Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-05-01
OMCAT RELEASES EXPANSIVE NEW SINGLE “ALL AROUND”
Nashville jam quintet OmCat step forward this week with “All Around,” a wide-open, 15-minute single that leans all the way into the band’s improvisational core. Arriving May 1, the track captures an intrepid group in motion, unafraid of space or the long arc.
The release lands in the middle of a busy stretch for the band. In recent months, OmCat have cut through the churn of a crowded scene with a run of high-visibility appearances, including Widespread Panic pre- and after-parties and a Goose pre-party in Birmingham, along with a capacity Broadway showing in Nashville following Billy Strings. The momentum carries forward into a summer and fall slate of headlining club dates and festival plays.
“All Around” began simply, with guitarist/vocalist Russell Somer sketching the song’s early form in 2021 on a pair of iPhone voice memos—looped guitar, improvised lyrics, a chorus taking shape in real time. Two years later, revisiting the idea in a home studio session with friend and producer Colt Stocker, the foundation shifted: hip-hop-leaning MIDI drums, reworked lyrics, and a more defined structure. By the time the demo reached OmCat in 2025, the path was clear—open it up, make room for the band, and let the middle breathe.
What followed is the version heard now: a composed entry point that gives way to a live-wire instrumental section, shaped by instinct as much as intention. In the studio, the band built an easily executable framework involving three soloists, a handful of key changes, and a return to the final chorus. From there, they let the song unfold in the room. The take that made the record is just that—a take.
Recorded at SAE Nashville, with vocals cut in a makeshift booth at keyboardist Bobby Green’s apartment, “All Around” keeps the process close to the performance. Anderson Clenderin engineered the sessions, with Clenderin and Green handling the mix and Russell steering production. The goal was less about refinement and more about preserving the moment when things tilt slightly off course and find something better.
“OmCat right now is adventurous, unhinged, and very excited about boundaryless jams being a key part of the experience between us and fans,” says Somer. “There are minimal edits during these solo sections, and what the listener hears is what happened in real time in the studio.”
Lyrically, the track holds a quieter tension. Written across different periods, the words move between uncertainty and resolve, tracing the weight of the present against the pull of small, everyday clarity.
“This world is crazy and overall oppressive at times,” Somer explains. “Focus on those small beautiful things that appear on the daily…doing so helps get through the day and stay afloat.”
At a time when the idea of a “single” continues to blur, OmCat aren’t interested in shrinking to fit.
“Who cares,” Russell adds. “This is who we are. Take it or leave it.”
If “All Around” is any indication, what’s ahead will be defined less by format and more by feel—songs that stretch, sets that shift, and a band willing to meet the moment wherever it leads.
OMCAT 2026 TOUR DATES (MORE TBA)
May 9 — Nashville, TN — Player's South Community Day Market
May 30 — Nashville, TN — The Basement (w/ Fungkshui)
June 5 — Huntsville, AL — Tip Top Cafe
June 18 — Madison, TN — Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge
June 19 — Red Boiling Springs, TN — Summer Solstice Fest
July 16 — Madison, TN — Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge
August 1 — Birmingham, AL — Trim Tab Brewing Company
August 13 — Knoxville, TN — Preservation Pub
August 14 — Knoxville, TN — Preservation Pub
August 15 — Asheville, NC — One World Brewing West
August 22 — Adams, TN — Possum Stock
August 27 — Madison, TN — Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge
September 25 — Manchester, TN — Good Friends Music Festival (w/ Dizgo and more)
October 3 — Adams, TN — Kinda Spoopy Fest
ABOUT OMCAT
OmCat is the premier up and coming jam band in Nashville, TN. Since their inception in Spring of 2024, they've been best known for their cohesive fusion of musical genres. With influences from rock to funk, disco to bluegrass, and an emphasis on groove-based improvisation they have created an original sound and live show unique to only themselves.
OmCat has already begun to leave their mark on the live circuit, performing alongside notable touring acts like Dizgo, Sicard Hollow, Freedom Junction and Mustang Mcgee (of Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country), Sqwerv, and more. They have appeared at numerous festivals in Middle Tennessee that highlight their evolving improvisational chops. With each show, they continue to build a growing community of fans drawn to their unique blend of songwriting, experimentation, and soul. As they look ahead to new material and bigger stages, OmCat is poised to become a defining presence in the next wave of jam bands emerging from the Southeast.
