Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on February 9, 2026
Photo by moran
Fresh off a jam-packed weekend of sold-out, back-to-back hometown shows in Austin, Shakey Graves has released a striking new single, “When the Love Is New.” The track arrives as an intimate, avant-garde folk-rock meditation — spare, emotional, and quietly experimental — capturing the restless creative spirit that has long defined Graves’ work.
The release coincided with Shakey Graves Day, the annual Austin tradition honoring one of the city’s most inventive DIY singer-songwriters. Launched on February 9, 2012, by the Austin mayor, the celebration has become a yearly gathering point for fans, marked by special surprises and community-focused giving.
Last Friday and Saturday’s sold-out shows carried that tradition forward, bringing together hometown crowds to celebrate an artist whose raw, genre-blurring approach fuses folk, blues, and roots rock into something unmistakably his own. Each year, Shakey Graves Day offers fan exclusives — from limited merchandise to a pay-what-you-want release of Graves’ catalog on Bandcamp — with proceeds benefiting the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM), a nonprofit providing access to affordable healthcare for Austin’s music community.
“When the Love Is New” fits seamlessly into that ethos: personal, unpolished in the best way, and deeply connected to place. It’s a song that feels less like a release strategy and more like a shared moment — a quiet offering dropped in the wake of a celebratory weekend.
Listen to “When the Love Is New”:
https://ffm.to/sg-whentheloveisnew
Watch the official video:
As Shakey Graves Day continues to grow as a uniquely Austin tradition, “When the Love Is New” stands as a fitting companion — a reminder that at the core of the celebration is an artist still chasing the spark, still willing to take risks, and still deeply rooted in the community that raised him.
