top of page

Corb Lund Will Return With 'El Viejo' In Tribute To His Mentor, Canadian Singer-Songwriter Ian Tyson

  • Writer: The Sound Cafe
    The Sound Cafe
  • Oct 17, 2023
  • 5 min read

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





FOLLOW CORB LUND




 
 
bottom of page