Dwight Yoakam Plots Bluegrass Album: The Ram Report
Dwight Yoakam returns to his Kentucky roots for his next album, Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars…, due September 23rd. The project’s 11 songs are bluegrass versions of the country icon’s hits, with its track list forthcoming.
Yoakam worked with a new crop of collaborators on the album, including producers Gary Paczosa, best known for his work with Alison Krauss and Dolly Parton, and Jon Randall, whose many hits as a songwriter include Krauss and Brad Paisley’s “Whiskey Lullaby” and Blake Shelton’s “Savior’s Shadow.” Musicians on the album’s credits read like a who’s who list from the bluegrass world: Bryan Sutton on guitar, Stuart Duncan on fiddle and banjo, Barry Bales on bass, Adam Steffey on mandolin and Scott Vestal on banjo.
Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars… comes in the midst of a pair of television projects also on Yoakam’s 2016 plate. He is teaming with comedian/actor Jack Black on Belles and Whistles, a Fox sitcom about a father who uproots his dysfunctional family from Silicon Valley to Nashville, so that he can pursue a country music career. Yoakam is also reuniting with Sling Blade co-star (and longtime friend) Billy Bob Thornton on a legal drama called Goliath. The show, which will stream on Amazon Prime, is being written by the masterminds behind Ally McBeal and The Practice.