Rodney Crowell will release Airline Highway on August 29, 2025 via New West Records. The 10-song set was produced by Tyler Bryant and recorded & mixed by Trina Shoemaker in New Orleans, Louisiana. Crackling with live-wire energy, the album follows his 2023 Grammy Award-nominated The Chicago Sessions. The wise and vibrant Airline Highway features contributions from some of the most exciting young blues and country artists working today, all of whom count Crowell as a foundational influence.
Ashley McBryde co-wrote and sings on “Taking Flight,” Lukas Nelson co-wrote and sings the opener “Rainy Days in California,” Blackberry Smoke guitarist Charlie Starr sings on “Heaven Can You Help,” while Rebecca & Megan Lovell from Larkin Poe add harmonies and slide guitar throughout. With a career spanning more than fifty years, Crowell is still questioning how and why he makes music, still setting new rules and quickly breaking them. “This record is a document of me falling in love with these musicians,” says Crowell. “That’s one of the great perks of this job—falling in love with the people you’re playing with. And we caught that on tape.”
Check out the album’s first single video for “Taking Flight,” a duet with Ashley McBryde about the distance between old lovers.
