Lonesome Drifter
Lonesome Drifter is the fourteenth studio album by American country singer Charley Crockett. It was released on March 14, 2025, through Lone Star Rider under Island Records.
Background
Produced by Crockett and Shooter Jennings, and recorded in ten days at the Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles, the album features twelve songs, including the title track, which was released as a single on January 31, 2025. Influenced by the work of Bill Withers, Lonesome Drifter is the debut album by Crockett on a major label. Crockett revealed in an interview with Billboard, that the album is the first in a trilogy, stating "I just got the second one done, and I’ve got the theme and sketch of the third one done."Reception
Los Angeles Times described the album as "a gorgeous set of soulful, lightly psychedelic country-blues tunes." Dallas Times commented that "Crockett hasn’t changed a bit on Lonesome Drifter, with its no-frills blend of old-school Texas country-blues, a style he's been honing since his days busking in Deep Ellum." Pitchfork rated the album 7.2 out of 10 and stated "Flush with doubt and humanity, Lonesome Drifter is a downbeat twist on the great Robert Earl Keen's liturgical formulation: The road goes on forever." No Depression remarked that Lonesome Drifter "spotlights Crockett's consistency, as he spins out another set of deftly crafted songs." Rolling Stone referred to it as a "slow-burning country-blues rocker that finds him telling the tale of a vagabond traveler, complete with a searing guitar solo." Paste assigned it a rating of 7.5 out of 10, stating "Lonesome Drifter continues Crockett's white hot run of records that sound great and are remarkably even-keeled."Personnel
Musicians
- Charley Crockett – lead vocals
- Mario Valdez – drums
- Jacob Marchese – bass
- Dave Biller – electric guitar
- Alexis Sanchez – second electric guitar
- Rich Brotherton – acoustic guitar, banjo
- Kullen Fox – piano, Wurlitzer, orchestral bells, trumpet
- Kyle Madrigal – bass, background vocals
- Anthony Farrell – organ, baritone
- Stephen Barber – string arrangements
- Suzie Katayama – strings
- Charlie Bisharat – strings
- Mario De Leon – strings
- Joel G. Deuroin – strings
- Luke Maurer – strings
- Grace Oh – strings
- Joel Pargman – strings
- Michele Kikuchi-Richards – strings
- Charles Tyler – strings
- Josefina Vergara – strings
- Tamara Hatwan – strings
- John Zachary Dellinger – strings
- Jacob Braun – strings
- Jasper Randall – vocal arrangements
- Keri Larson – vocals
- Raya Yarbrough – vocals
- Sara Mann – vocals
- Windy Wagner – vocals
Technical
- Charley Crockett – production
- Shooter Jennings – production
- Pete Lyman – mastering
- Trina Shoemaker – mixing
- David Spreng – recording
- Nate Haessly – engineering assistance
Visuals
- Micah Givens – artwork
- Bobby Cochran – photography