Today, after almost two decades since their last release, Carolina’s favorite rock and rollers the Blue Dogs are back in the game with the release of a brand new full-length album, Big Dreamers. Produced by accomplished guitarist and longtime Blue Dogs fan—and at times, guitar player—Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit), Big Dreamers marks a long-awaited comeback for the band and an inevitable full-circle moment for their producer. “I have a history with these guys,” Vaden says. “They used to hire me when I was 18 or 19 years old to play with them.” Vaden isn’t the only fan of Blue Dogs contributing to Big Dreamers, legendary Texas songwriter Radney Foster sings background vocals on “That’s How I Knew,” which he co-wrote with Bobby Houck along with the greasy, mid-tempo “If Ever,” and dobro master Jerry Douglas joined the boys on the bluegrass-inspired “The Road You Don’t.”
This week Folk N Rock premiered the music video for “Big Dreamers” and Relix Magazine shared a full album first listen of Big Dreamers. Fans can now stream or purchase Big Dreamers in its entirety at this link. The Blue Dogs are celebrating the release of Big Dreamers with a performance (June 3rd) at The Windjammer in Isle of Palms, South Carolina. Tickets are still available at this link.
More About Blue Dogs and Big Dreamers: Founded in 1987 and based in Charleston, the group is still led by songwriters Hank Futch (bass) and Bobby Houck (lead singer, acoustic guitar), who grew up together in Florence, South Carolina. After nearly two decades on the road, the Blue Dogs took an extended break from touring in 2007 as Futch and Houck accepted jobs outside of music to support their new families. Yet they both filed away occasional phrases and potential titles, just in case they ever had a chance to make another album together. For this project they were joined in the studio by guitarist Dan Hood, steel guitar player Charlie Thompson, and longtime drummer Greg Walker. Keeping it all in one big Blue Dogs family, former member Phillip Lammonds co-wrote three of the new songs.
“We’re doing this to follow that dream of playing music and sharing our sound with whoever wants to listen,” Futch says. “We’ve probably been Americana before that became a term. But we didn’t feel like we had to be anything other than ourselves to write these songs.” Houck adds, “We still have something to say. We can write good songs that we like, knowing other people will like them too. We’ve got a lot more to do, more places to play, and maybe bigger places to play. Because of this album, we get to live this dream longer than we thought.”
Big Dreamers Tracklist:
The Good Ones
Big Dreamers
Young Love
All Night Long
That’s How I Knew
Love Is Love Is Love
The Good Road
If Ever
The Road You Don’t
Carolina Grand
All Out Of Time
Blue Dogs On Tour:
June 3 - Isle of Palms, SC - The Windjammer’s Kona Liquid Aloha Beach Stage
June 10 - Norfolk, VA - Norfolk Harbourfest
July 2 - Aiken, SC - Aiken Music Fest
July 8 - Columbia, SC - The Main Course
July 9 - Knoxville, TN - Barley's Knoxville
July 10 - High Point, NC - The Revival with Paul Thorn & Friends
July 23 - Phenix City, AL - Chattahoochee Brewing
Sept. 13-17 - Nashville, TN - AMERICANAFEST
Sept. 30 - Sumter, SC - Sumter Opera House
Oct. 8-9 - North Charleston, SC - Riverfront Revival
For all tour dates and ticket information, please visit https://bluedogs.com/shows
