Goodbye 2025

My highlights of a wonderful year

Happy December 31st 2025.

This year, aside from its political turmoil, was my favorite kind of year.

A year where I got to be creative, make new work and take some time off of the road. And as much as I love touring, I certainly needed a break after three years of supporting This Is A Photograph.

I did however get to play just enough shows to scratch the itch of being a live musician, but I also go to hunker down at home in Kansas City and Los Angeles for prolonged periods of time - spending time with Katie, family and friends to make some new memories together. I also finally found the time and inspiration to get back into the studio - but more on all that later.

Anyways, I’m grateful for surviving yet another year down here on planet earth. Here are a few of my favorite things from the year that we’ve come to know as 2025:

Blood On The Tracks 50th Anniversary show in Tulsa, OK.

My year started off doing this amazing tribute night in Tulsa, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bob Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks at Cains Ballroom. I’ve meant to write about this night ever since it happened and it definitely deserves a longer post, but the year somehow got away from me. It was an incredible experience getting to sing songs with friends and legends alike at one of the best venues in America.

I also got to explore Tulsa in a way i’ve been meaning to for years. I went to the Outsiders Museum, Leon Russels studio, and re-visited the Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie Centers. Tulsa is a classic American city with big wide streets beneath a giant sky. My kinda town.

I couldn’t recommend all of these places and things more. Go to Tulsa!! You won’t be disappointed.

Baseball

This year was great for baseball in my life. I got to host my first ever hard ball game at SXSW where I assembled a bad-news-bears team of musicians to face off against the Texas Playboys at their own Long Time Sandlot. The game was absolutely heaven on earth and I plan on hosting a similar event next year, too, so look out for that.

Similarly, I was asked to be team captain at the inaugural softball game at Newport Folk Festival. This too was an unbelievable amount of fun - even if my team of Allstars got absolutely crushed by SG Goodmans Allstars.

Aside from hosting games I also released a new line of merch in collaboration with Official League and the Kansas City Monarchs.

I later got to throw out the first pitch at a Monarchs game and to top off my baseball-centric year, my song Parade got synced in the Dodgers World Series documentary. God bless baseball!

Salvation Mountain

Earlier this year I ran into my friend Tim Bernardes in Los Angeles who was visiting from Rio, Brazil. Tim told me that he had never been to Salvation Mountain but wanted to go so on a whim we assembled a small crew; Rodrigo Amarante and Kyle Thomas and the four of us piled in my car and drove out to Salvation Mountain.

I mention this as a notable part of my year because sometimes you gotta get a random crew of friends together and take a road trip if even only for 24 hours. When’s the last time you did this? If it’s been a while then I highly recommend it, it’s great for the soul.

Meeting Mavis

I know that I’ve been screaming about Mavis all year long. It’s been life changing for me having her sing one of my songs on her latest album, but I finally got to meet her last month in Denver, CO when our mutual friend Nathaniel Rateliff had us both guest at his holiday shows at Mission Ballroom to sing Beautiful Strangers together.

Mavis is a beam of light, and unlike anyone I’ve ever met. Getting to sing with her was a life highlight i’m still processing.

At one point after rehearsal I overheard Mavis telling Nathaniel that I had gone to the other side of the mountaintop and came back with Beautiful Strangers. And that right there was the highlight of my career.

(Another notable moment of these holiday shows was, at one point while doing my vocal warm ups in my green room, David Rawlins overheard me and came in and did them with me. I’m a long time huge fan of his and Gillian Welch so getting the pipes warmed up with him was an honor. God damn that man can sing).

Nathaniel, if you’re reading this, thank you for making this all happen!

Craig Finn and Patterson Hood

My favorite show of the year was seeing Craig Finn and Patterson Hood live in Los Angeles at the Lodge Room. I went to the show last minute with Jake Lenderman and Anna St. Louis - a random assortment of friends from different circles in my life, but we made a great trio.

It was fun witnessing this show through both of their eyes. Anna was unaware of Craig and Pattersons music, but I saw her become a fan in real time when Pattersons song Uncle Disney brought tears to her eyes.

And on the other side of me was Jake, a devotee in the church of Patterson. Watching Jake sing along to Pattersons career spanning set list was a treat.

This show also carries the title for likely the longest I’ve stood up at a show in my whole adult life for a single act - somewhere around two and a half hours - and I never once thought about sitting down or leaving it was so good.

Other favorite shows I saw this year were David Byrne, Oasis, Sabine Mccalla, Deslondes, Will Oldham and Nick Cave. All life changing in their own right.

WEER By Natalie Palamides

WEER is the one person rom-com written, directed, and acted out solely by genius Natalie Palamides. If you EVER get a chance to go see it, make sure you do so. You’ll laugh and likely get covered in fake blood. Natalie has become a fast friend this year, and seeing the world through her eyes is a real gift.

Albums I listened to most this year

The Purple Bird by Bonnie Prince Billie, Bleeds by Wednesday, Big City Life by Smerz, Want by Esther Rose and 24 Hour Sports by El Michels Affair.

Books I read

Lord of the flies, The Actor, Catching the big fish, Pick-Up, Stoner, Train Dreams, I Who Have Never Known Men, Emperor of Gladness, Ecstasy, Moonlight, Tokyo Express.

Movies

I also felt this year was an exciting year for film. It seemed every month I was running to the threat in anticipation to see something new, or often rewatch something I had just seen.

I loved Marty Supreme, Weapons, One Battle, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams. I also saw the 90s french film Lovers On The Bridge in theaters and it was one of the best movies i’ve ever seen. Also I highly recommend my friends incredible new film Bunny.

***

And then there was a lot of other amazing moments to my 2025 that I will talk about soon enough or I’m forgetting to mention, some pictures below. I made a lot of new music with a lot of new friends and collaborators and can’t wait to tell you all about it when the time is right.

Outside of my handful of one off shows I got to spend a significant amount of time in Upstate New York and down in the city. I also spent some time in New Orleans, my beloved Memphis, Austin and Miami. This year was significant in that it’s the first year in fifteen years that I did not go to Europe. Insane! So for better or worse, 2025 was full blooded American.

My heart aches for anyone who has had a hard year or suffered any kind of loss, as undoubtedly a lot of people have. Anyone who has been affected by ICE, or the genocide in Palestine. To those who have been victim to racism, antisemitism or senseless gun violence. There is so much pain, so much struggle, happening all around us all the time and I truly hope that 2026 can bring some peace to anyone who needs it.

Thank you so much for reading this thing yet another year. Onto the next. Wishing you all a peaceful, safe, and wonderful night as we fall out of the past and into the future - see you there.

Talk soon xoxo

Backstage at Cains Ballroom by Graham Tolbert

Working with Aaron at Long Pond

god is real

unc, young buck, OGs

bootleg