Out now on Rykodisc, Gary Louris’ debut solo effort titled, Vagabonds is receiving critical acclaim with Amazon proclaiming “Vagabonds rightfully pens the Minneapolis musician inside a small stable of America’s greatest songwriters.” New York Daily News states “The songs all flicker with bright acoustic guitars and glow with pedal steel purrs.” Gary Louris will begin a national tour in March that includes stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and New York (please see reverse for details).

Produced by Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, Vagabonds was recorded at Sage and Sound Studios in Los Angeles and engineered and co-produced by Thom Monahan (J. Mascis,
Pernice Brothers, Silver Jews). Louris is accompanied on the album by drummer and Vetiver member Otto Hauser, bassist/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Wilson, keyboardist Adam MacDougal and pedal steel player Josh Grange. The album also features backup vocals from The Laurel Canyon Family Choir, which includes Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles), Chris Robinson and The Chapin Sisters among many others.

“This record’s a little different for me,” Louris notes. “I’ve made records in a lot of different ways, and I’ve learned that what I love the most is the synergy of a group of people playing together and the nuances and mistakes that happen live. That was really exciting for me; you’d finish the take, and what happened at that particular moment is what you hear on the record.”

Gary Louris began his recording career in 1989 and led The Jayhawks as the principal songwriter, singer and lead guitarist on three albums: Sound of Lies (1997), Smile (2000) and Rainy Day Music (2003). Louris has been engaged in a number of varied projects that include a collaboration with fellow Jayhawks co-founder Mark Olson, with whom he previously reunited for a low-key—but rapturously received—acoustic tour in 2005. Earlier this year, Louris’ other project Golden Smog, which features Jeff Tweedy along with members of The Jayhawks and Soul Asylum, released an album titled Blood on the Slacks. Louris recently co-produced The Sadies album New Seasons and was a co-writer and guitarist on the Dixie Chicks’ Taking the Long Way.

A special gatefold 180-gram vinyl edition is now available.

For more information, please contact Mary Moyer, Zach Hinkle or
Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000 or
Amber Haeckel, 212.287.6116, amber.haeckel@rykodisc.com.