Sir Richard Bishop returns to Drag City on July 31st with Hillbilly Erotica, a sequel of sorts to last year’s Hillbilly Ragas. The album is trailed today by lead single and self-directed video Finger, Tennessee.
When Glenn Kimpton reviewed Hillbilly Ragas for KLOF back in November, he found Bishop in “devilish fun and free-flowing form” — a “total banger” of solo acoustic instrumentals that doubled as a pointed argument with John Fahey’s much-abused “American Primitive” tag. Hillbilly Erotica picks up that argument and walks it down a slightly different road. Eight tracks, one acoustic guitar, no overdubs, and — save for closing piece Postcoital Serenade — fully improvised.
Finger, Tennessee takes its name from a real dot on the map in rural Tennessee, part of what Bishop calls an “ancestral interzone” he’s been drawn to. The performance is reckless in the best sense, flying up and down the neck with an anthemic, almost evangelical clarity; the accompanying video, shot by Bishop himself, orbits green pastures and rocky ridgelines, framing the music as a kind of revolution of the mind.
Bishop describes the album as still working that same vein of aggression, “but as morning light approaches, a clearing or two present themselves, with hills and valleys viewable in the distance inspiring a slightly different sonic landscape.” Relief is provisional, though: “the darkness of night is always right around the corner. Enjoy the postcoital smoke but tread carefully!”
A US tour kicks off June 11th in Arcata before a UK appearance at Green Man Festival in the Brecon Beacons (August 20th–23rd).
Hillbilly Erotica (July 31st, 2026) Drag City
Order now: https://lnk.to/hillbillyerotica
Tour Dates 2026
USA
June 11th — Arcata, CA @ The Miniplex
June 12th — Point Reyes Station, CA @ Dance Palace
June 13th — San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (w/ Neil Hamburger)
June 14th — Orangevale, CA @ Faulkner House
June 15th — Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
June 17th — San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
June 19th — Tucson, AZ @ Solar Culture
June 20th — Corrales, NM @ Historic Old San Ysidro Church
June 22nd — Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
June 23rd — Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
June 24th — Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club Basement
June 25th — Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
June 26th — Seattle, WA @ Black Lodge
July 9th — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios (w/ Liam Grant & William DeLee)
September 6th — Chicago, IL @ Judson & Moore (Sound & Gravity Festival)
UK
August 20th–23rd — Brecon Beacons National Park @ Green Man Festival