Arkansas singer/songwriter JD Clayton has announced his sophomore album, Blue Sky Sundays. Due out on February 28th, 2025 on Rounder Records, Blue Sky Sundays finds Clayton taking the helm as Producer in the studio with his touring band to capture the vitality of their live show. The track “Dirt Roads of Red” is out now.

Clayton shares:

One morning I was playing golf with a buddy from Georgia down at McCabe Golf Course in Nashville when he turned to me and said that there should be a song about wishing that the streets of gold in Heaven could be streets of Red, referring to the red clay down in Georgia. Now, being an Arkansas kid, I could never bring myself to write a song about Georgia. Thankfully, my favorite state, Colorado, also has a high concentration of iron deposits in its soil.

He adds:

It turned out to be a really special track to me because my dad is a pastor and I love the interaction the boy has with his pastor in the first verse of the song.

Regarding the new album, he says:

I wanted to make a record that showcased what’s special about each of my bandmates, and I knew the best way to do that was to produce it myself.

The new album was recorded at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville and mixed by seven-time Grammy Award winner Vance Powell (Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton).

After a run of shows on 2024’s Blue Sky Sundays tour, Clayton and his band are starting to announce new tour dates. On February 19th, Clayton will perform at the 1884 Lounge in Memphis, Tennessee, and on March 7th, he’ll head out to West Yellowstone, Montana, for the Wild West Winter Block Party.