Little Feat ‘Strike Up The Band’ For A Rollicking ‘Midnight Flight’

Little Feat shared the single “Midnight Flight” along with an official music video. The groovy song appears on Strike Up The Band, the legendary band’s first album of new originals since 2012’s Rooster Rag.

Strike Up The Band is due out on May 9 via the band’s Hot Tomato label. The 13-song collection follows Sam’s Place, a 2024 album featuring percussionist Sam Clayton singing blues standards. Clayton is joined in Little Feat by longtime keyboardist Bill Payne, bassist Kenny Gradney and multi-instrumentalist Fred Tackett, along with more recent additions drummer Tony Leone and guitarist Scott Sharrard.

Vance Powell co-produced Strike Up The Band with Payne, and Sharrard on some tracks. Collaborators include Blackberry Smoke frontman Charlie Starr, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and Grammy-winning roots artist Molly Tuttle. Little Feat recorded the forthcoming album in Nashville.

Scott Sharrard wrote and handles lead vocals on “Midnight Flight,” which was premiered by American Songwriter. “I was inspired by Little Feat’s specific use of their New Orleans funk groove,” Sharrard told the publication. “There are guitar open tunings are all over this record. I learned a lot about open tunings from from the way Lowell George played slide guitar and the way Paul Barrere played. This song kind of combines those elements.”

“I was hoping that if I started with that, I would get a good song out of it,” added Sharrard. “… It’s definitely one you can dance to. This band has always had that element to every record. There’s always been these danceable, funky songs. I was hoping we’d get one of those out of it.”

“I wrote this song in the winter of 2020, shortly after joining Little Feat” stated Sharrard, adding, “Looking back on it, I feel like this song blends the sonic palate of Freddie King’s albums with Leon Russell and the sound we all love so much, which we heard on Little Feat’s ‘comeback’ album, Let It Roll. It’s got that boogie feel that gets people up.”

Watch Little Feat’s “Midnight Flight” video below:

Little Feat recently announced they will host Feat Fest 2025 at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, New York over Labor Day Weekend. The sextet will record the shows, which will feature special guests, for a potential live album.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, April 4 at 10 a.m. ET. Find ticketing links and a full list of Little Feat tour dates below.