“The boat is off the shore and you can’t see land anymore—we’re in it now,” says The Last Revel banjoist, Ryan Acker, of the band’s current trajectory. “This is a step in our careers that feels like there’s no going back. There’s a level of commitment now that, just a couple of years ago, we didn’t fathom we could take on.” And their upcoming album reflects that sentiment in a surefooted and career defining way. Produced by Trampled by Turtles’ Dave Simonett, the ten-track LP dubbed Gone for Good shines with The Last Revel’s commitment to never give up, signed in blood by Acker and his musical brothers, guitarist Lee Henke and fiddler Vinnie Donatelle. A multilayered ode to the life of an artist, life on the road, and what it means to be a human being in uncertain times, Gone for Good finds the Americana/indie-folk outfit exploring the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of what it means to pursue your dreams in real time, and doing so with their hard-won and road-honed delivery.
Released today, “Solid Gone” is the first single from Gone for Good—due out July 18th via Thirty Tigers. A quick-paced clawhammer banjo and fiddle melody lead into a heady study on loss, or potential loss as the song’s inspiration hints. “In early 2023, my wife and former band got in a car accident while on tour driving through some nasty winter weather in eastern Montana,” recalls Acker. Miraculously, everyone was ok with no major injuries, but Acker and his wife were rattled by the experience. “We’ve both always known that the life of a touring musician comes with a certain amount of risk, but an extremely close call like this conjured up some heavy emotions to face.” Spending a good part of their relationship like “ships in the night,” each partner on their respective tours, Acker couldn’t help but think about if she’d never made it home from Montana that day.
“‘Solid Gone’ came from grappling with the harsh reality that just because you found your soulmate does not mean that you are guaranteed another chance to see them,” says Acker. “To hell and back we’d ride as if it was another sacred gift,” sings Henke leading the band into a final refrain. With the arrangement, the main banjo and fiddle melody don’t intuitively line up with the chords and rhythm section until you get to the release of the chorus; intentionally so. “I wanted the music and instrumentation to reflect this ‘ships in the night’ feeling,” Acker says, tying together both music and lyrics into a package well representing Gone for Good’s new era of The Last Revel; the prize for perseverance.
Yesterday, MAGNET Magazine premiered the track, writing, “‘Solid Gone’ is a standout track from Gone For Good…the album veers from intimate to epic as it charts the unpredictability and beauty of life as a traveling artist and an inhabitant of a world where the hits keep coming.”
"Solid Gone" - The Last Revel
Fans can stream or purchase “Solid Gone” today at this link and pre-order or pre-save Gone for Good ahead of its July 18th release on Thirty Tigers right here. The Last Revel return to the road on May 21st at Richmond Music Hall in Richmond, Virginia. A full list of tour dates can be found below or at thelastrevel.com/tour.
Gone for Good Tracklist:
Solid Gone
Static
Go On
Jealousy
Wait Up
Simple Wheel
Holy Moly
Tall Grass
Until Death
Porcelain
Catch The Last Revel On Tour:
May 21 - Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House - Richmond, VA
May 22 - Rex Theater - Galax, VA
May 23 - Lime Kiln Theater - Lexington, VA ^
May 24-25 - DelFest - Cumberland, MD
May 28 - Bourgie Nights - Wilmington, NC
May 29 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
May 30 - Nightfall Concert Series - Chattanooga, TN
May 31 - Cold Mountain Music Festival - Canton, NC
June 1 - Charleston Pour House - Charleston SC *
June 21 - Abayance Bay Marina - Rexford, MT
June 26 - The Racoon Motel - Davenport, IA #
June 27 - Blue Ox Music Festival - Eau Claire, WI
June 29 - Thesis Beer Project - Rochester, MN &
July 17 - Lander Presents: Summer Concert Series - Lander, WY
July 19 - Pine Creek Lodge - Livingston, MT
July 25 - FloydFest - Floyd, VA
Aug. 2 - Red Lodge Summer Fest - Red Lodge, MT
Aug. 3 - Bluegrass and Beer Festival - Keystone, CO
Aug. 7 - Cedar Lounge - Superior, WI
Aug. 8 - Ledgestone Vineyards - Greenleaf, WI
Aug. 9 - Whey Pit at Seven Acre Dairy - Belleville, WI
Aug. 29-31 - Rhythm & Roots Festival - Charlestown, RI
Sept. 10-13 - Bender Jamboree - Las Vegas, NV
Sept. 18 - Red Room at Cafe 939 - Boston, MA
Sept. 19 - 118 North - Wayne, PA
Sept. 20-21 - Annapolis Baygrass Festival - Annapolis, MD
Sept. 20 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
Sept. 24 - Shitty Barn - Spring Green, WI
Sept. 25 - Garcia's - Chicago, IL
Oct. 8 - Gothic Theater - Englewood, CO +
Oct. 9 - Aggie Theatre - Fort Collins, CO +
Oct. 10 - Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT +
Oct. 11 - Shrine Social Club - Boise, ID +
Oct. 15 - The Crocodile - Seattle, WA +
Oct. 16 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR +
Oct. 18 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA +
Oct. 19 - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA +
Oct. 20 - Music Box - San Diego, CA +
Oct. 22 - Meow Wolf - Sante Fe, NM +
Oct. 24 - Parish - Austin, TX +
Oct. 25 - The Kessler Theater - Dallas, TX +
Nov. 6 - The Burl - Lexington, KY +
Nov. 7 - HI-FI - Indianapolis, IN +
Nov. 8 - The Basement East - Nashville, TN +
^ = With The Infamous Stringdusters
* = With The Mud Minnows
# = With Lena Marie Schiffer
& = With Clay Fulton & The Lost 40
+ = With Oliver Hazard
