<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Shooter Jennings is quietly building the kind of legacy that makes his name in the production credits an endorsement all by itself.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://countrymusicnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/Levi-Foster.jpg" alt="Levi Foster announces Appalachian Funk Tree, a new album produced by Shooter Jennings and arriving October 9. Hear the title track August 21." class="wp-image-42695"/></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Much like Rick Rubin, Jennings seems less interested in imposing one signature sound than in helping artists uncover the strangest, strongest version of their own. That makes his involvement in Levi Foster’s upcoming album worth paying attention to.</p>



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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Foster will release his second full-length album, <em>Appalachian Funk Tree</em>, on October 9. Jennings produced the project at the legendary Sunset Sound studio in Hollywood.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The album promises a collision of Appalachian storytelling, bluegrass, blues, psychedelic grit and country swagger. Its title track will arrive as the next single on August 21.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">“Appalachian Funk Tree” Grows From Every Branch of Country Music</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Foster co-wrote the title track with Sabrina Stewart. The idea arrived during a deer-hunting trip in South Carolina.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I wrote this song during a deer hunt in South Carolina when the idea hit me to build a song that could hold all strains of country music under one roof,” Foster explained.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The tree became the anchor, a wild thing grew nearby feeding off bluegrass, funk, Texas swing, rock ’n’ roll, with each verse wandering into a different influence. Weird, I know. We never saw a deer that day, but we came home with a song that set the tone for the entire album.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The resulting track throws banjo, fiddle, harmonica, steel guitar and a heavy dose of Southern groove into the same pot. Foster describes the sound as something far removed from “Nashville cul-de-sac country.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">That phrase alone tells us plenty about what he and Jennings are building here.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Shooter Jennings Assembles a Serious Studio Band</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jennings did more than sit behind the soundboard for <em>Appalachian Funk Tree</em>. He also plays B3 organ and piano on one of the album’s tracks.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The supporting band includes several players with deep roots in country, Americana and roots music:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Ted Russell Kamp on bass</li>



<li>Brian Whelan on electric guitar</li>



<li>Jamie Douglass on drums</li>



<li>Greg Leisz on steel guitar</li>



<li>Aubrey Richmond on fiddle</li>



<li>Jake Groves on harmonica</li>



<li>Sammy Shelor on banjo</li>



<li>Evan Hull on electric guitar</li>
</ul>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Shelor is a five-time International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year. Leisz has recorded with artists including Joni Mitchell, Beck and Eric Clapton, while several other members of the band have worked extensively with Jennings, <a title="Tanya Tucker" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/tanya-tucker-concert-tour-dates/">Tanya Tucker</a>, <a title="Dwight Yoakam" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/dwight-yoakam-concert-tour-tickets/">Dwight Yoakam</a>, Jaime Wyatt and <a title="Colter Wall" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSColter/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fcolter-wall-tickets%2F">Colter Wall</a>.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">David Spreng served as lead engineer, with Nate Haessly assisting. Mark Rains mixed the project, and Pete Lyman handled mastering.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In other words, Foster did not show up in Hollywood with a handful of songs and settle for a generic Nashville studio treatment. He brought in a room full of musicians capable of following those songs wherever they wanted to wander.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Levi Foster Previews <em>Appalachian Funk Tree</em></h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Foster has already released three songs from the forthcoming album.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Fat Elvis” introduced the project with a rowdy story inspired by American excess, fading icons and the kind of bad decisions that look better through a Mardi Gras haze.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<amp-youtube layout="responsive" width="530" height="298" data-videoid="n0eTZkA4LxQ" title="Levi Foster- Fat Elvis (Official Lyric Video)"><a placeholder href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0eTZkA4LxQ"><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n0eTZkA4LxQ/hqdefault.jpg" layout="fill" object-fit="cover" alt="Levi Foster- Fat Elvis (Official Lyric Video)"></a></amp-youtube>
</div></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Bloodhound” uses the relentless tracking dog as a metaphor for an equally determined love. Its prominent fiddle points toward the album’s Appalachian foundation.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<amp-youtube layout="responsive" width="530" height="298" data-videoid="4mi94byv5dk" title="Levi Foster- Bloodhound (Official Lyric Video)"><a placeholder href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mi94byv5dk"><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4mi94byv5dk/hqdefault.jpg" layout="fill" object-fit="cover" alt="Levi Foster- Bloodhound (Official Lyric Video)"></a></amp-youtube>
</div></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Then there is “End of Man,” a protest song confronting artificial intelligence and the cost of technological progress for people whose lives depend on physical work and human connection.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<amp-youtube layout="responsive" width="530" height="398" data-videoid="q_u_VOwynaI" title="End Of Man"><a placeholder href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_u_VOwynaI"><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q_u_VOwynaI/hqdefault.jpg" layout="fill" object-fit="cover" alt="End Of Man"></a></amp-youtube>
</div></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Together, those songs suggest <em>Appalachian Funk Tree</em> will cover more territory than its rootsy title might imply.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The title track arrives August 21. The full album follows October 9 through Symphonic Distribution.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Listen to Levi Foster’s previously released <em>Appalachian Funk Tree</em> singles below.</p>