Old 97’s singer Rhett Miller readies solo album for October and tour

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Rhett Miller announced A lifetime of riding by night, his 10th studio album that will be released on October 10 via ATO Records. Produced by his Old 97’s bandmate Murry Hammond, the 13-song collection was recorded just days before undergoing surgery on his vocal cords. 

The album's personal nature is attributed to revelations gleaned through his recent work in teaching songwriting at The New School in Manhattan, as well as co-writers including Turnpike Troubadours frontman Evan Felker, Caitlin Rose, Nicole Atkins, and Jesse Valenzuela of Gin Blossoms. The album is now available for pre-order, including a limited edition vinyl run of 300 copies pressed on frosted Coke bottle, available only via Rhett Miller’s and ATO’s web store.

First single “Come As You Are” features Felker, who also co-wrote the song, on background vocals. Miller has also announced a national album release tour that will kick off this October. 

Find a full list of tour dates below or visit his website.

Watch the official video for “Come As You Are.”

About the song, Miller explains, “That song came together at a time when Evan and I were both wrestling with the difficulty of leaving our loved ones behind to go on tour. It’s a sweet song but there’s a sadness to it, which feels reflective of the true human condition. Evan's band Turnpike Troubadours recorded a version of the song a few years back as a single, but it's always been in my mind that I wanted to record my own version of the song. Despite it being a co-write, ‘Come As You Are’ feels like a really personal moment. That said, I get a tickle out of hearing Evan's harmony on there – he's such a talented guy and a great friend."

Evan Felker adds, “Rhett has been a never-ending source of inspiration and wit and humility for my career and for the times when I didn’t have one. He writes with a passion for the world that is as reckless as it is correct and smart. Whatever deal he made with the devil, I want that one too. He’s the prime example of why you should meet your heroes.”

Mainly recorded at Dave’s Room in Los Angeles, the album marks Miller’s first time enlisting Hammond as a producer since his solo debut album Mythologies (a 1989 LP created when he was 17-years-old). “Murry was a mentor to me when we made that first record all those decades ago, and this album felt like the right time to work with him in that capacity again,” Miller says. “I gave him carte blanche in a way I never have with any other producer—we went in and recorded 20 songs, and I flew home to New York without even knowing which songs he’d end up using or what the finished versions would sound like. I just let go and trusted Murry completely.”

His first solo effort since 2022’s The Misfit centers on folk/indie-rock. 

“There’s a lot of terrifying stories about the type of surgery I received, and I wanted to record the album first because I knew the worst outcomes were on the table,” he says. “I was in a lot of physical pain as I was singing these songs; there are moments when you can hear me really struggling. But as much as I thought about going back and re-recording the vocals once I’d recovered, I knew those imperfections were part of the DNA of the record. To me there’s something very human about a singer trying to sing the best he can despite being compromised.”

It all follows Old 97’s 2024 album American Primitive that celebrated their 30th anniversary.

Track listing:

1) A Little Song (Prologue)
2) All For You
3) Ellie On The Wharf
4) Come As You Are
5) Be Mine
6) People Are Lifted
7) A Little Song (Interlude)
8) The Bells of St. Mike’s
9) All Over Again
10) Time Again
11) A Lifetime of Riding by Night
12) A Little Song
13) Brand New Heart

Tour Dates:
Aug. 24 – Amagansett, NY – The Stephen Talkhouse
Aug. 27 – Pawling, NY – Daryl’s House Club
Sep. 12 – Arlington, TX – Texas Live!
Oct. 2–4 – Halifax, NS, Canada – The Carleton
Oct. 9 – Worcester, MA – Off The Rails
Oct. 10 – Bar Harbor, ME – Criterion Theatre
Oct. 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Largo at the Coronet
Oct. 16 – Ramona, CA – Ramona Mainstage
Oct. 17 – Hermosa Beach, CA – Saint Rocke
Oct. 18 – Fontana, CA – Stage Red
Oct. 20 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
Oct. 21 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley
Oct. 23 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
Oct. 24 – Portland, OR – The Showdown
Oct. 25 – Seattle, WA – Clock-Out Lounge
Oct. 28 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
Nov. 6 – Houston, TX – McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Nov. 8 – Fischer, TX – Devil’s Backbone Tavern
Nov. 9 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
Nov. 12 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
Nov. 13 – Cleveland, OH – Music Box Supper Club
Nov. 14 – Bloomington, IN – Buskirk-Chumley Theater
Nov. 15 – Covington, KY – Madison Theater
Nov. 16 – Bloomington, IL – The Castle Theatre
Nov. 20 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club
Nov. 22 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
Nov. 23 – Tulsa, OK – Mercury Lounge
Dec. 2 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi
Dec. 3 – Madison, WI – Atwood Music Hall
Dec. 4 – Milwaukee, WI – Vivarium
Dec. 5 – Davenport, IA – Raccoon Motel
Dec. 11 – Washington, D.C. – Union Stage
Dec. 12 – Wayne, PA – 118 North
Dec. 14 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern