Today The Steeldrivers announce a May 23 release for their next album, their first with the newly-resurrected Sun Records, and drop the title track, Outrun, which perfectly fits the band’s penchant for bluesy bluegrass soul music.
2025 marks their 20th anniversary together, and The Steeldrivers are dedicating this next project to founding member, the late Mike Henderson, who played mandolin with the group, and was a primary songwriter along with Chris Stapleton in the early days.
Fiddler Tammy Rogers says that his contributions were far greater than what you could see on stage.
“I lovingly refer to Mike as the architect of the band. Because he’s the one in the beginning that called us all together. Everybody respected everybody else, and that’s what created our sound and what makes it so unique.”
Outrun was written by Rogers, guitarist Matt Dame, and frequent collaborator Leslie Satcher, one they describe as part murder-ballad, part getaway thriller.
Tammy relates that the session that produced it came together by pure coincidence.
“I happened to run into [Satcher] the weekend before we were scheduled to go into the studio, and told her we didn’t have any ‘Leslie songs’ on the upcoming record. She made the time to get together and Outrun was written in about an hour and a half!”
Dame takes the lead on this one, with its highly-memorable chorus:
You can’t out run the Mississippi River in a Shelby GT Ford
You can’t out run the angels, you can’t out run the lord
You can’t out run a broken heart that gives into a gun
And you can’t out run the grim reaper once the deed is done.
Support comes from bandmates Rogers on fiddle, Richard Bailey on banjo, Brent Truitt on mandolin, and Mike Fleming on bass.
It’s a good’n. Check it out in this lyric video.
Outrun is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers are invited to contact Sun Records to obtain an airplay copy.
