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May 23, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Bill Callahan

Bill Callahan is releasing a new album, Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, on June 14 via Drag City. It’s his first album in six years, since 2013’s Dream River. When the album was announced no new songs from it were shared, but now he’s more than made up for that, sharing six new songs today. In other words he’s shared side one of the vinyl version of the album. The songs include “The Ballad of the Hulk,” which references the Marvel Comics superhero and the 1970s TV show. The other songs are “Shepherd’s Welcome,” “Black Dog on the Beach,” “Angela,” “Writing,” and “Morning is My Godmother.” There are 14 more songs on Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, so there’s still plenty left to discover. Check out all six songs below, followed by Callahan’s upcoming tour dates.

Following Dream River Callahan got married and had a kid and after those big and happy life changes he had trouble tapping into his usual songwriting well. As a previous press release explained: “It was suddenly harder for him to find the place where the songs came, to make him and these new experiences over again into something to sing. His songs have always been elusive, landing lightly between character study and autobiography, as the singer-songwriter often does. This felt different, though. After 20 years of putting music first, he wasn’t prepared to go away from it completely. Or perhaps, after all the time, the obvious needs to be made just a little more explicit?”

The press release pointed out that many of the album’s songs are short.

Bill Callahan Tour Dates:

U.S.:

6/13/19 Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, Pioneertown CA
6/14/19 The Lodge Room, Los Angeles CA
6/15/19 The Lodge Room, Los Angeles CA
6/17/19 Henry Miller Library, Big Sur CA
6/18/19 The Castro Theeatre, San Francisco CA
6/19/19 Gundlach-Bundschu Winery, Sonoma CA
6/21/19 Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR (Early Show)
6/21/19 Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR
6/22/19 Neptune Theatre, Seattle WA
7/5/19 Lawrence Public Library, Lawrence KS
7/6/19 Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis MN
7/7/19 Thalia Hall, Chicago IL
7/8/19 Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit MI
7/10/19 The Sinclair, Cambridge MA
7/11/19 Murmrr Theatre, Brooklyn NY
7/12/19 White Eagle Hall, Jersey City NJ
7/13/19 World Cafe Live, Philadelphia PA
7/14/19 Miracle Theatre, Washington DC
7/15/19 Miracle Theatre, Washington DC
7/16/19 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro NC
7/17/19 Terminal West, Atlanta GA
7/18/19 Proud Larry’s, Oxford MS

Europe:

9/29/19 Vicar Street, Dublin IE
10/1/19 Usher Hall, Edinburgh UK
10/2/19 Albert Hall, Manchester UK
10/3/19 Eventim Apollo, London UK
10/5/19 La Cigale, Paris FR
10/6/19 Ancienne Belgique, Brussels BE
10/7/19 TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht NL
10/8/19 Admiralspalast, Berlin DE
10/10/19 Store Vega, Copenhagen DK
10/11/19 Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo NO
10/12/19 Göta Lejon, Stockholm SE
10/13/19 Pustervik, Gothenburg SE

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