Jim Lauderdale has never been content to sit still in any one musical place for long, effortlessly cycling through a wide range of country, rock, and bluegrass shades of Americana. But Hope, album number 34 in the two-time Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter's distinguished career, nevertheless stands out stylistically as well as thematically. After a year of locked-down isolation, Hope finds Lauderdale breaking out with wide-open arrangements along the lines of Neil Young, The Grateful Dead and Little Feat.

"I wanted to get a musical message out there during this time of what we've all been going through, about the hope for better days ahead without seeming sanctimonious or preachy," Lauderdale says. "What I wanted to achieve was music to somehow help us all get through trying times and give comfort. The past year has been so difficult for everybody. If we can find any glimmers of hope, that really helps get you through another day."

Hope was co-produced by Lauderdale with his long-time collaborator Jay Weaver, who played a similar role on 2019's From Another World and 2018's Time Flies. Along with the usual A-list support cast, including guitarists Chris Scruggs and Kenny Vaughan, the album features Russ Paul, Craig Smith, Will Van Horn, Micah Hulscher, Dave Racine, Pat Hubert, Wes L'Annglois, and sibling harmonies from Lillie Mae and Frank Rische. Recorded at Nashville's fabled Blackbird Studios, the bulk of the album's tracks were engineered by Blackbird Academy students.