At her core, Tanya Tucker has always been the consummate storyteller. Elevating life’s messiness into art is her singular gift and the legendary country music artist has the accomplishments, and the scar tissue, to show for it. Now comes the next chapter in Tanya’s own remarkable story, Sweet Western Sound—a probing song-cycle that reflects on the unintended consequences, fraught relationships, and well-earned independence she’s fought for her entire life.

Produced once again by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings and recorded at Sunset Sound and NightBird Studios in Hollywood, Sweet Western Sound is Tanya’s first album of new music since 2019’s 2X-GRAMMY winning, While I’m Livin’, the re-introduction that revitalized her career and brought her music to a new generation of fans. While that album’s stripped-down, singer-songwriter approach leaned toward the acoustic side, Sweet Western Sound’s framework (aided by Trina Shoemaker’s brilliant mix) is more muscular, evoking, at times, the vintage West Coast country-rock productions of the 70’s and 80’s.

Likewise, with writers that include Brandi, Shooter, Bernie Taupin (!), Phil and Tim Hanseroth, JT Nero, Billy Don Burns, Craig Dillingham, and crucially Tanya herself, Sweet Western Sound’s cache of incisive story-songs are built to last.