Souled American’s Downbeat Country Still Feels Vital - SPIN There has been a void in downbeat Americana ever since Vic Chesnutt ended his life in 2009. On his final albums, the musician had been exploring darker

"You can hear the band’s influence on Wilco and so many others. SANCTIONS sounds like it has been transmitted from a different time." --SPIN

www.spinmagazine.com/2026/04/soul...

Alt-country progenitors Souled American drop their first album in 30 years - Chicago Reader Plus: Jason Balla of Dehd celebrates a new record as Accessory, and CHIRP throws its fourth CD Blowout Sale.

Alt-country progenitors Souled American drop their first album in 30 years chicagoreader.com/music/gossip...

Tickets for Souled American: Record Release Show Find tickets for Souled American showing at the SPACE - Evanston, US Sunday Apr 26, 7:00PM Tickets starting at $33.90

Plenty of tickets still available for this Sunday's record release show at SPACE in Evanston! Don't miss Souled American's only Chicago-area appearance of 2026.

www.ticketweb.com/event/souled...

Alt-country progenitors Souled American drop their first album in 30 years - Chicago Reader Plus: Jason Balla of Dehd celebrates a new record as Accessory, and CHIRP throws its fourth CD Blowout Sale.

I interviewed Souled American about their first album in 30 years for @chicagoreader.com. Plus some details on Accessory’s record release show and @chirpradio.org’s CD Blowout Sale!

Sanctions, by Souled American 12 track album

#JustListened

This is @souledamerican.bsky.social's first album since 1996. And it is amazing!
The music is grounded and soulful, knows when to scale things back and simply feels honest and deeply human.
The sorrow in this is palpable, but without a shred of defeatism.

Highest recommendation!

This new @souledamerican.bsky.social album is AWESOME

Souled American's Sanctions + Remake (dir. Ross McElwee) I know I'm taking a break from writing but first... two of my favorite artists came back from their own extended break and I need to say this all right now before I step back. These works of art are i...

“Sanctions is one of the best records I’ve heard in years, and I am saying that out loud.”

Tonight! Avalon Lounge, Catskill NY #gapchair

@souledamerican.bsky.social also returns with An Evening with Souled American, a series of intimate performances.

A rare chance to experience songs that continue to redefine the space between country, soul, and something harder to name.

Tickets are available now: www.souledamerican.net/home/#Tour

Out now on JBR: @souledamerican.bsky.social’s Sanctions
Available today on limited edition clear vinyl.

Unwrapped, and “Unforgiven.”

Order now → pocp.co/sanctions

Sanctions, by Souled American 12 track album

#NewMusicFriday

@souledamerican.bsky.social, ‘Sanctions’

First album in 30 years by the slowest, strangest meandering-est country band that ever was. My only gotta-hear-it rec today. It’ll warp your sense of time and the direction of your heart.

souledamerican.bandcamp.com/album/sancti...

Souled American: Sanctions Read Zach Schonfeld’s review of the album.

“…bracingly raw and unvarnished, full of empty spaces and coarse, creaky vocal takes…”

Souled American on “Sanctions” and Never Having Gone Away {meta_description}

Great piece in today's Under the Radar by Mark Moody: www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/s...

wl.eventim.us/event/souled...

Tomorrow on April 17 Souled American's 1st album in 30 years SANCTIONS is released.

Tomorrow plus 2 days on April 19 Souled American plays Brooklyn's "Baby's All Right, their first NYC show since yesterday minus 8,395 days.

Ticket link below in comments.

"...much of what we now think of as alt.country or Americana we owe to Souled American..." UNCUT April 2026

"Just as cool? Souled American may be coming to your town: Starting on 4/18 up in Catskill NY, the duo rolls through the States, including a stop at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn on 4/19. Get thee out of the house to soothe your Souled. Check out Souled American pronto! (6/6)"

"Next week, Jealous Butcher Records will release Sanctions, the group’s absurdly belated seventh album. The record is time in a bottle—the core duo Chris Grigoroff and Joe Adducci seem untouched by the years. They’re as slow as ever, 33 1/3 creatures in a world set at 45. (5/6)

"that were pasted, guerilla-fashion, on the unsuspecting streets of New York. Since then, the band, while never broken up, has popped up only intermittingly. Now comes Souled American’s grandest reemergence. (4/6)

"Perhaps its strangest turn of events came back in 1997, when the music novelist Camden Joy launched “Fifty Posters About Souled American.” Herein, a posse of enthusiasts (among them Jonathan Lethem and Richard Gehr) obliquely raved of Souled American’s music on posters (3/6)

"Although occasionally celebrated in the alt-country realm, the band was ultimately one of those genre-of-one entities: It subsisted outside the boundaries, doomed to flourish for the benefit of the few. Yet this band has a weird habit of wiggling out of hibernation. (2/6)

Jay Ruttenberg, Lowbrow Reader, 4/8/26: "The band Souled American was a creature of Chicago’s heady music ecosystem of the late ’80s and early ’90s, releasing half a dozen albums between 1988 and 1995, each one capturing a sluggish and deeply secretive beauty. (1/6)

This morning on WFMU!! Thanks, Cricket.

Two drummers?

A magnificent write-up in the hilariously profane journal "Lowbrow Reader" from Jay Ruttenberg encouraging you to BUY TICKETS NOW for the upcoming performances of Souled American, described herein as "one of those genre-of-one entities... 33 1/3 creatures in a world set at 45."

The Hotlist, Spring 2026 These are the upcoming albums that Bandcamp fans are excited about.

"The beloved American alternative country band return after three decades with a new record mixing slowcore with Americana." -The Hotlist, Spring 2026, Bandcamp Daily

In case you missed it: last week on NPR!

Poster showing two guitarists leaning towards each other to chat. Text reads: Record release show Souled American Sunday, April 26, 2026 SPACE Celebrating “Sanctions,” their first record in 30 years tickets $35 table seat $30 GA seat $25 standing doors 7 pm show 8 pm 1243 Chicago Avenue, Evanston IL evanstonspace.com “Beautiful” Jeff Tweedy “A wonder” NPR “Brilliant” John Darnielle “Peerless” Uncut “Singular” Eric D. Johnson “Mysterious” Pop Matters “Arresting” Jonathan Lethem

Chicago pals! BUY TICKETS. Do not miss this! Souled American record release show 4/26. This will be a VERY special show and I'm gutted I can't get out there to see it myself.

This morning on KMRD!

Actually April 17.)