Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy announce the Blind Date Party

Gifting us with an early Christmas present, Bill Callahan and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy are set to release Blind Date Party on December 10 via Drag City.

You can listen to the lead track, Kidnapped By Neptune, below. The original song, written by Scout Niblett, features Callahan and Billy with arrangements by Hamerkop.

Deep in the bowels of lockdown and in the absence of gigs, Callahan and Billy got together (once again) with the revered Chicago label, Drag City, and – in a bid to keep busy – drafted in a slew of artists to play the songs they loved.

Featuring Drag City mainstays (and many Sun 13 favourites), AZITA, Matt Sweeney, Alasdair Roberts, Matt Kinsey, Sean O’Hagan, Bill MacKay, George Xylouris, Dead Rider, David Pajo, Mick Turner, Meg Baird, Ty Segall, Emmett Kelly, Cory Hanson, Six Organs of Admittance, David Grubbs, Cassie Berman, Cooper Crain and Sir Richard Bishop, the Blind Date Party happened online in the autumn and winter of 20/21.

Callahan and Billy would sing a song by someone they loved and admired, with each song cut by the aforementioned artists (who were paired together with no say in the matter – hence the blind date). The final versions were then sent to Callahan and Billy to add the finishing touches.

With originals from, but not limited to, Yusuf Islam, Hank Williams Jr., Dave Rich, The Other Years, Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Wyatt, Leonard Cohen, David Berman and Iggy Pop, through these performances, the Drag City luminaries continued to re-imagine classic cuts in new weird, wonderful, and vital ways.

It’s all evident on Blind Date Party.

For full album and pre-order details of Blind Date Party, visit the Drag City website.