LITTLE FEAT To Release First New Studio Album In 12 Years in May

LITTLE FEAT, one of rock's signature and most acclaimed bands, are inviting everyone to join them over at SAM'S PLACE.

Due out May 17 on Hot Tomato Productions/MRI. It marks the band's first new studio album in 12 years, first-ever blues album and the first one to feature linchpin conga player Sam Clayton on lead vocals on every song. This joyously blues-soaked party gets started today (March 7) with the album's first single/video “You'll Be Mine,” a cover of the Willie Dixon-written chestnut popularized by Howlin' Wolf.

Watch the video HERE, stream the song HERE, and pre-order/pre-save the album HERE. See the full track listing below and view the band's extensive “Can't Be Satisfied Tour” dates HERE and below.

The members of LITTLE FEAT 2024 are: Bill Payne, Keyboards and Vocals; Sam Clayton, Percussion and Vocals; Fred Tackett, Guitars and Vocals, Kenny Gradney, Bass; Scott Sharrard, Guitars and Vocals; and Tony Leone, drums and vocals. Their individual musical chops and collective chemistry light up the nine-track SAM'S PLACE, which was waxed at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, TN (August 2023), except for “Got My Mojo Working (Live),” recorded live at the Boulder Theatre in Boulder, CO (December 17, 2022). This is the first LITTLE FEAT album recorded with new members Sharrard and Leone.

The band's longtime friend, the beloved Bonnie Raitt, provides vocals on the Muddy Waters gem “Long Distance Call,” a duet with Sam, and the album's other special guests are Michael “Bull” LoBue on harmonica, Marc Franklin on trumpet, and Art Edmaiston on saxophone on select songs.

LITTLE FEAT emerged from the pandemic with their sense of humor, chops, and collective joy in playing intact—and their creativity has been renewed with SAM'S PLACE. The idea for the album started with Bill, but the whole band jumped in. They started working on songs at sound checks. Sam, Scott and Fred wrote a new song, “Milk Man.” 

Visiting backstage at a FEAT show, Bonnie Raitt suggested the Howlin' Wolf tune “You Will Be Mine.” Scott suggested “Why People Like That,” a Bobby Charles tune. Sam chose the Willy Dixon-penned “Don't Go No Further,” a deep Muddy track. And they included a live version of “Got My Mojo Working.” 

Scott had recorded in Memphis, and they eventually found their way to the second Phillips (the first was Sun Studios, where Elvis began his career) studio there, complete with Jerry Lee Lewis's piano, which Bill noted “practically played itself.” FEAT's a rock band, but as Scott observed, at the end “the blues is home,” and they basically recorded it live in the studio, in the tradition. Their playing is at an all-time high, and Bill thought their musical conversation was “flawless.”

Sam was a happy vocalist. His own “Milk Man,” a song about his nephew, has lyrics from his wife, Joni.  The duet with Bonnie on “Long Distance Call,” he humbly admitted, was classic. “We go good together, man.” “Last Night” was done in memory of Sam's very good friend, the late Ed Bradley of Sixty Minutes. 

And “Why People Like That” was particularly satisfying. “I just like the way the slide sounds and everything. I knew Scott is a great slide player too, plus he is a great lead guitarist. And I know we would put our touch to it, the Little Feat touch. So we just sort of did it. Scott just adds a lot to it and he answers to what I'm singing.”

SAM'S PLACE scratches a deep itch. Sam added, “I'm very happy because I was never expecting anything like that. I mean, I have wanted to, but I just wasn't expecting it to come to fruition. It was a long wait, but it's satisfying.” 

Tour Dates

Here are LITTLE FEAT's tour dates. For more information and ticket links, go HERE.

DATE	LOCATION	VENUE	BILLING / SUPPORT
Friday, May 31	Berkeley, CA	Greek Theatre	Supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band
Saturday, June 1	Berkeley, CA	Greek Theatre	Supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band
Tuesday, June 4	Reno, NV	Grand Sierra Theatre	Supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band
Wednesday, June 5	Santa Barbara, CA	Santa Barbara Bowl	Supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band
Friday, June 7	Los Angeles, CA	Greek Theatre	Supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band
Saturday, June 8	San Diego, CA	Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheater	Supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band
Sunday, June 9	Los Angeles, CA	Greek Theatre	Supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band
Thursday, June 13	Cary, NC	Koka Booth Amphitheater	Headline
Friday, June 14	Baltimore, MD	Pier Six Pavilion	Headline
Monday, June 17	Pittsburgh, PA	Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland	Headline
Tuesday, June 18	Cincinnati, OH	PNC Pavilion	Headline
Thursday, June 20	Indianapolis, IN	Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park	Headline
Friday, June 21	Grand Rapids, MI	Meijer Gardens Amphitheater	Headline
Saturday, June 22	Highland Park, IL	Ravinia Festival	Co-Headline w/ Los Lobos
Monday, June 24	Evansville, IN	Victory Theatre	Headline
Tuesday, June 25	St. Louis, MO	The Factory	Headline
Wednesday, June 26	Kansas City, MO	Uptown Theater	Headline
Friday, June 28	Sioux Falls, SD	Washington Pavilion	Headline
Saturday, June 29	Saint Paul, MN	Fitzgerald Theater	Headline
Sunday, June 30	Mankato, MN	Vetter Stone Amphitheater	Headline
Tuesday, July 2	Des Moines, IA	Hoyt Sherman Place	Headline
Wednesday, July 3	Omaha, NE	The Astro	Headline
Friday, July 5	Morrison, CO	Red Rocks	Supporting The Avett Brothers
Sunday, August 25	Bethel Woods, NY	Bethel Woods Center for the Arts	Supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band
Wednesday, August 28	Philadelphia, PA	The Mann Center	Supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band

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