Corb Lund To Toast Peers in New Album “Songs My Friends Wrote”

photo: Noah Fallis

Like any true country cowboy troubadour, Canada’s Corb Lund spends his days herding cattle and bucking hay, and then spends his nights scratching out tunes around the kitchen table in dirty Carhartt’s with callused hands. It’s been his combination on keen cowboy insight and cutting wit that has made him a legend of Canadian country, and earned him a few fans south of the border and other faraway places as well.

Corb Lund is know for handing his own songwriting for the most part. But for his next project he’s chosen to pay homage to some of his best buds and towering forefathers in a work he’s titled Songs My Friends Wrote. Out on April 29th on New West Records, it will include songs from folks like Canadian country legend Ian Tyson, fellow Canadian wordsmith Fred Eaglesmith, Tom Russell, Todd Snider, and Hayes Carll, who Corb famously recorded a duet with in 2012 on the cross border carol “Bible on the Dash.”

“’Songs My Friends Wrote’ is an album I’ve been threatening to make for years,” says Corb Lund. “In most cases I’ve picked relatively obscure songs that have always spoken to me, even though many of them won’t be so familiar to people. The best part about recording all these tunes was that they reminded me of all the people who I haven’t been able to hang out with for the past two years because of the plague we’ve all been dealing with. All of these tunes bring a smile to my face and I hope they do the same for you.”

The album comes on the heels of Corb Lund and his last album Agricultural Tragic winning the 2021 CCMA (Canadian Country Music Association) award for Alternative Country Album of the Year. He’s also finally getting ready to make his Grand Ole Opry debut later this year. Ahead of the album, Lund has released his version of Hayes Carll’s “Highway 87.”

“I’ve known Hayes forever,” Lund says. “We met at a card game in Dauphin, Manitoba, many moons ago and we both lost all our money to my ex, Debbie. Hayes and I have toured together, written together, drank together and he’s one of my best friends in music. This song is one of his that’s older and not as widely known, but my guys and I have been playing it for years. I love it.”

Songs My Friends Wrote will be released digitally on April 29th, with CDs and vinyls available on June 17th, including a limited smoke colored edition signed by Corb. The album is now available for pre-order.

Track Listing:  

1. Highway 87 (Hayes Carll)
2. That’s What Keeps the Rent Down, Baby (Geoff Berner)
3. Montana Waltz (Ian Tyson)
4. Blue Wing (Tom Russell)
5. Pasa-Get-Down-Dena (John Evans)
6. Spookin’ the Horses (Fred Eaglesmith)
7. Little Rock (Hayes Carll)
8. Road To Las Cruces (Ian Tyson)
9. Big American Headliner (Mike Plume)
10. Age Like Wine (Todd Snider) 

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