Singer/songwriter Sam Bergquist will be releasing his new album, Devils & Doves, on March 13th, 2026. It comes from a very creative period for Bergquist, following closely on 2025 release, Racing Down The Valley.

Co-produced with Dave Westner (Peter Wolf, Dropkick Murphys, Session Americana) and featuring Boston players, the record “explores the push and pull of modern life—devils and doves, struggle and grace.” As someone who embraces humor, Bergquist also uses satire to handle heavier topical subjects on the record.

Today, we’re very pleased to premier his new track “Goin’ Out Walkin’”, which arrives this Friday, February 13th, 2026.

This is a song that invites the audience to become a co-conspirator in doing simple things that have become radical, but might be radically helpful for your own mental health, like going out of your enclosed personal space for a walk, leaving social media on the backburner, and talking to other human beings. What’s helpful about Bergquist’s approach is that this song is not a protest sign being held up, it’s an illustration of small elements of his own life where he invites you along for the ride. Like most arguments, it’s most convincing when it shows by doing.

What would a protest against many of the disjointed aspects of modern life look like? Well, it would look like a person taking a walk, deciding to maybe get a coffee, maybe talk to someone, maybe reach out to an old friend. The “maybe” aspect begins to feel like a defiant aspect too, pushing against an overly scheduled life, and giving human choice a chance to operate.

The lyrics are simple, carefully chosen, and relatively succinct, and the music that is perfectly paired with them is both celebratory and a little sly, making the song itself feel like a sneaky, energetic act. The movement of the song captures the rolling gait of a walk, and showcases little acts of defiance and assertion with extra embellishment. The music also brings that most important element, attitude, since in this song, that confident, assertive style is everything. It makes the biggest statement in favor of our own humanity.

Bergquist says about the new track:

A lively mandolin-and-fiddle romp that shakes off the digital haze and gets back to something real. It’s a reminder to step outside, breathe, and “awaken our senses, feet on the ground.” Playful and rootsy, the song celebrates unplugging from the noise and rediscovering the simple rhythm of being alive.

On “Goin’ Out Walkin’”, Sam Bergquist handles lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Rob Laurens provides harmony, Josh Berlin plays fiddle, Dave Westerner brings bass and drums, and Sean Staples appears on mandolin.

Bergquist says about his collaborators:

This album is a reflection of my interest in all kinds of music and I was lucky enough to have some wonderful musicians help me fold those influences into the sound.

Sam Bergquist is known as a songwriter, guitar player, and harmonica player, who first got started in the Boston music scene of the 1990s, performing in clubs and on subway platforms, and releasing two solo albums.

In the 2000s and 2010s, Sam joined the Country Blues band Loose Change, performing regularly at venues like Johnny D’s and the House of Blues. Over time, Berquist turned towards songwriting that included social observation. In 2023, he released the EP Wiser Then.

He followed it with Racing Down the Valley in 2025, a full-length album produced by Dave Westner, which explored “urgent topics like climate change and social justice.”