HRISHIKESH HIRWAY UNVEILS NEW SINGLE “ROLLERCOASTER” WITH VIDEO

NEW ALBUM IN THE LAST HOUR OF LIGHT OUT APRIL 24

‘A CONCERT AND CONVERSATION WITH HRISHIKESH HIRWAY AND SPECIAL GUESTS’ KICKS OFF NEXT MONTH

WITH ADAM SCOTT, KEN JENNINGS, SAMIN NOSRAT, JASON MANTZOUKAS, MIN JIN LEE AND MORE

“[Hrishikesh’s] hushed, acoustic vignettes have truly connected with their audience... a beautiful acoustic hymnal, fueled by patience and grace.”—CLASH

Best New Music - “Stray Dogs” (feat. Iron & Wine)—Folk Alley / Radio Milwaukee

“The lovely lead single, ‘Stray Dogs,’ is a collaboration with Iron & Wine.”—Our Culture

March 18, 2026—Hrishikesh Hirway today unveils a new song, “Rollercoaster,” featuring Fenne Lily and Uwade—listen here and watch the video here. The track is the latest release from Hirway’s upcoming album, In the Last Hour of Light, out April 24 via Keeled Scales— pre-order/pre-save here. The album is his first full-length release under his own name, marking his return to making records after more than a decade focused on audio storytelling through his acclaimed podcast Song Exploder.

“Rollercoaster” is a meditation on longing and displacement, built from two images that lodged themselves in Hirway’s imagination: the buffalo of Catalina Island, brought there by ship in the early 20th century and stranded ever since, and the uncanny sense of isolation he felt as a child of immigrants in their adopted homeland. Co-written with Fenne Lily and Uwade, the track finds Hirway placing himself back in Massachusetts, feeling out of place and full of dreams he can’t yet name, asking whether you can miss somewhere you’ve never been. Both Lily and Uwade contribute vocals, as does Ken Pomeroy, their combined voices lifting the song toward a feeling of lightness and air, a counterpoint to the loneliness at its center.

“The image of a person riding a rollercoaster on their own,” says Hirway, “struck me as terribly lonely. The endless loop felt like a mirror of the way my own thoughts often feel, and the endlessness of the ocean around Catalina and these buffalo that will never leave there..”

“Rollercoaster” follows the previously released single “Stray Dogs,” featuring Iron & Wine—listen here. The song was written with a prompt from Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, and Beam's contribution to its creation led Hirway to ask him to sing on it as well.

Hirway has also confirmed the special guests who will join him on a set of upcoming tour dates, including actor Adam Scott (Severance, Parks & Rec) in New York, actor Jason Mantzoukas (Brooklyn 99, The League) in Los Angeles, chef/author Samin Nosrat (Salt Fat Acid Heat) in San Francisco, actor Josh Malina (The West Wing) in Chicago, author Min Jin Lee (Pachinko), Ken Jennings (Jeopardy!) and John Roderick (The Long Winters) in Seattle, author Austin Kleon (Steal Like an Artist) in Austin, and more. A Concert and Conversation with Hrishikesh Hirway and Special Guests will consist of a moderated talk with a noted guest (musicians, authors, filmmakers, podcast hosts) about his songs and where they came from, followed by a live performance. Additional guests will be announced soon. See below for full tour routing and visit hrishikesh.co for more information.

In the Last Hour of Light is a deeply personal memoir about letting go; of people, of fading memories, of the desire to stop time. Written in the wake of Hirway’s mother’s death and amidst his father’s hospitalization, the album’s eleven tracks reflect on loss, long shared and fleeting love, and the everyday moments that shape us. Arrangements balance between quiet intimacy and spacious, Americana-tinted soundscapes meant to embrace the imperfection and unexpected qualities of being alive.

The theme of letting go extended to Hirway’s own historically tight sense of creative control, and he turned to Grammy-nominated producer Phil Weinrobe (Big Thief, Adrianne Lenker), who recorded the album live at his Brooklyn studio, Sugar Mountain. Weinrobe arranged all the players close enough so they could all hear Hirway’s vocals as they recorded, playing without headphones or click track.

After years as the sole writer, producer and performer behind The One AM Radio, Hirway approached this entire record with collaboration in mind. Collaboration was his way out of the years-long writer’s block that had led him to create the Song Exploder podcast. He co-wrote with Kevin Morby, Vagabon, and others, including Fenne Lily, Ken Pomeroy, and Uwade, who are also featured guest vocalists on the album. The album features a world-class band including Josh Crumbly on bass, Oliver Hill on piano, Sean Mullins on drums, Ken Pomeroy on acoustic guitar, El Kempner (of Palehound) on electric guitar, Billy Crockett on resonator guitar, and Cole Kamen-Green on trumpet and EVI, along with Melina Duterte (of Jay Som), Dustin O'Halloran, Mike Haldeman, Shahzad Ismaily, Jon Natchez (of The War on Drugs), Daniel Hart, Zosha Warpeha and more.

That band appears throughout the album, along with other performers that include Melina Duterte (of Jay Som), Dustin O’Halloran, Mike Haldeman, Shahzad Ismaily, Jon Natchez (of The War on Drugs), Daniel Hart, and Zosha Warpeha.

It’s a glimpse into the team of world-class musicians and writers he assembled for the project, which also includes contributions from Jenny Owen Youngs, TOMI, John Mark Nelson, and more.

ABOUT HRISHIKESH HIRWAY

Hrishikesh Hirway has been producing music for over two decades; his EP Rooms I Used to Call My Own was released in March 2022, and he composed the original score for the 2025 thriller Companion. His music career first began in the early 2000s with his solo project The One AM Radio, and later with MOORS, a collaboration with Oscar-nominated actor and rapper Lakeith Stanfield. He’s the host, creator, and executive producer of Song Exploder, an award-winning podcast and a Netflix original television series, where musicians tell the story of the creative process behind one of their songs. Hirway will receive iHeartMedia’s 2026 Icon Innovator Award at this year’s SXSW for his “visionary approach to storytelling” through the podcast.

Hirway additionally produced and co-hosted the award-winning podcasts Home Cooking, with chef and author Samin Nosrat; and The West Wing Weekly, with actor Joshua Malina.

For more information, please contact Krista Williams, Christopher Emond or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.

IN THE LAST HOUR OF LIGHT TRACK LIST
1. Stray Dogs (feat. Iron & Wine)
2. Dark Circles (feat. Fenne Lily)
3. Rollercoaster
4. Things Change, Even Now
5. The Ocean (feat. Uwade)
6. Big Sky (feat. Ken Pomeroy)
7. Charlie, Short for Charlotte
8. When I Look At You
9. Your Voice (feat. Ken Pomeroy)
10. Swimming Pool
11. Home Movies

TOUR DATES
A CONCERT AND CONVERSATION WITH
HRISHIKESH HIRWAY AND SPECIAL GUESTS

April 22—3TEN—Austin, TX
with Austin Kleon

May 14—Pacific Electric—Los Angeles, CA (Presented by KCRW)
with Jason Mantzoukas

May 16—Swedish American Hall—San Francisco, CA
with Samin Nosrat

May 27—Analog at Hutton Hotel—Nashville, TN
Special Guest TBA

May 30—Lincoln Hall—Chicago, IL
with Josh Malina

June 7—Triple Door—Seattle, WA
with Ken Jennings & John Roderick

June 11—Sinclair—Boston, MA
with Min Jin Lee

June 13—LPR—New York, NY
with Adam Scott