Ray Wylie Hubbard is still making Rock ‘n Roll at nearly 80 years old. His latest album, Reel 2 Reel 4 Real, will be out on August 21, 2026. Reel 2 Reel 4 Real marks Hubbard’s return to his homegrown Bordello Records, with distribution by Soundly Music/Thirty Tigers, after a two-album major-label stint with Nashville’s Big Machine Records.

Lead single “Cassette Mix Tape” is out now and “details a night of lustful misadventure in Dad’s stolen car.” It has a surrealist animated music video to match.

Hubbard says of the album:

You know, a lot of artists when they put out a record, they go, ‘This is the best record I’ve done up to this point. But I’m not going to say this is the best record I’ve done. I’ll say it’s the best record I’ve ever heard.

Hubbard approached the album “determined to keep things lean and mean.” When sessions began at co-producer Jonathan Tyler’s studio in Austin, the only names on the call sheet this time around were tried-and-true band members, including drummer Kyle Schneider, bassist John Michael Schoepf, and of course Hubbard’s electric and Resonator guitar-playing son, Lucas. There were also a small group of hand-picked musicians including organ player Bukka Allen, fiddle and mandolin player Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly, and guitarist Tobin Dale.

Hubbard says:

Tobin’s a young rock ’n’ roll guy I met up in Nashville who plays very tasty slide. With him and Lucas we had our own Keith Richards and Ron Wood kind of thing going.