A seminal moment in modern acoustic guitar music is being revisited as Drag City announces the 10th-anniversary reissue of Land of Plenty, the spellbinding 2015 debut from duo Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker. Set for a vinyl release on September 26th, the album captures the electric first fruits of a now-celebrated collaboration.
To put things in perspective, 2015 was the same year Walker released his debut follow-up, Primrose Green. In a KLOF Mag review, Neil McFadyen concluded his review with a promise that’s since been borne out: Ryley Walker delivers bursts of nostalgia, strongly spiced with passages (not moments) of true genius, through contemporary media and with utter sincerity. On Primrose Green, he overflows…Ryley Walker’s hour has finally begun, and it’s going to be damn fine.
MacKay had yet to sign to Drag City (this would happen in 2017 with Esker), but released an album of John Hulburt tunes on Tompkins Square–Sunrise : Bill MacKay Plays The Songs of John Hulburt. Walker was also a Hulburt fan, having co-produced Hulburt’s 1972 private press LP, Opus III, the same year.
To mark this anniversary release, the duo have shared a new music video for the album’s title track, “Land of Plenty,” created by director Simon Russell, offering a fresh visual interpretation of the track’s intricate, flowing energy.
The story of Land of Plenty is one of immediate artistic connection. After first bonding over a shared love for a diverse pantheon of musicians—from the blues of Albert King to the folk innovations of Nick Drake and Bert Jansch, and the exploratory sounds of Laura Nyro, Ali Akbar Khan, and Jimi Hendrix—MacKay and Walker embarked on a residency that would become legendary. Throughout January 2015, the pair took over The Whistler in Chicago every Friday night. These weren’t just gigs; they were live recording sessions, designed to capture the material they had been intensely developing. The result, originally released on Whistler Records in August of that year, was Land of Plenty.
There are few purely acoustic guitar records that resonate with the raw, inventive, and deeply connected energy of Land of Plenty. It is a document of two masters finding a shared language in real-time. Be sure to grab a copy of this essential album when it returns to vinyl on September 26th.
Pre-Order Land of Plenty: https://lnk.to/landofplenty
Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker Canadian Tour Dates 2025
Aug. 8 – Alberta, CA @ Edmonton Folk Music Festival
Aug. 9 – Alberta, CA @ Edmonton Folk Music Festival