Main Facts: A Bold Return for a Acclaimed Songwriter
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Brandy Clark has officially announced her highly anticipated new studio album, The Bird, set for release on January 15th, 2027, via Reprise Records. Serving as the follow-up to her critically lauded 2023 self-titled LP—which was produced by Brandi Carlile and yielded Clark’s first Grammy win for the powerful track "Dear Insecurity"—The Bird promises to be another deeply reflective, masterfully crafted chapter in an already illustrious career.
Alongside the album announcement, Clark has gifted fans a pristine first preview: the lead single, “American Roots.” Co-written by Clark alongside Michael Pollack and Griff Clawson, the song draws thematic inspiration from Woody Guthrie’s timeless American standard, “This Land Is Your Land.” Rather than focusing on cultural divisions, “American Roots” looks outward and inward at the shared human experiences and connective tissue binding Americans together.
Driven by shimmering strings and a traditional yet fresh twang, Clark’s vocals shine with a gilded, evocative cadence. The track bridges past and present Americana, featuring lines that instantly ground the listener in a sense of place:
"If you’re here / Standing in the land of freedom / Miles and miles and miles / Underneath your boots / Every note leads back to the garden of Eden / American roots."
To support the release of The Bird, Clark will hit the road for an extensive global trek dubbed the “Take Flight World Tour.” Spanning major metropolitan areas and intimate historic theaters alike, the tour kicks off on January 22nd, 2027, at The Bellwether in Los Angeles, California, and is currently slated to run through May 2nd, concluding at the Brauntex Theatre in New Braunfels, Texas.
Chronology: From Critical Breakthroughs to the Genesis of The Bird
To understand the weight of The Bird, one must trace the trajectory of Brandy Clark’s recent musical evolution. Over the past decade, Clark has solidified her reputation not just as Nashville’s best-kept secret, but as a towering lyrical force who writes with novelistic precision.
Following the widespread acclaim of her 2020 album Your Life Is a Record, Clark reached a career milestone in 2023 with the release of her self-titled album. Produced by close friend and collaborator Brandi Carlile, the self-titled collection leaned into stripped-down authenticity and emotional vulnerability, culminating in her breakthrough Grammy win for "Dear Insecurity."
The creative momentum from that era directly fed into the sessions for The Bird. Clark decamped to legendary Los Angeles studio Sunset Sound alongside producer Shooter Jennings. Eschewing a revolving door of studio musicians for the bulk of the recording, Clark brought along her trusted road band—Gabe Burdulia, Amanda McCoy, and Erin Nelson—infusing the studio tracks with the raw, telepathic chemistry of a live-touring unit.
The resulting 11-track collection explores timeless motifs of love, loss, loneliness, and the universal search for belonging. The recording process also birthed exciting collaborative moments, featuring guest appearances from folk-rock icon Rosanne Cash on the track “Old Woman” and boundary-pushing string duo SistaStrings on “Astronaut.”
Following the album’s release on January 15, 2027, Clark will waste no time bringing the material to the stage, embarking on a multi-month run of North American dates starting in late January and continuing through the spring.
Supporting Data: Album Tracklist and Comprehensive Tour Itinerary
The Bird Official Tracklist
- The Loner And The Lonely
- Tower
- Still Found You
- Goodnight Los Angeles
- And The Sun Said To The Moon
- American Roots
- The Bird
- Astronaut (feat. SistaStrings)
- Stranger On A Plane
- Old Woman (feat. Rosanne Cash)
- If There’s Someone You Love
Brandy Clark 2026–2027 Tour Dates
Late 2026 Preview Dates:
- 09/26 – Sisters, OR @ 2026 Sisters Folk Festival
- 10/04 – Simpsonville, SC @ Fall Fest (with Amy Grant & Mac McAnally)
- 11/03 – Basel, CH @ Baloise Session
"Take Flight World Tour" – 2027 Dates:
- 01/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
- 01/23 – Monterey, CA @ Golden State Theatre
- 01/24 – Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall
- 01/28 – Berkeley, CA @ The Freight
- 01/29 – Petaluma, CA @ Mystic Theatre
- 01/30 – Ukiah, CA @ SPACE Theater
- 01/31 – Eugene, OR @ Hult Center for the Performing Arts – Soreng Theater
- 02/04 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
- 02/05 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
- 02/06 – Spokane, WA @ Bing Crosby Theatre
- 03/18 – Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere
- 03/19 – Philadelphia, PA @ City Winery Philadelphia
- 03/20 – Munhall, PA @ Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
- 03/21 – Boston, MA @ City Winery Boston
- 03/23 – Hartford, CT @ Infinity Hall
- 03/25 – Old Saybrook, CT @ The Kate (The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center)
- 03/26 – Brownfield, ME @ Stone Mountain Arts Center
- 03/27 – Portsmouth, NH @ The Music Hall
- 04/02 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
- 04/03 – Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
- 04/04 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
- 04/08 – Newark, OH @ The Midland Theatre
- 04/09 – Wabash, IN @ Eagles Theatre
- 04/10 – West Bend, WI @ The Bend Theatre
- 04/11 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery
- 04/30 – Cedar Park, TX @ The Haute Spot
- 05/01 – Arlington, TX @ Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts
- 05/02 – New Braunfels, TX @ Brauntex Theatre
Official Responses: In Clark’s Own Words
Artistic intention and community connection sit at the very heart of The Bird. In an official press statement accompanying the album announcement, Brandy Clark shared her enthusiasm for the project and her deep appreciation for the creative partnership she forged with Shooter Jennings and her bandmates in the studio:
"My hope is that listeners will feel as inspired and entertained by this body of work as we did while making it," Clark expressed.
She added, "We had such a great time bringing these songs to life in the studio, and I hope that spirit comes through. More than anything, I hope everyone who listens can find a little piece of themselves somewhere in these songs."
This sentiment mirrors the thematic undercurrent of lead single “American Roots,” which seeks to remind audiences of common ground through musical storytelling—a hallmark of Clark’s writing style that has earned her the enduring respect of peers like Brandi Carlile, Rosanne Cash, and Woody Guthrie’s spiritual disciples alike.
Implications: Where The Bird Fits in Modern Roots Music
The release of The Bird and the launch of the "Take Flight World Tour" arrive at a fascinating cultural crossroads for Americana and roots music. As mainstream listeners increasingly gravitate toward authentic storytelling and genre-agnostic roots instrumentation, artists like Brandy Clark are uniquely positioned to lead the charge.
By collaborating with producer Shooter Jennings—an artist known for seamlessly bridging traditional country grit with rock and psychedelic textures—Clark is signaling that The Bird will not merely retread the acoustic intimacy of her 2023 self-titled record. Instead, working alongside Sunset Sound veterans and her live road band suggests a grander, more expansive sonic palette.
Furthermore, guest features from elder stateswoman Rosanne Cash and contemporary string innovators SistaStrings point to an album deeply conscious of roots music’s lineage while remaining entirely forward-looking. For Clark, The Bird represents more than just a collection of songs; it is a vital continuation of her mission to champion empathy, narrative depth, and shared human experience through songcraft. As she prepares to take these 11 new tracks across international and domestic stages in 2027, Clark continues to cement her legacy as one of the defining literary voices of modern American music.
Nana Wu
Siti Muinah
