Southern folk singer-songwriter Jake Xerxes Fussell is set to release his new album The Old Beloved Path on September 18 via Fat Possum. The record was made with producer Ben Whiteley in North Carolina and opens with a cover of the folk standard Rock Island Line.
Fussell drew inspiration for the lead track after hearing a Lonnie Donegan recording. In a press release he explained the creative process.
"The song struck me as very beautiful, but just singing the verses wasn’t working for me. I couldn’t relate. So, I wound up putting it together with an old English nursery rhyme that I had been kicking around," Fussell said.
The Old Beloved Path follows his 2024 album When I’m Called. Additional musicians on the project include Dominic Billett, Isa Burke, Wayne Horvitz, and Ken Whiteley. Fussell has summer shows planned before a larger tour of North America and Europe this fall.
