The Jayhawks Celebrate 40 Years With New Album ‘Sanctuary Park,’ Single & Tour

The Jayhawks detailed their first new album in six years, Sanctuary Park, which arrives on August 28 via Thirty Tigers. The veteran Minneapolis-bred band previewed the LP with the lead single, “Keeping Our Heads Above Water,” and confirmed an extensive North American tour set for Fall 2026.

Produced by legendary studio architect Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper), Sanctuary Park marks a reunion between Ezrin and The Jayhawks following their 2000 album Smile. Ezrin quickly signed on after learning Gary Louris was seeking a collaborator and brought the band to Toronto to record.

“I love their music,” Ezrin said. “There is gentleness and a sweetness to their sound, and I found myself craving a little bit more of that.”

The resulting sessions leaned into the band’s core strengths, including Louris’s songwriting and the group’s signature three-part harmonies, alongside the intuitive interplay between Louris, keyboardist Karen Grotberg, drummer Tim O’Reagan and bassist Marc Perlman. The Jayhawks opted to record live in the studio, capturing what Louris described as “a time, a place, music of the moment.”

That chemistry is front and center on “Keeping Our Heads Above Water,” which introduces the album’s reflective tone. While Sanctuary Park takes its name from a real location in Dundas, Ontario, the record also explores a more symbolic landscape where memory, time and second chances intersect.

The Canadian setting played a tangible role in shaping the album. Louris, now a Canadian resident, drew inspiration from his surroundings, lending the project a distinct sense of place despite the band’s longstanding reputation as quintessentially American songwriters. The release arrives as The Jayhawks celebrate 40 years as a band, dating back to their 1986 self-titled debut.

The Jayhawks will support Sanctuary Park with a fall tour spanning North America, including stops in Washington D.C., New York City, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle and Los Angeles, among many other cities. Fittingly, the run begins October 16 in Toronto and extends through mid-December.

Tickets go on sale Friday, June 26 at 10 a.m. local time. Pre-sale tickets are currently available using YEAROFTHEHAWK as the password.

Listen to “Keeping Our Heads Above Water” and find a full list of tour dates below.