John Hiatt Finds Harmonic Energy On Eclipse-Inspired New Album

John Hiatt is set to release his first new album in four years with The Eclipse Sessions, due out Oct. 12 on New West Records. The 11-track set was produced by Kevin McKendree and features Hiatt’s longtime drummer Kenneth Blevins and bassist Patrick O’Hearn, as well as Yates McKendree, who also engineered.

Hiatt places The Eclipse Sessions alongside two of his other notable works — 1987’s mainstream breakthrough Bring the Family, which sprung from an impulsive four-day session with an all-star combo led by Ry Cooder, and 2000’s Crossing Muddy Waters, an unplanned and largely unplugged effort that garnered a Grammy Award nomination and set Hiatt on the rootsier path he’s still pursuing today. “The three albums are very connected in my mind,” Hiatt says. “They all have a vibe to them that was unexpected. I didn’t know where I was going when I started out on any of them. And each one wound up being a pleasant surprise.”

True to its title, Hiatt and his band were hard at work on August 21st, 2017 when a solar eclipse traveled the length of the U.S. “I think we recorded three songs that day, and then we took a break to go outside and watch everything happen,” Hiatt says. “It seemed everything stopped for a minute or two. It was like a magical little bit of time, a harmonic convergence or something. Like everybody was on the same page.”

The Eclipse Sessions will be available across digital platforms, and on CD, vinyl, as well as a limited split metallic & white vinyl edition available at independent retailers. The album is available for pre-order now.

Hiatt has also announced his initial tour dates in support of The Eclipse Sessions, which launch Saturday, October 20th in New Orleans, LA at the House of Blues. Preceding The Eclipse Sessions Tour, John Hiatt and The Goners featuring Sonny Landreth will perform live dates throughout August celebrating the 30th anniversary of his 1998 album, Slow Turning.

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Lorie Hollabaugh

Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at [email protected].

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