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The Balladeer (album)

The Balladeer is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Lori McKenna. It was released on July 24, 2020, through CN Records and distributed by Thirty Tigers. It was preceded by the release of the lead single "When You're My Age" on May 1, 2020.

The Balladeer

July 24, 2020 (2020-07-24)

37:37

CN Records

Background[edit]

The Balladeer was described by McKenna as the "most personal album" of her career. Of the ten tracks featured on it, seven of them she wrote solo while the remaining three were co-written with frequent collaborators Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose, all of whom are collectively known as the Love Junkies.[1] In an interview with WGBH's Boston Public Radio, McKenna said the following about how the album received its name from what would eventually be the title track: "It's funny, I've heard that term so many times over the years, [...] It struck me one night—that's what I do! [...] The story isn't about me [or] the song itself—but I loved the idea of that being the name of the record."[2]

Singles[edit]

On May 1, 2020, the lead single "When You're My Age" was released alongside its music video. Featuring background vocals from Lindsey and Rose, Rolling Stone described it as an "intensely moving piano ballad".[3]

- lead vocals, acoustic guitar

Lori McKenna

- producer, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mixing

Dave Cobb

- background vocals

Hillary Lindsey

- background vocals

Liz Rose

Karen Fairchild - background vocals (1)

Kimberly Schlapman - background vocals (1)

Kristen Rogers - background vocals

Brian Allen - bass

Chris Powell - drums

Philip Towns - harmonium, mellotron, percussion, piano, wurlitzer

Toby Hulbert - engineer, mixing

Josh Reynolds - assistant engineer

Phillip Smith - assistant engineer

Becky Flute - photography

Rachel Briggs - design

Credits for The Balladeer adapted from Tidal.[10]