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