“A sardonic provocateur with a lighthearted acoustic-driven wit.”
– NO DEPRESSION
“Steve Poltz is part busker, part Iggy Pop, and part Robin Williams,
a freewheeling folkie with a quick wit and big heart."
– ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Steve Poltz is a living example of the American music tradition,
a songwriter who can bend your ear with a hooky melody, then break your heart
with a wry observation about the human condition.”
– POPMATTERS
Veteran troubadour Steve Poltz has announced the arrival of his upcoming new album, Stardust & Satellites, due via Red House Records on Friday, February 18; pre-orders are available now. Produced by Oliver Wood and Jano Rix of The Wood Brothers, Stardust & Satellites is heralded by today’s premiere of the disarmingly moving “Conveyor Belt,” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. For fans, it’s a different side of Poltz, using a voice and a new solemnity for a song that touches a universal nerve.
“My mom passed away, and then a year later my dad crossed over,” says Poltz. “I started thinking that I was next on the conveyor belt in a factory on the wheel of time. Next thing I know I grabbed my guitar and this song appeared to me like a gift. It didn’t exist and then voila, there it was. It’s all a mystery to me. I’m lucky to be a conduit.”
Hailed by American Songwriter for “his unhinged live performances, incredible way with a comedic lyric and ability to spin a ripping tale,” Steve Poltz has spent more than three decades as a singer-songwriter-performer of the first order, earning international applause and fans around the world with his inspired brand of rockin’ countrified folk Americana. Having first made his bones as frontman for underground legends The Rugburns, the Halifax, NS-born tunesmith has established a critically lauded solo catalog while also collaborating with such diverse artists as Jewel – an ongoing creative partnership that includes co-writing the RIAA platinum-certified #1 hit, “You Were Meant For Me” – and GRAMMY® Award-winning bluegrass phenom Billy Strings, to name but a few.
Poltz’s 14th solo album and first new LP in more than two years, Stardust & Satellites is an exuberant, thoughtful batch of songs that celebrate life in all of its stages. It came to fruition last year as a result of one of those serendipitous situations that were created by the pandemic. Poltz, a road dog and performance junkie who regularly spends 300+ days a year on the road, bringing it to the people, should’ve been on tour in 2020. Esteemed Nashville roots rockers The Wood Brothers (Chris Wood being a former neighbor to Steve), also should’ve been on tour. Stuck in Nashville, Steve often joined the Wood Brothers for outdoor socially distant hangs, and, on a whim, decided to record one song with Oliver Wood and Jano Rix.
They cut a song called “Frenemy,” a wistful, “keep your friends close and your enemies even closer” song that made it clear to all involved that they’d stumbled onto something special. With no studio clock ticking, no schedule or deadlines to meet, the companionship and ability to collaborate with like-minded musicians added a joyful diversion to what was a boring-ass year. Musically, the sky was the limit, and the group of musicians and friends embarked on a musical experience that found cast and crew reaching toward the stratosphere with Stardust & Satellites.
STEVE POLTZ
STARDUST & SATELLITES
(Red House Records)
Release Date: February 18, 2022
