Rodney Crowell Preps ‘The Chicago Sessions’ For May

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Rodney Crowell. Photo: Claudia Church

Rodney Crowell is releasing a new album, The Chicago Sessions, on May 5 via New West Records, and has shared the video for the album highlight “Loving You Is the Only Way to Fly.”

Produced by Jeff Tweedy and recorded at Wilco’s Loft in Chicago, the 10-song collection touches on everything from love and mortality to race and religion. While most of The Chicago Sessions consists of newly-written material, Crowell revisits two tracks from the 1970s. The first, “You’re Supposed to Be Feeling Good,” is a Crowell original that was recorded by Emmylou Harris on her 1977 Luxury Liner record. The second, Townes Van Zandt’s “No Place to Fall,” has always held a special place in Crowell’s heart.

“The first time I heard that song, Townes was sitting across the table from me at Guy and Susanna Clark’s house,” Crowell recalls. “He said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a new song for you,’ and it’s been imprinted on my psyche ever since. I wanted to record it as an homage to somebody that I learned a lot about songwriting from.”

Crowell previously released the video for the album’s first single, “Everything at Once,” which features footage from The Loft during recording. A co-write with Tweedy, the song walks a tightrope between hope and despair as it wrestles with overstimulation in an overcrowded world.

Additionally, Crowell has announced his tour dates in support of The Chicago Sessions. Launching May 2 in New York City at Sony Hall, the initial run features stops at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago and Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas. He also announced dates for his annual songwriting camp “It Starts With A Song 2023,” which is set to take place Aug. 21-24 in Nashville.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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