Shakey Graves Releases New Album Fondness, Etc.

Photo: Jonathan Terrell

Today, Shakey Graves, one of America’s most inventive DIY musicians and singer-songwriters, released his new, highly anticipated home-recorded album, Fondness, Etc. For his fifth record, a woozy work of avant-garde folk and trippy time travel, Graves returns to making music first for himself, now rebalanced through family and fatherhood. Fully embracing change, whether graceful or not, for us all it is an inevitability. Out now, on Secret Identity / Dualtone Records, listen to Fondness, Etc. here.

In celebration of the new record, there will be a sold-out album release show tonight at The Continental Club in Austin, with support from fellow Austinite Denis O’Donnell. Then, June 4, Graves kicks off his new North American headline tour in Tulsa, OK, with additional stops in Pittsburgh, DC, Dallas, and more. Brand tour dates were also announced today with tickets on sale next Wednesday, May 20, including stops in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and more. See full dates and get tickets at https://www.shakeygraves.com/tour.

Also out today is the new video for the focus track “No Place To Be,” a timeless folk track that delivers a wholehearted reflection on love and mortality, dedicated to Graves’ two-year-old daughter. Listen to the soul-stirring song “No Place To Be” here and watch the video here.

“It’s a new recording, but it’s the oldest song on the record, to the point where I don’t even remember when I wrote it,” reveals Graves. “For a long time, I felt like it was saccharine, but now it feels like a very sweet and to-the-point song that I want to share with my child.”

On his fifth album, Fondness, Etc., Graves reflects on the quiet grief and gratitude that come with growing up. Featuring nine lived-in songs with a folk-leaning intimacy, the album wrestles with the tension between holding onto who you’ve been and making room for who you’re becoming, as time and the people in our lives inevitably reshape us. Produced by Graves and captured on a pair of tascam tape machines in a focused one-month stretch in his home studio, the enchantingly lo-fi LP was shaped with the help of assorted musical artifacts, including a possibly haunted 1932 Gibson guitar that survived a bunker fire in World War II.

Speaking on the recording process, Graves says, "The endless options of digital recording can be deadly for my creativity. The urge to add, tinker, and perfect is nearly impossible for me to resist, and I easily get lost in the sauce. Catching the foundation of a song on tape means that you have to commit to a sound and accept what might initially be seen as mistakes.”

The album opens with “Don’t Change A Thing,” a measured proclamation of acceptance with woozy lo-fi pop production. “When the Love Is New,” with its driving tulsa sound beat and brooding alt rock vocal delivery, reflects on the nature of the heart. “Time Flies” is a standout timeless track and a moving cover of Frankie Sunswept’s wistful love song featuring a sonically decadent string quartet. “Sudenly,” an instrumental track, provides a mid album mental break, while synths swirl and chimbs soundtrack a picked guitar and based jam, while “Away It Goes” explores temporality with wee hour hazyness.

“The Boilermaker,” with restrained powerpop guitar jangle and octagon synth soundtracks lyrics, offers sober next day reflections on the drunken misadventures of the night before. Instrumental track “I Once Was An Ocean” joins us from another time with western guitars and casio program beats that pay homage to Martin Denny’s great Exotica. “On My Own,” an intimate portrait written about the looming threat of separation with hooky riffs and restrained vocal refrain, was partially recorded on Graves’ porch at home, with acclaimed makeshift couch drums and guest performers birds and wind. Closing with “No Place To Be,” Graves imparts timeless folk wisdom over restrained guitar and vocals, making us feel at home even when we feel ruddless in the turbulent waters of life.

Emerging from Austin’s DIY scene as a one-man band armed with a guitar and suitcase kick drum, Graves, who’s also a former actor, built a devoted following through breakthrough releases like Roll the Bones, relentless touring, and imaginative fan-first experiences, a spirit that continues here with a song-first, folk-rooted record grounded in intimacy, imperfection, and quiet emotional clarity.

Fondness, Etc. Tracklist

Don’t Change a Thing
When the Love Is New
Time Flies
Suddenly
Away It Goes
The Boilermaker
I Once Was an Ocean
On My Own
No Place to Be

Tour Dates

May 15 — Austin, TX — The Continental Club
with Denis O’Donnell

May 22 — Austin, TX — The Continental Club
with Jonathan Terrell

Jun 4 — Tulsa, OK — Cain’s Ballroom *

Jun 5 — Kansas City, MO — The Truman *

Jun 6 — Rockford, IL — Coronado Theatre *

Jun 7 — Lexington, KY — Railbird Music Festival

Jun 8 — Pittsburgh, PA — Roxian Theatre *

Jun 10 — King of Prussia, PA — Concerts Under the Stars *

Jun 11 — Washington, DC — Plaza Stage at Nationals Park #

Jun 12 — Westerly, RI — The United #

Jun 13 — North Truro, MA — Payomet Performing Arts Center #

Jun 14 — Tarrytown, NY — Tarrytown Music Hall #

Jun 16 — St. Louis, MO — The Pageant #

Jun 17 — Little Rock, AR — The Hall #

Jun 19 — Telluride, CO — Telluride Bluegrass Festival

Jun 20 — Salt Lake City, UT — Utah Arts Festival

Jun 26 — Dallas, TX — AT&T Performing Arts Center

Jun 28 — Vancouver, BC — FIFA Fan Festival

Jul 16 — Grand Rapids, MI — Frederik Meijer Gardens +

Jul 17 — Saint Paul, MN — Minnesota Yacht Club

Jul 18 — Sioux Falls, SD — The District +

Jul 20 — West Des Moines, IA — Val Air Ballroom +%

Jul 22 — Lewiston, NY — Artpark Amphitheater +%

Jul 23 — South Deerfield, MA — Summer Stage at Treehouse Brewing Company +%

Jul 24 — Asbury Park, NJ — Stone Pony Summer Stage +%

Jul 25 — Portland, ME — Thompson’s Point +%

Jul 26 — Shelburne, VT — The Green at Shelburne Museum +%

Jul 30-Aug 2 — Happy Valley, OR — Pickathon

Jul 30 — Jacksonville, OR — Britt Pavilion

Aug 26 — Berlin, Germany — Lido #

Aug 27 — Tønder, Denmark — Tønder Festival

Aug 28 — Amsterdam, Netherlands — Tolhuistuin #

Aug 30 — Leicestershire, UK — The Long Road Festival

Sep 1 — Glasgow, Scotland — QMU #

Sep 2 — Manchester, UK — Manchester Club Academy #

Sep 3 — London, UK — Islington Assembly Hall #

Sep 4-Sep 6 — Cornwell, UK — Kernowfornia

Sep 15-Sep 19 — Nashville, TN — AMERICANAFEST

Oct 14 — Mesa, AZ — Nile Theater &

Oct 15 — Los Angeles, CA — The Bellwether &

Oct 16 — Del Mar, CA — The Sound &

Oct 18 — San Luis Obispo, CA — Fremont Theater &

Oct 20 — San Francisco, CA — The Castro Theatre &

Oct 21 — Eugene, OR — McDonald Theatre &

Oct 22 — Seattle, WA — The Showbox &

Oct 23 — Missoula, MT — The Wilma &

Oct 24 — Bozeman, MT — The ELM &

Oct 28 — Chicago, IL — The Vic Theatre &

Oct 29 — Milwaukee, WI — Turner Hall Ballroom &

Oct 30 — Indianapolis, IN — Old National Centre - Egyptian Room &

Nov 1 — Bloomington, IL — The Castle Theatre &

Nov 2 — Oklahoma City, OK — The Jones Assembly &

Dec 2 — New Orleans, LA — Tipitina’s ^

Dec 3 — Atlanta, GA — Variety Playhouse ^

Dec 4 — Raleigh, NC — The Ritz ^

Dec 5 — Charleston, SC — Charleston Gaillard Center ^

Dec 6 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore Charlotte ^

Dec 7 — Charlottesville, VA — The Jefferson Theater ^

Dec 9 — New York, NY — Webster Hall ^

Dec 10 — Boston, MA — Roadrunner ^

Dec 12 — Montreal, QB — Beanfield Theatre ^

Dec 13 — Ottawa, ON — History ^

Dec 14 — Toronto, ON — History ^

Dec 15 — Royal Oak, MI — Royal Oak Music Theatre ^

Dec 16 — Cleveland, OH — Agora Theater and Ballroom ^

Dec 17 — Columbus, OH — Newport Music Hall ^

* with Wes Parker
# with The Man The Myth The Meatslab
+ with Texino
% co-headline with Dope Lemon
& with Wild Pink
^ with Jobi Riccio