When Grammy-winning artist, guitarist, and producer Buddy Miller calls you up and says, “Hey, I’ve got a song you oughta hear,” anyone in their right mind would have a listen. In this case, the voice on the other end of the line was Nitty Gritty Dirt Band co-founder Jeff Hanna, and boy, what a song it turned out to be.
“Night After Night,” the Dirt Band’s new single and the first listen from the group’s upcoming EP of the same name, is a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers–esque rocker perfectly suited to kick off their first release of all-new music since 2009’s Speed of Life and a follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2022 release, Dirt Does Dylan.
“My friend, Buddy Miller, sent me the tune ‘Night After Night,’ written by two of my favorites: Paul Kennerley and Daniel Tashian,” remembers Hanna. “The band’s response was an immediate ‘Oh, hell yes!’”
Produced by fellow Grammy-winner and dobro master Jerry Douglas—who first met the Dirt Band at age 19 and went on to play on the group’s first number one single, “Long Hard Road”—Night After Night finds Hanna joined by bandmates Jimmie Fadden (drums), Bob Carpenter (harmony vocals, Hammond organ), Jaime Hanna (electric guitar, harmony vocals), and Ross Holmes (mandolin), plus guest musicians Viktor Krauss on acoustic and Tic-Tac bass and Douglas on lap steel guitar.
“Night after night, I’m so blue / Can’t even dream my dreams of you,” sings Hanna with his signature, ever-cool delivery while the freight-train groove of the band never lets up. “It’s right in our wheelhouse, and it’s pretty easy to tell what a blast we had playing and singing it,” Hanna exclaims.
Due out on October 24, 2025, the Night After Night EP was recorded at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville and The Tractor Shed Studio in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, and was mixed by Sean Sullivan alongside Hanna and Douglas. The EP is a family affair for Hanna, who co-wrote three of the new songs. “Nashville Skyline” was co-written by Hanna, his wife and celebrated songwriter Matraca Berg, and his son and bandmate Jaime. Jeff Hanna takes lead vocals on three of the five tracks, while Jaime steps up to the center microphone on the other two.
Fans can stream or purchase Night After Night now, and pre-order or pre-save the EP here. A very limited number of vinyl copies—with music on one side and a special etching on the other—as well as CDs are available at the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band online store.
The band is in the middle of their All The Good Times: The Farewell Tour and will return to the stage on October 3rd for a special set at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco. Full tour dates can be found below or at nittygritty.com/tour.
Watch the official lyric video for “Night After Night” below:
Night After Night Tracklist
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Night After Night
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Nashville Skyline (feat. Matraca Berg)
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If You Hang Around Long Enough
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Peace and Quiet
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For All The Good It Did
Catch Nitty Gritty Dirt Band On Tour
October 3 – San Francisco, CA – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
October 15 – Hamilton, ON – FirstOntario Concert Hall
October 16 – Kitchener, ON – Centre In The Square
October 17 – Orillia, ON – Casino Rama Resort Entertainment Centre
October 19 – Saginaw, MI – Theater at Dow Event Center
October 21 – Newark, OH – The Midland Theatre
October 22 – Northfield, OH – MGM Northfield Park
October 24 – Effingham, IL – Effingham Performance Center
October 25 – Muskegon, MI – Frauenthal Center
October 26 – Wabash, IN – Honeywell Center – Ford Theater
October 28 – Nashville, TN – Grand Ole Opry (Grand Ole Opry House)
March 20–25, 2026 – Miami, FL – Outlaw Country Cruise
About Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Formed in 1966 as a Long Beach, California jug band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band scored its first charting single in 1967 and went on a wildly successful ride through folk, country, rock ’n’ roll, pop, bluegrass, and Americana.
For nearly six decades, they’ve entertained audiences with their top-shelf musicianship, groundbreaking Will The Circle Be Unbroken trilogy, and timeless hits such as “Mr. Bojangles,” “Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper’s Dream),” “Modern Day Romance,” “Workin’ Man (Nowhere To Go),” and “Fishin’ in the Dark.”
Now in the midst of their Farewell Tour, the CMA and IBMA Award–winning band that has carried the torch for American roots music for nearly 60 years is saying goodbye to the highways and byways they’ve traveled countless times—while celebrating their artistry and staying power with brand-new music.
