Article Contributed by Sacks and Company
Published on 2026-04-25
Photo: Max Wagner
Critically acclaimed and much beloved folk duo The Milk Carton Kids—Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan—share their new album, Lost Cause Lover Fool, today via Far Cry Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers. Stream/purchase HERE.
Produced by Pattengale, Lost Cause Lover Fool is the duo’s seventh studio album, expanding on their signature minimalist sound while staying grounded in the intimate songwriting and understated arrangements that define their work. Already receiving critical attention, Glide declares, “The Milk Carton Kids fearlessly sit in emotions most would run away from to fuel Lost Cause Lover Fool,” while The Arts Desk praises the new collection as “a beautiful set of songs, slow-paced, and reflective, and you can’t help but be drawn in.”
In celebration of the new music, The Milk Carton Kids will return to CBS Mornings “Saturday Sessions” tomorrow, before embarking on their extensive Lost Cause Lover Fool Tour this fall. Newly confirmed stops include New York’s Webster Hall, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse, Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club, Boston’s The Wilbur, and Seattle’s Neptune Theatre among many others. Tickets for the new dates are now available for pre-sale, with general on-sale following next Friday, May 1 at 10:00am local time. Registration for pre-sale and details can be found at themilkcartonkids.com.
“This album is, at its core, a collection of songs about transformation,” Pattengale reflects. “About the shifting terrain of consciousness and the stories we build to understand who we’ve been, who we are, and who we’re becoming. Each song takes a single moment, sometimes examined with microscopic closeness and sometimes viewed from a great distance, and lets it expand until it becomes an entire world.”
Founded in 2011, The Milk Carton Kids swiftly emerged as a major force in Americana folk tradition, blending ethereal harmonies and intricate musicianship with a contemporary songwriting sensibility. Renowned for their songwriting, folk sensibilities, and vocal harmonies, the duo has earned four Grammy nominations, had their music featured in film and television projects including Promised Land and Girls5Eva, and collaborated with Joe Henry, Rosanne Cash, Sara Bareilles, and Josh Ritter, among many others.
Their 2023 album I Only See The Moon received widespread praise, with Relix proclaiming, “A collection of songs bathed in warming eloquence and poetic nuance,” while Glide Magazine declared, “The eleven-song effort eases out majestically around the duo’s vocal harmonies and light acoustic instrumentation.”
In October 2023, the pair founded the Los Angeles Folk Festival, with its first annual iteration earning accolades from Variety, The Bluegrass Situation, KCRW, and others. The festival has featured performances by Emmylou Harris, Waxahatchee, Sierra Ferrell, Willie Watson, and more. Across all their endeavors, the duo remains dedicated to a single idea: music can help turn down the volume on a chaotic world and make room for what matters most.
LOST CAUSE LOVER FOOL TRACK LIST
1. Blue Water
2. My Place Among the Stones
3. A Friend Like You
4. I’ll Go Home From Here
5. Lost Cause Lover Fool
6. Blinded and Smiling
7. Sad Song
8. Ribbon
9. Young Love
THE MILK CARTON KIDS TOUR DATES
July 21-24 — Big Indian, NY — Sad Songs Summer Camp
August 15 — Grand Prairie, AB — Bear Creek Festival
August 28 — Olivebridge, NY — Summer Hoot Festival
August 29 — Easthampton, MA — Arcadia Folk Festival
September 15 — Knoxville, TN — Bijou Theatre
September 17 — Atlanta, GA — Variety Playhouse
September 18 — Asheville, NC — The Orange Peel
September 19 — Carrboro, NC — Cat’s Cradle
September 21 — Washington, D.C. — 9:30 Club
September 23 — New York, NY — Webster Hall
September 24 — Ardmore, PA — Ardmore Music Hall
September 26 — Boston, MA — The Wilbur
October 7 — Portland, OR — Revolution Hall
October 9 — Seattle, WA — Neptune Theatre
October 10 — Vancouver, B.C. — Hollywood Theatre
October 15 — South Salt Lake City, UT — The Commonwealth Room
October 17 — Denver, CO — Bluebird Theater
October 18 — Denver, CO — Bluebird Theater
November 6 — Toronto, ON — Massey Hall
November 8 — Nashville, TN — Ryman Auditorium
November 15 — Los Angeles, CA — The Fonda Theatre
January 14 — London, U.K. — Barbican Centre
January 15 — Bristol, U.K. — Bristol Beacon
January 16 — Manchester, U.K. — Albert Hall
January 17 — Glasgow, U.K. — Pavilion Theatre
January 19 — Dublin, Ireland — 3Olympia Theatre
For more information, visit www.themilkcartonkids.com.
