Four years since the album "Life Is Good on the Open Road," Minnesota's favorite string pickers Trampled by Turtles finally got off the road and into the studio again. They invited an even better-known Americana music star to join them, too.
Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy served as producer of "Alpenglow," the bluegrassy sextet's 10th LP, details of which were revealed Tuesday along with the first song issued from it and new fall tour dates.
The record will arrive Oct. 28, a month before the group plays its first-ever gig at the Armory and only scheduled Twin Cities show of 2022.
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for the Minneapolis date, which falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Trampled is also returning to Duluth's Bayfront Festival Park on July 9, with the Jayhawks now serving as openers along with the winner of the band's new artist grant for the Twin Ports area, Emma Jeane Rothwell.
Not so coincidentally, Trampled's last public concert in its home state was at Treasure Island Casino Amphitheater in September with none other than Wilco, part of a three-night Upper Midwest co-headlining tour. The Minnesota crew headed to Chicago not long after that to record at Wilco's studio/rehearsal space, the Loft. They join a relatively select roster of acts to land Tweedy as a producer, a list that (not so coincidentally) includes Trampled's Duluthian pals Low.
Not only did Tweedy produce "Alpenglow," but he also wrote one of the songs, "A Lifetime to Find," which the press materials for the album describe as "a simple back-and-forth dialogue with Death, which ends as one might expect."
Trampled frontman Dave Simonett penned the other 10 tunes, including the opening song and now first single, "It's So Hard to Hold On." The harmonious, mid-tempo strummer debuted online Tuesday along with an ultra-sweet video featuring photos and video footage provided by fans from the open road.
Pre-order options for "Alpenglow" are now available via trampledbyturtles.com.
