Before Todd Snider passed away last November, he completed work on a new album of original material. Snider described the songs that he’d recorded as “the sound of country music 10 years from now.” By this he was referencing an approach that has been described as “a rhythmic, blues-based shuffle augmented by horns, background vocalists, and Snider’s own hand percussion.”
This music will be released on October 9 as My Second Rodeo. Snider recorded the 10 songs that appear on the album at his East Nashville studio The Purple Building. Here he was joined by his steady collaborators Joe Bisirri, Robbie Crowell, and Aaron Lee Tasjan. This core trio was augmented by vocalists Brooke Gronemeyer, Nikki Barber, and Alicia Gail, as well as horn players Emmanuel Echem and Roy Agee.
Bisirri, who produced the album with Crowell, notes, “This album is a glimpse into the creative outpouring from Todd in September and October of 2025. His ‘sound of country music 10 years from now’ meant taking his favorite country music tropes, dismantling and reassembling them over stretched-out, swampy grooves with New Orleans-style horns. He was so sure of this sound, feel, and his studio band's pliability that he insisted on recording his vocal and guitar first, with no accompaniment or click track. Todd wanted the band to record after him, so they would HAVE to follow his lead wherever it went.”
Cowell adds, “Todd had an amazing knack for knowing where he wanted to go next musically. Helping to realize that vision was always one of my favorite things to do. It was always left of center, unexpected, and deeply layered.”
The first single from the record, “Solid Country Gold” which Snider co-wrote with Jack Ingram is now streaming. The album is available for pre-order and pre-save.
