Today, Little Feat – criminally underrated pioneering rock band, who blend genres from blues to country, and some of the most skilled musicians of all time and architects of the Americana sound – announced they are back with a dynamic new album, Strike Up The Band, set for release May 9 via Hot Tomato.
Today they released their new single, “Too High To Cut My Hair” and a hilarious music video which stars Lilly Winwood as an inebriated hairdresser who tries and fails to cut the hair of each band member. The single and video was premiered by PASTE MAGAZINE who stated, "the guys sound as good as ever, cutting a funk track with the fire of a wicked blues tempo."
The single is a trademark Feat funk-fueled jam, written by Fred Tacket and featuring Sam Clayton’s classic low C growl, is the perfect reintroduction to a band who are back to their very best. Band leader Bill Payne says of the song, “Fred Tackett shines all over this record, as he always does, but in particular in his writing. “Too High To Cut My Hair” is based on a true story where he and his wife Patricia were in a hotel room in New Orleans. Fred had asked for a trim, but decided that she was too high to cut his hair. And then he thought, “oh my god, what a title!” People love the humor in our records, a cherished entree to those when they find it. So I'm happy this song displays that humor, and in full. It's also got the classic Sam Clayton doing his, three octaves below middle C voice in there - Too High To Cut My Hair! Everyone that has heard it has said, “That’s a Little Feat song”, and I know what they mean!”
Listen to “Too High To Cut My Hair” HERE
Watch the “Too High To Cut My Hair” Music Video HERE
From the very first note of Strike Up The Band, you will hear Little Feat–who have been rocking and rolling since 1969– mean business. Songs like “4 Days Of Heaven, 3 Days Of Work,” “Shipwrecks,” “Midnight Flight,” and “Bluegrass Pines (feat. Molly Tuttle, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams)” are as dexterous, considered, and creative as any song in the Little Feat canon to date. Their lyrics are inventive, transportive, abstract and emotive in their pursuit of celebrating the good times and holding you close in the bad. Guitars scream and slide, pianos rock and boogie, drums shuffle you down the road in the way that only Little Feat can. This is the album Little Feat fans have been waiting for and is an undeniable statement from a band who in many ways are just getting started in their 56th year.
Little Feat built a cult following in the late 60s and 70s for their pioneering gumbo of New Orleans rhythm-and-blues, country, hard-rock, funk and jazz. Celebrated as a key influence by icons from Bonnie Raitt to The Rolling Stones, yet commercial success remained at arms length. Songs like “Dixie Chicken,” “Spanish Moon,” “Fat Man in the Bathtub,” and “Rock and Roll Doctor” are legends in the rock and roll songbook. They have released a total of 16 studio albums and 10 live albums to date. Through the ups and downs, love and loss, the line up shifts, and endless touring they have remained together and the closest of friends.
Their wilderness years, when the band were on periods of hiatus, are worth noting. A band who as individual musicians have collaborated with a laundry list of legends including Bob Dylan, Boz Scaggs, J. J. Cale, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Buffett, Doobie Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Bryan Adams, Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, Toto, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Stevie Nicks, Robert Palmer, Bob Weir, Mick Fleetwood, Phil Lesh - you name a musician from the classic rock era, they have likely played with them!
Their elastic line up has included the late great Lowell George, founding drummer, Richie Hayward, and guitarist Paul Barrere, and to this day features founding member Bill Payne on keys, alongside the classic line up of Fred Tackett on guitars/vocals, Kenny Gradney on bass, and Sam Clayton on percussion/vocals. They recently enlisted younger members Scott Sharrard on lead/vocal and Tony Leone on drums/vox which reinvigorated their creative spirits and live show.
Together with producer Vance Powell (Phish, Chris Stapleton, Jack White), and collaborators including Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, they created their new album, Strike Up The Band destined to be considered their later year magnum opus.
“‘Strike Up The Band’ really began in the winter of 2019 when I was subbing for Paul Barrere, and he passed away on the day of that first show,” said Scott Sharrard, “continuing through the pandemic shut down (and a lot of practicing and songwriting during that time), to our return to the road in 2021. Then on to our recording field trip to Memphis that resulted in the Grammy Nominated blues album of classic blues covers 'Sam's Place’. That one gave us all the chance to tighten up as a band and re-visit the Rosetta Stone of rock and roll, The Blues. We have paid a lot of dues to get here, and all roads have led us to this new album.”
“When discussing the album with the band and where it sits in our canon,” said Bill Payne “our predecessor to this record in my mind was ‘Let It Roll.’ We are in a similar position to introduce Little Feat once again with this new collection of songs. It is my feeling that, from what we had been playing over the last few years, there’s no question the overwhelming majority of fans would accept the album for what it is: an unmistakable iteration of Little Feat that highlights, with great songs and musicianship, the very best of an ongoing legacy, expressly evoking and expanding upon what people think of when they hear Little Feat.”
With a GRAMMY nomination for their recent album Sam’s Place, a newly announced national tour and much more in the works, Little Feat are not weathered statues in the hall of rock fame. They remain the collective and creative force they have always been. As they sang in 77’, “Time Loves A Hero”, and believe with Strike Up The Band, the mainstream recognition that has eluded Little Feat all these years, is now firmly in their grasp.
“In the end, Little Feat is a sound and a feeling, you know it when you hear it,” said Scott Sharrard, adding, “We humbly offer you “Strike up the band” Little Feat's new album of 13 original songs. Turn it up and let it roll.”
TRACKLIST:
4 Days of Heaven 3 Days of Work
Bayou Mama
Shipwrecks
Midnight Flight
Too High To Cut My Hair
When Hearts Fall
Strike Up The Band (feat. Larkin Poe)
Bluegrass Pines (feat. Molly Tuttle, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams)
Disappearing Ink
Love and Life (Never Fear)
Dance a Little
Running Out of Time with the Blues
New Orleans Cries When She Sings
TOUR DATES
May 5 Mon - Rutland, VT - Paramount Theatre *
May 6 Tue - Medford, MA - Chevalier Theatre *
May 8 Thu - Port Chester, NY - The Capitol Theatre *
May 9 Fri - Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theater *
May 10 Sat - Ithaca, NY - State Theatre *
May 12 Mon - Akron, OH - Goodyear Theater *
May 13 Tue - Shipshewana, IN - Blue Gate Performing Arts Center *
May 15 Thu - Nashville, IN - Brown County Music Center *
May 16 Fri - Davenport, IA - Capitol Theatre *
May 17 Sat - Des Plaines, IL - Rivers Casino Des Plaines *
May 19 Mon - Peoria, IL - Prairie Home Alliance Theater *
May 23 Fri - Chandler, AZ - Gila River Resorts & Casinos Wild Horse Pass *
Jun 13 Fri - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre *
Jun 14 Sat - Napa, CA - Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions at Meritage Resort
Jun 15 Sun - Reno, NV - Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort *
Jun 18 Wed - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre *
Jun 19 Thu - Boise, ID - The Egyptian Theatre *
Jun 21 Sat - Airway Heights, WA - Spokane Live at the Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino #
Jun 22 Sun - Redmond, VA - Marymoor Live #
Jun 24 Tue - Bonner, MT - Kettlehouse Amphitheater #
Jun 25 Wed - Pocatello, ID - Portneuf Health Trust Amphitheatre #
Jun 26 Thu - Salt Lake City, UT - Red Butte Garden
Jun 28 Sat - Winter Park, CO - Blues From The Top
Aug 29-31 - Charlestown, RI - Rhythm & Roots 2025
Sep 15-21 - Ketchikan, AK - Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea - Alaska 2025
Oct 14 Tue - Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre *
Oct 15 Wed - Franklin, TN - Firstbank Amphitheater <
Oct 17 Fri - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater <
Oct 18 Sat - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion <
Oct 19 Sun - Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Symphony Hall *
Oct 21 Tue - Richmond, VA - Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront <
Oct 22 Wed - Wilmington, NC - Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park <
Oct 24 Fri - Baltimore, MD - The Lyric Baltimore *
Oct 25 Sat - Huntington, NY - The Paramount *
Oct 26 Sun - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Center for the Arts *
2026
Jan 11-18 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Sandy Beaches Cruise 2026
Jan 18-25 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - The Big Easy Cruise 2026
* Strike Up The Band Tour
# Little Feat & Nitty Gritty Band: Dirty Feat Tour
< With Tedeschi Trucks Band (Live in 25 Tour)
