Lori McKenna Drops New Track ‘Killing Me’ From Upcoming Album ‘1988’

Lori McKenna. Photo: Becky Fluke

Lori McKenna will release a new album, 1988, on July 21 via CN Records/Thirty Tigers. Ahead of the release, she has unveiled the track, “Killing Me,” featuring her longtime collaborator Hillary Lindsey.

Produced by Dave Cobb and recorded at Cobb’s studio in Savannah, Georgia, 1988 was named for the year McKenna married her husband, Gene, and serves as a love letter to her family and her lifelong friendships. The 10-song album also features her family, with her son Chris collaborating with her on the track “Happy Children.” Throughout the new collection, McKenna reflects on her experiences, lessons and relationships from the past 35 years.

“I was trying to let my age and experience guide me through making a record I wished I’d made when I was younger. I really wanted it to sound like if I made a rock record in the ‘90s, and then I remembered that I made my first album in 1998. There’s something so 30 years ago in my head about this record. In a way, I wish I could start again and know what I know now.”

The forthcoming album follows a series of projects McKenna has released in recent years, including 2016’s The Bird & The Rifle, 2018’s The Tree and 2020’s The Balladeer. In celebration of the new music, McKenna will embark on her “The Town in Your Heart Tour” this summer with shows at Philadelphia’s World Café Live, New York’s City Winery, Nashville’s CMA Theater, Atlanta’s City Winery, Ann Arbor’s The Ark and more.