Dan Auerbach Releases Second Solo Album, ‘Waiting On A Song,’ Launches Nashville Label

The Black Keys producer, guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach has released his second solo album, Waiting On A Song, today (June 2). The album follows his 2009 solo effort, Keep It Hid.

The album, which Auerbach calls a love letter to Nashville, releases on his new Nashville label, Easy Eye Sound, which shares a name with his Nashville studio, where his band The Black Keys recorded their last two albums. The new label will be distributed by Auerbach’s longtime label Nonesuch Records.

For Waiting On A Song, Auerbach recruited some of Nashville’s top players for the project, including John Prine, Duane Eddy, Jerry Douglas, Pat McLaughlin, Bobby Wood and the Memphis Boys’ Gene Chrisman.

Auerbach moved from his native Akron, Ohio to Nashville in 2010. In 2016, he took time off from touring with The Black Keys and The Arcs, to soak in the sights and sounds of his longtime home in Music City, collaborating with many of Nashville’s top musicians.

“They’d come over, and we’d be in a little room in my house with the door closed, and we’d just write,” said Auerbach. “Monday through Wednesday we’d write, and then Thursday through Sunday we’d record, every week.”

Auerbach wrote seven songs with Prine, including the title track of the album. Mark Knopfler‘s signature guitar sounds are heard on “Shine on Me,” while Eddy is featured on “Livin’ in Sin” and the cinematic “King of a One Horse Town.”

“Living in Nashville has definitely changed the way I think about music and the way that I record it,” continued Auerbach. “I didn’t have all of these resources before. I am working with some of the greatest musicians that ever lived.

“Sometimes I feel I created my own Field of Dreams. I built the studio because I knew something was going to happen. I built it to accommodate live musicians playing, and then all of a sudden the best musicians in Nashville show up, and it’s happening.”

To celebrate, Auerbach performed a secret show at Nashville’s Station Inn on May 31.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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