Sophia Michaels
North Carolina-born songwriter and Renaissance man Jim Lauderdale will pay tribute to the Tar Heel State with the March 6th release of his latest bluegrass album, When Carolina Comes Home Again. The follow-up to 2019’s From Another World, the LP features Lauderdale collaborating with other North Carolinians, including Steep Canyon Rangers, Balsam Range, Town Mountain, and Songs From the Road Band.
Songwriters who contributed co-writes to the forthcoming project include the late Grateful Dead lyricist (and longtime Lauderdale collaborator) Robert Hunter, as well as John Oates, Charles R. Humphrey III, Si Kahn, Steep Canyon Rangers’ Graham Sharp, and Logan Ledger and Sara Douga, both of who shared writing credits with the two-time Grammy winner on his previous album.
The new album is Lauderdale’s 33rd in a distinguished career that has found his songs cut by multi-platinum acts including George Strait and the Dixie Chicks. Previous bluegrass efforts from Lauderdale include albums with Dr. Ralph Stanley and 2007’s Grammy-winning The Bluegrass Diaries.
Lauderdale toured throughout 2019 and will take his From Another World Tour to the West Coast in May before launching a trek in support of the forthcoming project.
“One thing I’m looking forward to doing in these shows is paying tribute to my late friend, hero, and co-writer Robert Hunter,” says Lauderdale. “We’re going to do a mini-set of some of my favorite songs he and I wrote together, our way of bringing his spirit to the stage each night.”
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The album’s first single, “As a Sign,” is an infectiously energetic yet sorrowful mountain ballad with sizzling banjo and fiddle breaks. Co-written with Hunter, the track is now available at digital platforms.
When Carolina Comes Home Again track listing:
1. “When Carolina Comes Home Again”
2. “As a Sign”
3. “Misery’s Embrace”
4. “The Last to Know”
5. “It Takes One to Wonder”
6. “Cackalacky”
7. “You’ll Have to Earn It”
8. “You’ve Got This”
9. “Mountaineer”
10. “I’m Here to Remind You”
11. “Moonrider”
12. “Spin a Yarn”
13. “Better Than You Found It”
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