Article Contributed by Big Hassle Media
Published on 2026-09-27
Photo Credit: Aspen DeRosa
Kendall Street Company is thrilled to release “My Captain”, the second song sampling from their forthcoming folk album, Yodeling Astroman, out everywhere on October 23 via Gitcha Records.
Yodeling Astroman is Kendall Street Company’s eighth studio album and was recorded, mixed, and co-produced by longtime band collaborator Scott Gordon (Ringo Starr, Alanis Morissette) in Virginia Beach and Charlottesville, VA.
While the first single, “Don’t Wanna Be Gone”, turns inward to feelings of mindfulness and a longing for home, “My Captain” explores themes of escape and adventure gone wrong, only to come to the same conclusion. Sonically, this song features distorted electric guitar and intense saxophone, symbolizing a ship’s horn and later the chaos taking place at sea.
Legend has it that the mysterious and bardic Yodeling Astroman materialized in deep space shortly after the Big Bang and stumbled upon Earth by chance. Astroman eventually became intrigued by human life and their capacities to equally love and to hate, to hope and to despair, to build and to destroy. Kendall Street Company took creative liberties in channeling this otherworldly perspective, resulting in an album that captures just a handful of choice selections from the Yodeling Astroman’s vast and mysterious observations.
“My Captain is a dark tale that I hope our listeners will never have to experience in their real lives. This song came to be as I was reading Herman Melville’s great American novel Moby-Dick. I felt inspired by the concept of a mutilated sea captain that has lost his marbles in the name of revenge and figured it’d be fun to write in that world for a bit.”
—Ben Laderberg
The first single, “Don’t Wanna Be Gone”, started as a dive into the complexities of life as a touring musician and then became a wider examination around the idea of “being gone” mentally or physically in many different contexts of life. “It’s a song about wanting to stay in the present moment despite everything happening all the time,” says the band’s frontman and songwriter Louis Smith.
The song came together in pieces over time. Smith drew inspiration from videos of the Asheville floods and California wildfires, Mad Max: Fury Road, Paul Simon, and the ups and downs of life on the road. What emerged is a song that touches on touring, lost love, climate change, substance abuse, displacement, mindfulness, anxiety, and existence. “It’s a song I had to wrestle with for a while, but I’m happy where it landed.”
The band is currently on the road in support of the new album, bringing the Yodeling Astroman tour to cities across the eastern half of the country through the end of the year. Tickets are on sale now, and full tour dates are listed below. For news and all up-to-date information, visit kendallstreetcompany.com.
September 25 — Open Chord — Knoxville, TN
September 26 — Touch of Brews — Nashville, TN
October 8 — Johnny Brenda’s — Philadelphia, PA
October 9 — Brooklyn Bowl — Brooklyn, NY
October 10 — Infinity Music Hall — Hartford, CT
October 11 — Ramble Festival — Darlington, MD
October 23 — The Jefferson* — Charlottesville, VA
October 29 — The 8x10 — Baltimore, MD
October 30 — Parkway Brewing — Salem, VA
November 5 — Buffalo Ironworks — Buffalo, NY
November 6 — Club Cafe — Pittsburgh, PA
November 7 — House of Blues^ — Cleveland, OH
November 13 — Sunset Songs Series — Ocala, FL
November 20 — The Broadberry — Richmond, VA
November 25 — The Bunker — Virginia Beach, VA
December 1 — Proud Larry’s — Oxford, MS
December 2 — Resonant Head — Oklahoma City, OK
December 3 — Deep Ellum Art Co. — Dallas, TX
December 4 — Brushy Street Commons — Austin, TX
December 5 — The Exchange — Corpus Christi, TX
December 6 — Dan Electros — Houston, TX
December 9 — Chickie Wah Wah — New Orleans, LA
December 10 — Fair Hope Brewing — Fair Hope, AL
December 11 — Saturn — Birmingham, AL
December 12 — Oskar Blues — Brevard, NC
* Co-bill with Big Something and official album release show
^ Supporting Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Kendall Street Company
Gitcha Records
Release date: Friday, October 23, 2026
01. Last Night I Dreamed
02. Don’t Wanna Be Gone
03. Lost and Found
04. Back in My Day
05. Feelings (or How Do I Feel?)
06. Hoyt & Horn
07. My Captain
08. 16oz World
09. Smashed Roach
10. How Can It Be
11. The Gambler
12. Lord Von Rubin
13. My Doubts
14. Yodeling Astroman
15. Get Along Now lil’ Doggie
Virginia’s Kendall Street Company are no strangers to having a wild time. Over the last decade, their super-tight five-piece touring machine has created a unique live experience incorporating elements of crowd participation, off-the-cuff comedy, haphazard choreography, and musical improvisation.
A prominent featuring act in the jamband scene, KSC has performed alongside many acts, including Goose, Leftover Salmon, Melvin Seals and JGB. In 2026, KSC released two singles produced by Dave Schools of Widespread Panic. KSC might be for you if you like space operas, heartfelt love ballads, songs about misfit sea creatures, soaring saxophone solos, or folksy songwriting.
Kendall Street Company’s upcoming album, Yodeling Astroman, will be released on vinyl and CD via Gitcha Records on October 23, 2026.
