Texas-based singer-songwriter Rob Baird announces new LP "Burning In The Stars" featuring Ruston Kelly, out on June 21.

Hard Luck Recording Company and Rob Baird proudly announce the release of Burning In The Stars, the seventh studio album by the acclaimed Texas-based singer-songwriter. The album will be released on Friday, June 21. Recorded with Baird’s longtime touring band and produced by frequent collaborator Brian Douglas Phillips, the 11-track collection delves deeper than ever before with raw, vulnerable reflections on hope and loss, faith and resilience, heartbreak and redemption. Baird reflects, “Seven records in, I feel like I’ve finally become the artist I always wanted to be.” With his extraordinary new album, it’s easy to hear why.

The songs are concise and direct, cutting to the core with precision, and the performances are similarly straightforward, driven by earnest, melodic arrangements that evoke influences from Tom Petty and Bob Seger to Lucinda Williams. The result is a blend of alt-country intimacy and rock and roll energy that confronts pain in its pursuit of growth, a mature work of lyrical and sonic craftsmanship built around the idea that it’s never too late to learn from our mistakes. Check out the music video for the album’s new single, ‘Hold Tight.’

Baird shared the following about the song: "Too many days pass, and relationships become fragile. So you rush home to try and mend things. It never works out in the long run, of course, but that never stopped me from trying."

Singer-songwriter Rob Baird explains that he has a Charles Bukowski poem taped to his fridge that says, "If you're going to try, go all the way / Otherwise, don't even start." He believes that his latest record is the first one where he has truly gone all the way. Baird grew up in Memphis, where he developed a passion for music at a young age. He used to sneak into juke joints on Beale Street and even scored gigs at local clubs before he was of legal drinking age. After finishing high school, he went to college in Texas, but he had already secured a publishing deal and moved to Nashville by his early twenties.

I went from writing songs on the couch in my dorm to being in the room with some of my heroes in what felt like the blink of an eye,” Baird recalls. “I did that for about five years, and it was an incredible experience, but after a while I found myself longing for the independence I had back on that couch. It was important for me to be in control of my music and my destiny, and Texas felt like the place to do that."

After returning to Austin, Baird spent nearly a decade touring and releasing six well-received studio albums on his own label. He started out playing in rough honkytonks and eventually landed gigs with artists like Jason Isbell, Nathaniel Rateliff, Ryan Bingham, and Billy Joe Shaver. Throughout this journey, he received praise from publications such as Rolling Stone and The Wall Street Journal, had his music featured on popular TV shows like Yellowstone and Nashville, and accumulated nearly 100 million streams across various platforms, all while remaining an independent artist.

Baird's upcoming album, "Burning In The Stars," starts with the bittersweet title track. The song balances regret and optimism, capturing a late-night, reflective moment as the narrator grapples with what could have been and what remains. In the lyrics, Baird sings about trying to return to a place he's never been and letting the ashes burn on the western wind. This sets the stage for an album filled with longing, uncertainty, and introspective questions. The uplifting "Break My Fall" ponders whether a romance can withstand tough times, while the emotional ‘California Line’ delves into a memory just out of reach. Additionally, ‘High Road,’ featuring Baird's old friend Ruston Kelly, confronts doubt and hope in the face of addiction.

"I feel like at this point in my life, I don’t want to fake my way through things anymore," Baird summarizes. "Love, art, career - I don’t want anything that isn’t genuine. I’ve figured out who I am and who I want to be, and it’s up to me to rise to that occasion." With "Burning In The Stars," Baird has more than met the challenge. He's gone all the way.

Rob Baird is scheduled to make appearances this summer, with more dates to be added soon.

JUNE

06 — Bozeman, MT – Live From The Divide

07 — Bozeman, MT – Live From The Divide

13 — Denver, CO — Globe Hall

14 — Ft. Collins, CO — The Coast

21 — Austin, TX — 3ten Live

22 — Ft. Worth, TX — Tulips

JULY

12 — Nashville, TN — 3rd and Lindsley