Della Mae Takes Bold Step Forward with Headlight  - Produced by Dan Knobler, Release Jan 17, 2020 

In the making of their fourth album Headlight, Della Mae claimed a more daring sense of freedom than they’d ever allowed themselves before. Boldly breaking genre convention, the Grammy Award-nominated band pushed beyond their bluegrass roots and followed their instinct to their most sonically adventurous body of work to date. And in their lyrics, Della Mae fully embraced the album’s potential as a platform for change, delivering a collection of songs at turns fearlessly personal and powerfully resonant.

Produced by Dan Knobler (Lake Street Dive, Caroline Spence) and tracked at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, Headlight features an exceptional lineup of guest musicians, many of whom contribute on instruments entirely new to Della Mae’s output: keys, drums, electric guitar. The result is a thrillingly dynamic sound, achieved in part by recording most of the songs live. Still, the album’s kinetic urgency never overshadows the eloquence of Della Mae’s lyrical storytelling. “A lot of the songs are snapshots of different women at different stages of their lives,” notes Ludiker. “At the same time, we are sharing very intimate things that we’ve personally experienced, in a way that we haven’t quite done before.”

For Della Mae, Headlight marks a whole new level of fulfillment of their longtime mission as well as a profound evolution from their earliest days. "It’s important to us to back up what we stand for with what we say in songs,” says Woodsmith. “This is our contribution as a band: to keep up the tradition of the women who trailblazed before us and leave the world a better place than when we found it."

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TITLE: Headlight
RELEASE DATE: January 17, 2020
LABEL: Rounder Records
UPC: CD 888072135710 | Digital 888072135796 | Vinyl 888072136342
Catalog #: CD 1166100770 | Digital 1166100772 | Vinyl 1166100776

TRACK LISTING:
1. Headlight
2. Change (featuring The McCrary Sisters)
3. The Long Game
4. I Like It When You’re Home
5. The Odds of Getting Even
6. Wild One
7. It’s About Time (featuring The McCrary Sisters)
8. Waiting For You
9. Peg Monster
10. First Song Dancer
11. Working (featuring The McCrary Sisters)
12. I Can’t Pretend

Produced by Dan Knobler
Engineered by Jacob Blumberg
Assistant Engineered by Rachael Moore
at Sound Emporium, Nashville TN
Additional engineering and mixing by Dan Knobler
at Goosehead Palace, Franklin TN
Mastered by Paul Blakemore

Della Mae:  Celia Woodsmith (guitar, vocals), Kimber Ludiker (fiddle, vocals), Jenni Lyn Gardner (mandolin, vocals), Zoe Guigueno (upright bass, vocals)
Additional Musicians:  Avril Smith (acoustic guitar), Jamie Dick (drums), Dan Knobler (electric and acoustic guitars), Jen Gunderman (accordion, keys, synths, organs)
Background Vocals: The McCrary Sisters, Ruth Moody, Vickie Vaughn

Cover illustration by Thaddeus Pasierb
Press photos by David McClister