Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Diamonds & Gold" premieres at Guitar Player; new album "Lay It On Down" out Aug 4 on Concord

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD BAND’S
“DIAMONDS & GOLD” PREMIERES VIA
GUITAR PLAYER

NEW ALBUM LAY IT ON DOWN OUT AUGUST 4 ON
CONCORD RECORDS

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES THIS SUMMER

   

“[Shepherd] is a guitarist who can easily mesmerize an audience with his playing ability and through his passionate and energetic solos.”—The Huffington Post

“Diamonds & Gold,” the new single from Lay It On Down, five-time Grammy nominee and critically acclaimed guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s forthcoming ninth album, is now premiering via Guitar Player; listen/share the track at http://bit.ly/2tKyzwY. Guitar Player notes, “Lay It On Down showcases a more roots-based, Americana sound from Shepherd, and the guitarist was inspired by several genres and musical eras during its inception. The album was recorded super-old-school—live in the studio to analog tape.”

Lay It On Down is due August 4 on Concord Records. Recorded at Echophone Studios in Shepherd’s hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana and produced by Shepherd with Marshall Altman (Matt Nathanson, Natasha Bedingfield, Kate Voegele), the album was largely recorded live in the studio to analog tape.

Billboard recently premiered the album’s title track, noting, “The gentle ‘Lay It On Down’—which Shepherd co-wrote with ‘Blue On Black’ collaborators Mark Selby and Tia Sillers—certainly represents something different for Shepherd and company.” Shepherd went on to explain, “It’s, like, a midtempo ballad, which surprises some people, but I love ballads. I grew up in the era of the power ballad. That was the biggest thing on the radio when I was a teenager, those rock ‘n’ roll ballads. So I’m a sucker for a good ballad and wanted to have one on this record.” Additionally, CMT Music premiered the video for the album’s first single, “Baby Got Gone,” calling it “the most rollicking country-infused rock track you’ve heard in a long time.”

Shepherd’s band on Lay It On Down features his long-time lead vocalist Noah Hunt, the rhythm section from Shepherd’s supergroup side project The RIDES, Chris Layton (drums) and Kevin McCormick (bass), and keyboardist Jimmy McGorman. “I’m proud of the album we have delivered to the fans and I think they'll be excited by what they hear,” notes Shepherd. “The band we’ve assembled did a fantastic job bringing these songs to life and conveying the musical message to the listener. Now we are looking forward to bringing this new music to the live show to watch it develop even more.” Shepherd further discusses the writing/recording process in the new album’s video trailer, watch/share it at https://youtu.be/xW6HfiJ-WYQ.

Shepherd will celebrate the album’s release with a U.S. tour that kicks off August 9 in Westbury, NY. See below for a list of dates; additional shows to be announced shortly.

Lay It On Down finds Shepherd two decades into a recording career that began when he was 16. Shepherd has sold millions of albums worldwide and, in addition to his five Grammy nominations, he has won two Billboard Music Awards, a pair of Orville H. Gibson awards, the Blues Foundation’s Keeping The Blues Alive award and two Blues Music awards. He’s had six #1 blues albums and a string of #1 mainstream rock singles, and his acclaimed documentary project 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads was the top-selling blues album of 2007. Shepherd’s last release, 2014’s Goin’ Home (Concord Records), debuted at #25 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart and spent several weeks at #1 on the Billboard Blues chart.

LAY IT ON DOWN TRACK LIST

1. Baby Got Gone
2. Diamonds & Gold
3. Nothing But The Night
4. Lay It On Down
5. She’s $$$
6. Hard Lesson Learned
7. Down For Love
8. How Low Can You Go
9. Louisiana Rain
10. Ride Of Your Life

THE KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD BAND LIVE
 

August 9	Westbury, NY	The Space at Westbury
August 10	Albany, NY	The Egg
August 11	Northfield, OH	Hard Rock Live
August 12	Peoria, IL	Riverfront Park
August 14	Annapolis, MD	Rams Head on Stage
August 15	Annapolis, MD	Rams Head on Stage
August 16	Morristown, NJ	Mayo Performing Arts Center
August 18	Portland, ME	Aura
August 19	Northampton, MA	Calvin Theatre
August 20	Derry, NH	Tupelo Music Hall
August 22	Bar Harbor, ME	Criterion Theatre
August 23	Ridgefield, CT	Ridgefield Playhouse
August 25	Harrisburg, PA	Whitaker Center
August 26	E. Providence, RI	Bold Point Park
August 27	Beverly, MA	Cabot Theatre
September 1	Milwaukee, WI	Harley Davidson Museum
September 8	Sacramento, CA	Crest Theatre
September 9	Redwood City, CA	Fox Theatre
September 10	Guerneville, CA	Russian River Jazz Festival
September 15	Cottonwood, AZ	Thunder Valley Rally
September 16	Las Vegas, NV	Tropicana Theater
September 18	Kansas City, MO	Uptown Theater
September 19	Des Moines, IA	Hoy Sherman Place
September 21	Wichita, KS	The Cotillion Ballroom
September 22	Springfield, MO	Gillioz Theatre
September 23	Louisville, KY	Bourbon & Beyond Festival
October 14	Merrillville, IN	Star Plaza Theatre