Corb Lund Will Return With 'El Viejo' In Tribute To His Mentor, Canadian Singer-Songwriter Ian Tyson
By Stevie Connor. Photo Credit: Noah Fallis.
Corb Lund will return with El Viejo on February 23, 2024 via New West Records. The 11-track set was produced by Lund and recorded entirely in his living room in Lethbridge, AB with his band The Hurtin’ Albertans.
El Viejo is Lund’s first album of original material since 2020’s critically acclaimed Agricultural Tragic, which was named an album of the year by the readers of No Depression. Gathering around his living room, Lund & Co. tapped into his most cherished musical influences of acoustic tone and lyrical aptitude — Marty Robbins, Kris Kristofferson, Bobbie Gentry, Jerry
Reed. There is a common theme — possibly even a character thread — of the gambler,
the outlaw who roams from place-to-place with no direction home.
“It’s a lot of minor keys and gambling songs, is what it is,” Lund says in a matter-of-fact
tone. “It was just a few of us in my house. No studio. No outside producer. No adults in
the room. No stress.” He continues, “There’s not a single electric instrument on the
whole thing, just acoustic sounds and singing. In terms of having a vision, this is a
record I’ve had in my sights for a while and it came out exactly how I’d hoped. We cut all
the songs live in the same room with lots of bleed. A bunch of the songs we captured in
one take, first time through.”
El Viejo pays tribute to Lund’s late friend and mentor, the famed Canadian singer-songwriter Ian Tyson, who passed away December 29, 2022. With the album, he has also created an ode to the notion of stripping everything down and letting the tape roll — simply capturing a moment of pure vulnerability and organic inspiration in real time.
The must-see video for the album’s closing track “Old Familiar Drunken Feeling.” Filmed partially in a cannabis farm, the video depicts an all too accurate account of Lund being way too high on an edible before a show many years ago.
He says, “It was all totally above board, the state had just legalized it, so it was kind of a
novelty field trip for the band to visit the shiny new dispensary. Some songs are 'based
on truth' but this happened EXACTLY as I sing it. Turns out weed ain't my thing. And
eating it's even worse, it lasts forever. Fronting a band can occasionally be terrifying at
the best of times, doing it high as a kite and super paranoid was hell on earth. When I
started feeling like myself again in the second set after a bunch of cowboy whiskey, I
confessed to the audience what had happened and offered them all their money back!
No one took me up on it. Bottom line? If this doesn't get me a Pendleton whisky
endorsement, I don't know what will."
Today, Lund has also announced a Canadian tour, with New West labelmates 49
Winchester as support, launching March 5th, 2024 in Vancouver. Please see all dates
(with more to be added) below.
Much like his music, Lund is decidedly hard to define. The western Canadian
singer-songwriter is an elusive artist — onstage, offstage, and in the studio — seamlessly
weaving between the outlaw country, Western, and indie-folk realms with an honest
curiosity and rowdy devotion to each. He was raised with the tried and true DIY
sentiment of “if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself” launching his career
recording in his basement, printing his own shirts, booking his own tours, being his own
manager and publicist… whatever it took to get it done. He toured for years with the
indie-metal band the smalls, and later turned his sights to writing Western songs,
creating a unique and quirky hybrid writing style along the way. He has received
multiple CCMA, JUNO, and international award nominations and wins. In 2022, Lund
won his 14th career Canadian Country Music Award and made his debut at the historic
Grand Ole Opry earlier this year as well. A rural Albertan hailing from the foothills of
the Rocky Mountains with a long family lineage of ranchers and rodeo people, Lund is
about as authentic as they come.
Corb Lund’s El Viejo will be available across digital retailers, on compact disc, and
standard black vinyl. A limited Black & White Splatter Vinyl edition including a Corb
Lund autographed postcard, as well as an autographed compact disc edition, will be at
Independent Retailers and is available for pre-order now via New West Records.
TOUR DATES
10.12.23 - Hastings County, ON, CA - Tweed Kiwanis Pavilion
10.13.23 - Princeton, MN, US - Truckerfest 2023
10.14.2. - Burnstown, ON, CA - Neat Coffee Shop (SOLD OUT)
10.16.23 - Kingston, ON, CA - The Broom Factory (SOLD OUT)
10.17.23 - Hamilton, ON, CA - Bridgeworks
10.18.23 - St. Catharines, ON, CA - Warehouse Concert Hall (SOLD OUT)
10.19.23 - Cambridge, ON, CA - Farm League Brewing (SOLD OUT)
10.21.23 - Los Lunas, NM, US - Taos Muncy Invitational
10.24.23 - Stratford, ON, CA - Revival House (SOLD OUT)
10.25.23 - Peterborough, ON, CA - Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (SOLD OUT)
10.27.23 - Windsor, ON, CA – Meteor (SOLD OUT)
11.1.23 - Ferndale, MI, US - The Magic Bag
11.2.23 - Grand Rapids, MI, US - Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill
11.3.23 - Grand Rapids, MI, US - Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill (SOLD OUT)
11.4.23 - Cleveland, OH, US - Beachland Ballroom
11.5.23 - Columbus, OH, US - Woodlands Tavern
11.7.23 - Libertyville, IL, US - Impact Fuel Room
11.8.23 - Hobart, IN, US - Hobart Art Theater
11.9.23 - New Berlin, IL, US - Danenberger Family Vineyards
11.10.23 - Peoria, IL, US - Revival Music Hall
11.11.23 - St. Louis, MO, US - The Golden Record
11.12.23 - Wichita, KS, US - WAVE
11.14.23 - Oklahoma City, OK, US - Beer City Music Hall
11.15.23 - Tulsa, OK, US - Mercury Lounge
11.16.23 - Tulsa, OK, US - Mercury Lounge
11.17.23 - Little Rock, AR, US - Stickyz Rock-n-Roll Chicken Shack
11.18.23 - Dallas, TX, US - Ferris Wheelers Backyard and BBQ
11.19.23 - Fort Worth, TX, US - Tulips FTW
11.21.23 - San Antonio, TX, US - Sam's Burger Joint
11.22.23 - Austin, TX, US - Sagebrush
12.9.23 - Las Vegas, NV, US - The Horse I Rode in On (SOLD OUT)
12.14.23 - Las Vegas, NV, US - The Horse I Rode in On
w/ 49 Winchester supporting:
3.5.24 - Vancouver, BC, CA - Orpheum
3.6.24 - Kelowna, BC, CA - Kelowna Community Theatre
3.7.24 - Calgary, AB, CA - Grey Eagle Event Centre
3.9.24 - Edmonton, AB, CA - Midway Music Hall
3.10.24 - Edmonton, AB, CA - Midway Music Hall
3.11.24 - Saskatoon, SK, CA - TCU Place
3.13.24 - Winnipeg, MB, CA - Burton Cummings Theatre
3.14.24 - Thunder Bay, ON, CA - Community Auditorium
3.16.24 - Ottawa, ON, CA - Algonquin Commons Theatre
3.17.24 - London, ON, CA - London Music Hall
3.20.24 - Toronto, ON, CA - Danforth Music Hall
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