Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons announce the release of Panther Tracks Vol. 1 on World Will Turn Records on September 5, 2025. The first Jackmormons’ album since 2018’s Full Metal Burqa, it will be available digitally, on CD and on limited edition blue vinyl. The album includes 5 fan favorite songs from their live set that have never been recorded in a studio as well as their rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker” and new track, “New Lincoln”. Produced by Jackmormons’ drummer, Steve Drizos and recorded in his Portland, OR studio, The Panther, the album features the Jackmormons core power trio - Joseph on Guitar and Vocals, Steven James Wright on Bass and Steve Drizos on Drums, joined by frequent collaborators Jenny Conlee on piano and Eric Martinez on Guitar. Little Sue, Martin Dimpker, Adam Dimpker and Wally Ingram each guest on a song as well.
Hear "Pink Light" and read about the inspiration behind the first single in Americana UK HERE.
Joseph explains the inspiration for the album, “A few years ago Dave Schools and I were talking about a parallel universe where I was a big rock star and which songs would be my hits? If you asked my fans, many of those songs are only on live records, songs that never saw studio versions. So we made a list of those songs and with the momentum from Happy Book, our weekly virtual live show we started during Covid, we went into Steve Drizos’ studio, The Panther, and recorded them.”
The five original songs, all written at different points in Joseph’s four-decade career and not all intended for the Jackmormons, have been highlights of the Jackmormons’ set lists for years as has the Cohen-penned “You Want It Darker”. Initially, these songs were released as a subscription service called Panther Tracks for fans through Joseph’s website during the pandemic. Each month for a year, subscribers got a new song along with the story behind the song. After the year was over, Joseph was already on to other things, finally touring his critically acclaimed Patterson Hood produced, The Beautiful Madness, and recording Baby, You're The Man Who Would Be King in Brooklyn with Eric Ambel and a band of some of New York City’s best players. After releasing King in September 2023, Joseph spent much of his time touring in Europe and playing solo shows in the US. During that time, Drizos and James were also busy with their own projects, so the band was only playing sporadic shows.
Joseph returned to the Panther Tracks last year, the songs and the performances were too good not to release them in a wider way. These particular songs, picked out of Joseph’s catalog of hundreds, highlight Joseph’s talent for writing songs that emotionally resonate with listeners, and feature the stellar skill and chemistry of this trio several decades into their career. His first time at the helm with the Jackmormons, Drizos’ was able to create studio versions of these beloved songs that have all the DNA and transformative quality of the live versions but with more polish and finesse, versions that aren’t “live” but feel more alive.
Panther Tracks, which will culminate in several albums, is the ultimate Jackmormons’ stadium setlist, a love letter to the fans who have been coming out to see them for decades and a testament to the massive talent of this dynamic and powerful live band that is able to capture the magic and the chemistry in the studio as well.
