[Cover photo credit to Rick Dahms]
Alt/Folk Rock musician Pete Droge has announced the August 22, 2025 release of his new album, Fade Away Blue. Recorded with Grammy-winning producer Paul Bryan (Aimee Mann), the largely autobiographical album details a “journey of personal growth and healing,” which saw Droge “reuniting with long-lost relatives, battling a mysterious illness, and finding himself in the process.”
Along with the announcement, Droge released the single and video for “You Called Me Kid,” an ode to Droge’s adoptive parents that “contemplates the precious gift of unconditional love.” The accompanying music video features photos submitted by fans celebrating the parental figures in their lives.
Pete Droge says about the new single:
While ‘You Called Me Kid’ was written as a tribute to my dad after he passed away, I dedicate the song to both of my parents. When I was a young boy, he’d hand me a few bucks and say, ‘Knock yourself out, Kid,’ and into my adult life he continued to call me ‘kid.’ Now, ten years after his passing, I can still hear his voice in my head with a warm, affectionate tone saying, ‘How you doin’, kid?’
As the old saying goes, all you need are three chords and the truth. The heart of the song is the last line in the chorus: Never in this life could anybody find a more generous or precious gift to give. As an adoptee, I am grateful for the sacrifices my folks made to raise me. And from a songcraft perspective, I love how that lyric hangs on the melody. It’s so satisfying when you get exactly what you want to say to fit perfectly into the space you have to say it in.
Sixteen years ago, Pete Droge went looking for his birth mother. Instead, he found her obituary. But rather than marking the end of the story, the discovery ultimately led him to reconnect with his surviving relatives and started a journey that would change his life and career. He explores it all with Fade Away Blue.
Fade Away Blue was recorded with a band that includes guitarist Rusty Anderson (Paul McCartney), drummer Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss), pianist Lee Pardini (Dawes, Chris Stapleton), pedal steel player Greg Leisz (Jackson Browne), and fiddler Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers).
Droge says about the album:
In the past, I’ve tended to be a bit more cryptic with my writing, but this time around I knew I needed to speak truthfully and honestly about my experiences. I wouldn’t call it a concept record, but the thread of my life story runs through all of these songs.
Pete Droge 2025 Tour Dates
September 9 – Vienna, VA @ Jammin’ Java
September 13 – Cambridge, MA @ Passim
September 14 – North Hampton, MA @ The Parlor Room
September 18 – New York, NY @ Joe’s Pub
September 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ City Winery Loft
October 10 – Seattle, WA @ Triple Door
