New York, NY –  (March 24, 2015) – Rhett Miller has been playing in touring bands (most notably, The Old 97’s) for the better part of 20 years. This fact alone certainly qualifies him as someone allowed to title his latest solo album titled The Traveler, which will be released on May 12^th.

Although the album was written and performed by Miller he also had some help, most notably by the members of Black Prairie, a band based in Portland that plays everything from bluegrass to klezmer to country and shares members with the Decemberists. The band (Black Prairie) entered the studio with the singer (Rhett Miller) and briskly recorded the songs that make up this album (The Traveler). Additional guitar work was also added by Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey of REM.

LISTEN + SHADOenAnd RE “MOST IN THE SUMMERTIME”

“I fell in love with the band Black Prairie during a tour we did together a couple of years ago,” said Miller. “Since then, I have been looking for an excuse to get into a studio with them. When the 97’s finished our most recent album, Most Messed Up, and I looked at the stack of songs I had left over, I realized they would be perfect for a collaboration with Black Prairie.

Courtesy of Rolling Stone, you can now hear the joyful, jubilant first track from the record, “Most in the Summertime”. Head below to check out Rhett’s upcoming tour dates, including April’s shows with Jay Farrar of Uncle Tupelo.

Tour Dates

4/23 – Cincinnati, OH – 20^th Century Theater#

4/24 – Bloomington, IN – Castle Theater#

4/25 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School of Folk Music#

4/26 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School of Folk Music#

5/13 – Somerville, PA – Johnny D’s

5/14 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall

5/15 – Hudson, NY – Club Helsinki

5/17 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café

5/18 – Annapolis, MD – Ram’s Head Tavern

5/21 – Wilmington, DE – World Café Live

6/11 – Fort Worth, TX – Shipping and Receiving Bar

6/12 – Austin, TX – Strange Brew

6/13 – Houston, TX – Mucky Duck

6/15 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern

6/16 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios

6/18 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel

6/19 – Los Angeles, CA – Hotel Café

6/20 – San Diego, CA – The Casbah

6/21 – Hermosa Beach, CA – Sainte Rock

6/24 – New York, NY – City Winery

# = with Jay Farrar