Bob Weir Prepping Album Of Cowboy Songs

All has been quiet from the Bob Weir camp since the Fare Thee Well – Celebrating 50 Years Of Grateful Dead shows, but that will soon change as the guitarist is prepping an album of cowboy songs with the help of musicians such as Josh Ritter, Josh Kaufman, Scott Devendorf and Joe Russo.

Ritter discussed the album during a recent interview with NPR. Josh confirmed in the interview that he has written songs for Weir’s new LP and mentioned the participation of former Yellowbirds guitarist Josh Kaufman in the project.

Bobby discussed his new album in an interview published in the most recent issue of Relix Magazine. “The idea came from Josh Kaufman and his circle of friends, particularly Josh Ritter. It’s, for the most part, all new songs. I’ve been working with Josh Ritter a fair bit on some ideas, and I’m going to also drag in (lyricists) John Barlow and Gerrit Graham as well.” Relix added that The National’s Scott Devendorf and The Walkmen’s Walter Martin are both involved in the cowboy project. According to Relix, sessions for the new album have been split between New York and the Bay Area. “It’s going to be a pretty eclectic group of musicians kicking into this project. I’ve done a few sessions recently with Joe Russo,” Weir added. “We’re going to downplay the emphasis on the playing and play up the emphasis on the storytelling.”

Here’s a photo likely from a session for the LP:

As for now there is no release date confirmed for Bob Weir’s album of cowboy songs. Watch Bob Weir lead the Grateful Dead through cowboy song “El Paso”: