Press release –
Arkansas roots outfit Sad Daddy has released “Bootlegger,” the latest from their forthcoming fourth studio album, Ozark Shine, due June 26, distributed by Free Dirt Records. The band will also embark on a regional tour to celebrate the album’s release, with stops planned in Little Rock, Nashville, and more. See below for a list of dates.
Recorded at Nashville’s Bomb Shelter studio, Ozark Shine captures Sad Daddy at full stride. The band, consisting of Joe Sundell (banjo, harmonica), Melissa Carper (upright bass), Rebecca Patek (fiddle), and Brian Martin (guitar, kazoo), each contributed vocals and their songwriting prowess to the album. The songs come from all corners of the band’s multiverse – some were born from writing sessions in Little Rock leading up to recording, some were longtime favorites finally making their way onto an album, and others were deeply personal solo compositions pulled from lives lived just a little outside the mainstream. The result is a collection that blends early blues, jazz, jug band, country, old-time, and bluegrass into something unmistakably Sad Daddy.
“I had a melody and a couple of verses for this song collecting dust in the archives of ideas for over a decade,” Martin, who wrote “Bootlegger,” shares. “After running it with the band, the direction the song needed to go sorta revealed itself and came together pretty quickly from that point.”
With its driving rhythm and shadowy storytelling, “Bootlegger” reflects the collaborative spark at the heart of Ozark Shine – songs taking on new life when placed in the hands of the full band. It follows the release of lead single “Let’s Go Fishin’,” Patek’s warmhearted ode to stepping away from the endless demands of work to embrace friendship, nature, and life’s quieter joys. Inspired by an impromptu day spent swimming with friends in Arkansas, the song introduced the record’s central thread: finding your way back to what matters.
Across its 13 songs, Sad Daddy moves deftly between humor, heartbreak, social commentary, and Ozark dreamscapes. There’s the communal chaos of “Milk and Bread,” the darkly comic revenge tale of “Break Into Your House,” the existential ache of “Down In A Hole,” and the wistful longing of “Little Ozark Cabin.” Some songs arrived in a flash, others sat unfinished for years before finally revealing themselves when the band gathered together.
“Recording at the Bomb Shelter gave us the space to chase our ideas wherever they led,” the band shares. “In a lot of ways, the record became less about polishing something perfect and more about capturing a shared spark, the sound of the four of us playing and singing and trusting the moment.”
Formed in Spring 2010, Sad Daddy has traveled many roads together and apart, always finding its way back home. With all four members writing songs and taking turns singing lead, the band has built a sound that defies easy categorization while remaining deeply rooted in the traditions of American roots music.
The making of Ozark Shine came with its share of auspicious signs: a chance spotting of David Rawlings grabbing Vietnamese food, a catfish magnet (the band’s unofficial mascot) waiting on the fridge at the their Nashville lodging, a message passed along to Melissa from Fiona Prine that John would’ve loved the music, and a bald eagle soaring overhead during video shoots along the Little Buffalo River in the Ozarks.
OZARK SHINE TRACKLIST
Bootlegger
Let’s Go Fishin’
Little Ozark Cabin
Did We Turn Off the Stove?
Milk and Bread
Don’t You Take My Dollar Bill
I’ll Come Running
Frazzie
Bossman
Break Into Your House
Down In A Hole
Broken Cup
Kerosene Dream
Let’s Go Fishin’
Little Ozark Cabin
Did We Turn Off the Stove?
Milk and Bread
Don’t You Take My Dollar Bill
I’ll Come Running
Frazzie
Bossman
Break Into Your House
Down In A Hole
Broken Cup
Kerosene Dream
SAD DADDY TOUR DATES
6/26 – Maxine’s Live – Hot Springs, AR
6/27 – White Water Tavern (Album Release Show) – Little Rock, AR
6/28 – White Water Tavern – Little Rock, AR
7/30 – Station Inn – Nashville, TN
7/31 – Hernando’s Hideaway – Memphis, TN
8/1 – The Auditorium – Eureka Springs, AR
10/8 – Birding Festival of the South / Bridge Street Live (TBA) – Hot Springs, AR
