The Black Lillies To Release Stranger To Me, Share First Single “Midnight Stranger”

On September 28, Americana rock band the Black Lillies will release a new album, Stranger To Me. Their fifth studio release, Stranger To Me follows the Knoxville-based band’s 2015 release Hard To Please.

Many of the tracks on Stranger To Me were pulled from the band’s Sprinter Sessions, a series of 2017 weekly Facebook Live broadcasts in which they would debut new material live from the road. They recorded the album at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, North Carolina.

“Stranger To Me is simultaneously a doorway to the future and a return to the foundations of who The Black Lillies are,” lead singer Cruz Contreras says. “I have never been part of a more rigorous, thorough, inspired, and accountable creative process with a band.”  

The band is previewing the album via new tune “Midnight Stranger,” a melodic, mid-tempo rocker with vocal harmonies that recall the Eagles, Steely Dan-esque lyrics, and plenty of crunchy, Southern rock guitar. “Midnight Stranger” was, notably, not a Sprinter Session track, and originally was not supposed to be included on the album.

“Perhaps no song on the record exemplifies our new approach to songwriting better than ‘Midnight Stranger,’” Bowman Townsend says. “It’s an acid-funk shakedown written by all four bandmembers, and manager/band co-founder Chyna Brackeen even gets a nod, with a crucial last minute lyric addition to the chorus. It really started as kind of a goof, something fun to work on in between songs that we were serious about.”

Stranger To Me is releasing via Attack Monkey Productions and Thirty Tigers. Listen to “Midnight Stranger” and see the band’s tour dates below.

The Black Lillies tour dates:

8/29 – Nashville TN @ City Winery
8/30 – Middlesboro KY @ Levitt Amphitheatre
8/31 – Winston-Salem NC @ The Ramkat
9/1 – Raleigh NC @ Lincoln Theatre
9/2 – Thomas WV @ Purple Fiddle
9/12 – Nashville TN @ AmericanaFest
9/13 – Birmingham AL @ Moonlight on the Mountain
9/14 – Atlanta (Decatur) GA @ Eddie’s Attic
9/15 – Charlotte NC @ Live on the Green
9/22 – Virginia IL @ Dr. Ug’s
9/23 – Cleveland OH @ Beachland Ballroom
9/28 – Knoxville TN (hometown release show) @ Central Filling Station
9/29 – Knoxville, TN (3rd Black Lillies Hangover Ball Bowling Party)
10/4 – Jonesborough TN @ National Storytelling Festival
10/5 – Columbia MD @ The Soundry
10/6 – Washington DC @ The Hamilton
10/7 – Wellsville NY @ Wellsville Creative Arts
10/11 – New York City @ City Winery
10/12 – New Haven CT @ Cafe Nine
10/13 – Burlington VT @ Nectar’s
10/14 – Boston MA @ City Winery
10/17 – Buffalo NY @ Sportsmen’s
10/18 – Pittsburgh PA @ Club Café
10/19 – Columbus OH @ Rumba
10/20 – Chicago (Berwyn) IL @ Fitzgerald’s
10/23 – Tupelo MS @ Blue Canoe
10/24 – Little Rock AR @ Stickyz
10/25 – Fayetteville AR @ George’s Majestic
10/26 – Coupland TX @ Coupland Dance Hall
10/27 – Dallas @ The Kessler Theater
10/28 – Houston @ The Heights Theater
10/30 – San Marcos @ Cheatham Street
11/1 – Austin TX @ Stubb’s
11/2 – Port Aransas, TX @ Billy Joe’s Craft House
11/8 – Oklahoma City OK @ The Blue Door
11/9 – Tulsa OK @ Mercury Lounge
11/10 – Kansas City MO @ Knucklehead’s
11/16 – Roanoke/Rocky Mount VA @ Harvester Performing Arts Center
11/17 – Charlottesville VA @ The Southern
11/30 – Asheville NC @ Grey Eagle
12/6 – Denver CO @ Globe Hall
12/13 – Los Angeles @ The Echo
12/16 – Phoenix AZ @ Rebel Lounge