Jesse Daniel Announces New LP 'Countin' The Miles' Out in June

Austin-based singer/songwriter Jesse Daniel has announced new album Countin' The Miles, due out June 7 via Lightning Rod Records. He also released the black-and-white official video for the raucous yet reflective album opener “Comin' Apart At The Seams” featuring background vocals from Jon Randall and fiddle from the legendary Gene Elders of George Strait's Ace in the Hole Band, who passed away shortly after recording.

Tonight, Daniel starts his Countin' The Miles Spring Tour in Phoenix, continuing through Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Nashville and more over the next two months. 

Born from his commitment to contributing to the legacy of country music, Countin' The Miles, Daniel's fourth studio album, features guest appearances from Ben Haggard, son of country legend Merle Haggard, and Jodi Lyford, Daniel's partner, bandmate and frequent co-writer. His first with the Nashville-based label, the LP bears all the hallmarks of Daniel's brand of the Bakersfield sound – the twanging guitar tones, crying pedal-steel and hard hitting honky-tonk rhythms – while imbuing a gritty punk intensity and an indelible wisdom that only comes after breaking the cycle of addiction. 

Pre-save/pre-order Countin' The Miles

“I wrote this song about my experience in life,” says Daniel about the new track. “It's autobiographical and touches on the way my brothers and I grew up. Coming from a broken home, there were a lot of hurdles for us, but I see now that those hard lessons we learned so young were actually a blessing. I wrote this one about the spirit of perseverance and the earned toughness that comes from an upbringing like we had. It's the realization that no one is coming to save you. That's on us to save ourselves.”

Recorded at Austin's Arlyn Studios with the help of Grammy-winning engineer Jacob Sciba, Countin' The Miles features a stacked lineup of A-list musicians, including pianist Ronnie Huckaby and the aforementioned Elders of George Strait's Ace in the Hole Band, as well as bassist Kevin Smith – a longtime member of Willie Nelson's Family Band – and songwriter/producer Jon Randall, also the guitarist for Emmylou Harris. The album is Daniel's first as sole producer, after previously co-producing with the legendary Tommy Detamore. An album rooted in Daniel's deep conviction in country as a way of life, Countin' The Miles doubles down on the battlecry Daniel has spent years hearing from fans: “Jesse Daniel plays my kind of country.” 

Raised in a rural mountain town on California's Central Coast, he first explored his innate passion for music playing drums in local punk bands. After his family experienced financial hardship and emotional turmoil, Daniel turned to alcohol and drugs at an early age and eventually became addicted to heroin and methamphetamine. A fixture at the county jail, Daniel found himself homeless much of the time, spending days with other people caught up in the same cycle he was in – many of whom Daniel would end up writing about in his songs. When he met Lyford, with her help, he began the journey of leaving his past behind. Sober since 2017, Daniel immersed himself in the pure joy of writing country songs, fully embracing the unbridled vitality of California country and bringing a lived-in honesty to his lyrical storytelling. 

Since releasing his 2018 self-titled debut on his own Die True Records, he's earned great esteem as a country music traditionalist and built a wildly devoted international following – thanks in no small part to his freewheeling live show and tendency to tour nearly 200 days a year. His second LP, 2020's Rollin' On, received critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, The Bluegrass Situation and Saving Country Music, who lauded Daniel as “the future of country music.”

Now, he's fresh off the heels of his biggest opportunity yet – creating the theme song to Workin' Man, a Netflix special from comedian Dusty Slay who later talked up the track on a podcast hosted by arena-headlining comedy star Nate Bargatze. “Workin' Hard (Day and Night)” led to a massive boost in his audience as he prepares to release his new LP and hit the road again, intent on delivering a live show that's transcendent on multiple levels – one that appeals to all kinds of people, because Jesse Daniel plays their kind of country.

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