marking a sonic departure, though, the collection signals a sharpening of focus for the band, an elevation in understanding of who they are and what they do best. In classic Jayhawks fashion, the songs here mix the influence of American roots music with British invasion and jangly power-pop, but there’s a newfound vitality at play, as well, an invigoration of confidence and energy that could only come with the injection of fresh blood. The result is an album that, much like the band’s lush harmonies, brings multiple distinctive voices together into a singular whole, a collection that, ironically enough, finds unity in individuality and identity in reinvention. Watch The Jayhawks perform the lead off track "This Forgotten Town," "Living In Bubble" and "Bitter Pill" followed by the track listing. Get The Jayhawks' XOXO right here.
The Jayhawks – XOXO
1. THIS FORGOTTEN TOWN (Perlman/Louris/O’Reagan)
2. DOGTOWN DAYS (O’Reagan)
3. LIVING IN A BUBBLE (Louris)
4. RUBY (Grotberg)
5. HOMECOMING (Louris)
6. SOCIETY PAGES (O’Reagan)
7. ILLUMINATE (Perlman/Louris/O’Reagan)
8. BITTER PILL (Louris/O’Reagan/Grotberg)
9. ACROSS MY FIELD (Grotberg)
10. LITTLE VICTORIES (Louris/O’Reagan)
11. DOWN TO THE FARM (Perlman)
12. LOOKING UP YOUR NUMBER (O’Reagan)
Bonus tracks:
13. JEWEL OF THE TRIMBELLE (Grotberg)
14. THEN YOU WALKED AWAY (Louris)
15. HYPOCRITE’S LAMENT (Perlman/Louris)
All 15 tracks are on the first pressing CDs. First pressing LPs include a free CD with all 15 tracks. The 3 bonus tracks will only be available with the first pressings of the CD and LP releases.
Here are a few clips of Gary Louris and his iconic Minneapolis alt-country crew The Jayhawks in action over the years... and a little Golden Smog.
The Jayhawks on the road NOV 21 - Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, Canada w/ Harrow Fair
NOV 22 - Town Ballroom - Buffalo, NY w/ Harrow Fair
NOV 23 - Music Box Supper Club - Cleveland, OH w/ Harrow Fair
NOV 24 - The Magic Bag - Ferndale, MI w/ Harrow Fair
DEC 21 - Palace Theatre - Saint Paul, MN
MAR 5 - Center for the Arts of Homer - Homer, NY
MAR 6 & 7 - Brooklyn Bowl - New York, NY
MAR 8 - Academy Of Music Theatre - Northampton, MA
APR 16 - Englert Theatre - Iowa City, IA
APR 17 - Turner Hall Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI
MAY 6 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
MAY 7 - Sam's Burger Joint - San Antonio, TX
MAY 8 & 9 - 3TEN ACL Live - Austin, TX
JUNE 18 - Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA
JUNE 20 & 21 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA
Here's the press release...
On April 21st, Ray Davies will release Americana, his first new album in over nine years via Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. The 15-track collection of originals serves as a master-crafted return for one of the most acclaimed and iconic songwriters of the past 50 years, and follows Davies’ 2013 memoir of the same name, using the book as both source material and creative catalyst. Davies enlisted The Jayhawks as backing band, and recorded the album in London at Konk, the studio founded by The Kinks in 1973.
Americana was written, conceived, and arranged, by Davies, and co-produced with Guy Massey and John Jackson. The album is an autobiographical work, chronicling the inextricable role America has played in Davies’ life. From his earliest days touring the U.S. with the Kinks and subsequent blacklisting by the American Musicians Union, to his years playing stadiums and eventually settling in New York and New Orleans for a time, America has served as both muse and tempest to Davies.
The songs on Americana dig into the rich American musical tapestry, through the lens of Davies’ own wholly unique American experience. The music swerves from the open-road manifesto of “The Great Highway,” to a delicate duet with The Jayhawks’ Karen Grotberg on “Message From The Road,” to “Poetry,” which offers a vital reminder of Davies’ ability to spin small detail into penetrating truth. The album also features a number of short spoken-word passages from Davies’ memoir. A second volume to Americana will be a released later in 2017.
Listen to the song “Poetry” courtesy of NPR's All Songs Considered...
Americana will be released on CD, LP and digitally and is available for pre-order now right here
Tracklisting:
1. Americana
2. The Deal
3. Poetry
4. Message From The Road
5. A Place In Your Heart
6. The Mystery Room
7. Silent Movie
8. Rock 'N’ Roll Cowboys
9. Change For Change
10. The Man Upstairs
11. I’ve Heard That Beat Before
12. A Long Drive Home To Tarzana
13. The Great Highway
14. The Invaders
15. Wings Of Fantasy
Some good news for Caitlin Rose fans, her new studio album The Stand-In is finished and scheduled for release by ATO Records on March 5, 2013. The much anticipated follow-up to her promising but under-performing debut Own Side Now, The Stand-In includes two songs co-written with Gary Louris and a cover of the Felice Brothers' Dallas. Here's the press release followed by the fab first song from the sessions to be released, No One To Call:
Still only 25, the scope of Caitlin Rose's progression as an artist is palpable from the outset, and she happily concurs. “This album could be considered my first attempt at a high kick,” Rose says, acknowledging Own Side Now as a much more small scale and pared down recording. “We're not aiming to make indie-sounding records. How boring would that be?”
Incorporating classic influences from her Nashville roots with a modern pop twist, Caitlin's vocals soar over lyrics that seem to possess the wisdom of an old soul. It was a daunting endeavor to follow up Own Side Now, the brilliant debut that landed her on countless year- end best of lists, including Time Magazine’s # 7 Albums of 2011, American Songwriter’s Top 50, CMT’s 10 Most Overlooked Albums and SPIN’s 20 Best Country and Americana Albums, but Rose has delivered a masterpiece that promises the type of career longevity that most young artists can only dream of attaining.
Crafted with Nashville producers Jordan Lehning and Skylar Wilson (Justin Townes Earle), featuring two songs co-written with Gary Louris (The Jayhawks), The Stand-In came together and took form as a team effort, strengthened by a longtime friendship with band mates Jeremy Fetzer and Spencer Cullum.
Inspired by classic country musicians, misunderstandings, break ups, mystical landmarks and the constantly evolving landscape of the Nashville music scene,
The Stand-In is an ambitious record, a testament to Rose's bold approach and strength as a songwriter. With a trademark punch that the New York Times once likened to a young “Patsy Cline learning to howl”, Rose’s fiery disposition shines through on rollicking tracks like “No One To Call” and “Waitin’,” songs that possess a huge sound and a whole lot of character. Never the type to be one-dimensional, Rose wears her heart on her sleeve on candid serenades like “I Was Cruel” and sentimental ballads like “Pink Champagne” or “When I’m Gone.”
And true to form, Rose includes a brilliant cover on The Stand-In, this time of The Felice Brothers’ single, “Dallas.”
When evaluating Rose’s historic love affair with reinventing classic songs, the term “cover” seems like a bit of an understatement. With her past renditions of songs like Fleetwood Mac’s “Things Change” and Arctic Monkeys’ “Piledriver Waltz”, Rose demonstrates an undeniable knack for choosing unexpected gems that result in a unique interpretation that can stand up to the original.
As Rose noted, “I’ve got a big personality when there’s room for it.”
Unlikely as it may seem, the Dead Oceans label has announced that they will be releasing a new studio album from legendary UK singer/songwriter Bill Fay on August 21. There have been a couple of somewhat patchy collections of demos and outtakes over the past decade – notably Wooden Hill's From The Bottom Of An Old Grandfather Clock issued in 2004 and the Jnana Records double disc collection Still Some Light from 2010 – but the new Bill Fay recording Life Is People will be his first proper studio set since his 1971 classic Time Of The Last Persecution for Deram (which Esoteric reissued in 2008).
Fay's first two deep and dark solo album's, his self-titled 1970 debut for Decca's Nova subsidiary and Time Of The Last Persecution are both highly prized artifacts, coveted by a small but ardent community of freak-folk fanatics and a largely uncredited touchstone for the 90s Americana movement. Both Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and the Jayhawks' Gary Louris have drawn inspiration from Fay's early masterworks while Jim O'Rourke, Ben Chasny of Six Organs Of Admittance and David Tibet of Current 93 are also Bill Fay fan club members. So the appearance of album's worth of new Bill Fay material is really good news and it'll be fantastic news if it's actually good. Here's hoping!
Have a look at the Dead Oceans press release:
Bill Fay is one of England’s best kept secrets – a genuine national treasure and we are delighted to release what we believe is his true masterpiece. Titled Life is People, the new record is Fay’s first properly crafted studio album since 1971 and it’s out on August 21.
Back at the dawn of the 1970s, Fay was a one-man song factory, with a piano that spilled liquid gold and a voice every bit the equal of Ray Davies, John Lennon, early Bowie, or Procol Harum’s Gary Brooker. He made two solo albums but quickly disappeared from the music scene, leaving his LPs and his reputation to become cult items, namedropped by the likes of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Jim O’Rourke. But he never stopped dreaming, the music kept on coming. Now, in his late sixties, he has produced a record that shows his profoundly humanist vision is as strong as it ever was.
And it’s a stunning return to form. The lush and expansive effect is completed by a cello, string quartet and a gospel choir, electric organs and pianos and a rich weave of acoustic and electric guitars. Ranging from intimate to cosmic, epic but never grandiose, Bill’s deeply committed music reminds you of important, eternal truths, and the lessons to be drawn from the natural world, when the materiality and greed threaten to engulf everything.
PRAISE FOR BILL FAY
“I can’t think of anyone whose records have meant more in my life.” - Jeff Tweedy
“Each one of the records Bill Fay has put out in four decades is different, and each is indispensable. His graceful melodies, elegantly plain lyrics, and mystical tenderness towards all life move me like little else does. He is rock music’s conscience.” - Will Sheff
