Country rockers 49 Winchester are set to release their fourth album, Fortune Favors the Bold. The group will put it out through New West. With the announcement of the album, the band shared the video for the record’s lead track, “Annabel.”
Hailing from Castlewood, Virginia, 49 Winchester is slated to release Fortune Favors the Bold on May 13. It will be the band’s fourth studio record since their forming as teenagers on Winchester Street in the town of only 2,045 people. The 10-track album was co-produced by the band and Stewart Myers (O.A.R., The Infamous Stringdusters) with additional recording and production by Kenny Miles (Wayne Graham).
“Annabel” is a wholesome, evil-doer’s plea for love: “You wanted a man to marry / And I could never get past my sin.” Frontman Issac Gibson’s husky drawl sears of the pain of living in one’s own head, in which the band’s intertwining of piano, harmonies, and strings beautifully carries that agony through their country-kissed workmanship.
“I wrote ‘Annabel’ not long after the band first started,” Gibson said. “We played it some, retired it, and forgot about it. It was a good tune we had never recorded and hadn’t played live in a while so we revisited it, breathed some new life into its lungs and it turned out to be one of my favorite tracks on the record.
“We decided on it as the initial release from this album because it perfectly sums up what we set out to do, which was to push our sonic boundaries. We used some different instrumentation than usual — Bus plays the baritone guitar, there is an acoustic track there. It’s just lush and rich. Stewart Myers, who recorded the album, did a really killer job of capturing that big, full sound we wanted, alongside the post-production by Kenny Miles. ‘Annabel’ is definitely one of the shining examples of that.”
Fortune Favors the Bold follows 49 Winchester’s 2020 self-released III.
“Signing with New West Records is something we’re really proud of,” Gibson said. “They’re an artist-centered label who gave us total creative freedom to make a record that is authentically us, and I speak for all the guys in the band when I say we are super excited about this being a New West release. I don’t think any other label could fit us so perfectly. We are looking forward to getting this record out and playing it on the road this summer!”
The band is set to perform at Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion and SXSW Music Festival next month, and you can catch them at Floydfest, Merlefest, Red Wing Roots Music Fest, and/or the Bristol Rhythm and Roots reunion. Fortune Favors the Bold is available for pre-order now.
New West Records, 2022
Fortune Favors The Bold Track List
1. Annabel
2. Man’s Best Friend
3. Russell County Line
4. All I Need
5. Hillbilly Daydream
6. Damn Darlin’
7. Fortune Favors The Bold
8. Second Chance
9. Neon
10. Last Call
The band will also be hitting the road for a string of dates beginning in March, including a run with Whiskey Myers, which you can see below.
49 Winchester On Tour:
March 9 – Fayetteville, AR – George’s Majestic Lounge
March 10 – Tulsa, OK – Mercury Lounge
March 11 – Dallas, TX – Sundown at Granada
March 17 – Spicewood, TX – Luck Reunion
March 18 – Austin, TX – Antone’s (New West Records Official Showcase)
March 19 – The Woodlands, TX – Dosey Doe
March 26 – Pineville, KY – Bell Theatre
April 21 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In
April 22 – Oxford, MS – Double Decker Art Fest
April 23 – Biloxi, MS – Crawfish Music Festival
April 29 – Brevard, NC – 185 King Street
April 30 – Scaly Mountain, NC – Bear Shadow Music Fest
May 1 – North Wilkesboro, NC – MerleFest
May 5 – Athens, GA – Southern Brewing Company
May 6 – Atlanta, GA – Smith’s Olde Bar
May 10 – New York, NY – The Mercury Lounge
May 14 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
May 19 – Greenville, SC – The Radio Room
May 20 – Elon, NC – Power and Sound Revival
May 21 – Beaufort, NC – Beaufort Music Festival
June 3 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
June 4 – Lexington, KY – The Burl
June 8 – Cedar Rapids, IA – McGrath Amphitheatre *
June 9 – Maryland Heights, MO – Saint Louis Music Park *
June 10 – Camdenton, MO – Lake Ozarks Amphtheater *
June 11 – Council Bluffs, IA – Westfair Amphitheatre *
June 15 – Cincinnati, OH – Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center *
June 16 – Asheville, NC – Rabbit Rabbit *
June 18 – Brandon, MS – Brandon Amphitheater *
June 25 – Mount Solon, VA – Red Wing Roots Music Festival
July 7 – North Charleston, SC – Firefly Distillery – Lawn *
July 8 – Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre *
July 9 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater *
July 10 – Portsmouth, VA – Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion *
July 12 – Manteo, NC – Roanoke Island Festival Park *
July 14 – Dothan, AL – National Peanut Festival *
July 15 – Cocoa, FL – Cocoa Riverfront Park *
July 16 – Pompano Beach, FL – Pompano Beach Amphitheatre *
July 17 – St. Augustine, FL – The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre *
July 27-30 – Floyd, VA – FloydFest
August 4 – Missoula, MT – Big Sky Amphitheatre *
August 5 – Billings, MT – Magic City Blues Festival *
August 7 – Boise, ID – Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden *
August 11 – Grand Junction, CO – Las Colonias Park Amphitheater *
August 12 – Sandy, UT – Sandy City Amphitheater *
August 13 – Cheyenne, WY – Terry Bison Ranch Resort – Gathering Hall *
September 10 – Bristol, TN – Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion
* Whiskey Myers with Shane Smith & The Saints, and 49 Winchester
