Sam Outlaw (US) + Supp.: Hannah Aldrigde (US)

“This will be a very special tour because it features an “acoustic” band made up of super talents: Andrew Leahey (Nashville), Hannah Aldridge (Nashville), and Katie Bates (Melbourne, AUS). It’s been quite a while since I’ve toured with something other than the typical “Rock Band” setup so this gives me a great opportunity to showcase everyone’s favorite songs in a new way, and maybe try some songs that I haven’t played much before.”

This follows the release of his 2024 album Terra Cotta, which found the artist blending the California-tinged, Americana sound on which he has built his career, with the eighties rock-inspired, synth-driven instrumentation of third album Popular Mechanics (2021), embracing the unique lane of “New Wave Western” he finds himself in. Compelled to collaborate, on Terra Cotta Sam duets with Lauren Morrow, Molly Martin, and in his second outing with fellow Midwesterner Sarah Darling.

Refusing to stand still for a moment, Outlaw closed out last year with the release of yet more new music, the standalone digital single ‘Up All Night’ (out now), and is already preparing to share another new project in the coming months - watch this space.

SAM OUTLAW:

Sam Outlaw was born in the Midwest, grew up in California, and now lives in Nashville. «Outlaw» is his mother's maiden name.

Sam worked as an advertising executive in his twenties while writing songs as a hobby. Eventually, he started performing at small bar gigs near his home in Los Angeles. In 2015, Sam left his advertising career to pursue music full-time when he was offered a tour of Australia opening for Justin Townes Earle.

Later that year, Sam released his debut album Angeleno, produced and performed by Ry Cooder and Joachim Cooder and featuring Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers), Bo Koster (My Morning Jacket), and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes). Angeleno garnered universal acclaim and multiple award nominations.

In 2017, Sam released his follow-up album, Tenderheart. Also a critical success, Tenderheart was heralded as one of the year's best country albums and took home “International Song of the Year” at the UK Americana Awards in London.

Sam has toured extensively as a headlining artist at marquee festivals such as Stagecoach, Pilgrimage Music Festival, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Sam has also toured in support of beloved artists such as Kacey Musgraves, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, and Sheryl Crow.

In 2018, Sam and his family moved from LA to Nashville, and the following year, Sam made his Grand Ole Opry debut. Since then, Sam has made several appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and on countless more stages around the world.

In 2021 he released his third LP Popular Mechanics and in 2024 released his latest LP Terra Cotta, two albums that blend ‘80s style synth-pop and country music to create a sound that Sam calls “New Wave Western”. Sam Outlaw admirers include Ryan Adams who has publicly praised him for his “beyond great songwriting” and the late John Prine, who welcomed Sam to open some of his final shows.

HANNAH ALDRIDGE:

Hannah Aldridge grew up on the muddy banks of Muscle Shoals—her birthright is music and Alabama. A reckoning between her coming-of-age in the South and a lifetime of trying to create an identity outside of it, her songs strike a delicate balance between rebellion and self-discovery. These two themes weave through Aldridge’s gifted storytelling, making for records that soothe like a lullaby and crack like a whip. For those raised in the Bible Belt, Aldridge’s music sounds like the voice of an old friend who understands. For those not in the know, her music is an initiation to the dark side of the South, Christian fundamentalism and the struggle to forge a future in a place haunted by its past. 

Daughter of Muscle Shoals legend Walt Aldridge, Hannah started her musical journey as a classically-trained pianist. It wasn’t until her early twenties that she first picked up a guitar and began using music as an outlet to grapple with her demons. With a voice equal parts gritty and melodic, the emerging artist took to the road, entertaining crowds in ten countries and three continents with her acclaimed debut album Razor Wire, superb follow-up Gold Rush and Live in Black and White - a beautifully captured live album recorded in London, England.

Aldridge has expanded her artistic vision with the ambitious, cinematic Dream of America, which is set to be released in 2023 on Swedish alternative indie label, Icons Creating Evil Art. A highly collaborative project, produced in three corners of the world with renowned Melbourne based artist/producer Lachlan Bryan, producer/engineer Damian Cafarella and Swedish mix engineer Frans Hägglund, the record peers through the lens of fading Hollywood starlets, charming psychopaths and weary vagabonds - navigating society’s underbelly through dark, romantic vignettes. Hannah’s haunting vocals, assisted by her father’s expert vocal production, deliver a cathartic message of defiance.

Hannah Aldridge’s fierce Southern energy reaches through every speaker, whether it’s in a dashboard doing 80 down I-65, a rock club in Amsterdam or a Honky Tonk in her adopted hometown of Nashville. The new album treads a fine line between the genial charm of Americana, and the raw, hypnotic and occasionally electronic stylings of what some might like to call ‘noir indie pop’. It is music for those looking to confront their demons without remaining tethered to them.

Deploying a charming blend of power and vulnerability, Aldridge delivers her stories with all the conviction of a church bell ringing out through the streets of a small Alabama town.