Reckless Kelly won’t be releasing a new record in 2020, they’ll be releasing two of them. American Girls and American Jackpot will both see the light of day on May 22nd via Thirty Tigers as a double album concept. According to lead vocalist and guitar player Willy Braun, the band was planning to release American Jackpot in 2019, but then they had the idea of doing a double album after recording sessions for the initial album went so well and they just kept on pumping out songs.
“I’ve always wanted to write an America-themed record, but not in some super-political or ‘rah rah rah’ sort of way,” says Willy Braun, who also helped produce the two albums. “I wanted to tell stories of everyday life, and the kinds of things that nearly everybody experiences growing up in this country.” And apparently it took two albums to do that right.
Along with the current Reckless Kelly lineup that now includes Ryan Engleman of the Turnpike Troubadours, the double album set includes collaborations with Gary Clark Jr., Wade Bowen, Bukka Allen, Jeff Crosby, Charlie Sexton, Rosie Flores, Shawn Sahm, Muzzie Braun, Suzy Bogguss, and others. It’s also the first album since long-time guitarist David Abeyta left the band. Brothers Willy and Cody Braun co-founded Reckless Kelly in 1996 with drummer Jay Nazz.