LA-based singer/songwriter Chris Pierce has shared his new single, “It Ain’t Ever Wrong to Be Free,” the next preview from his forthcoming album, Songs for the Heavy Hearted, out August 21, 2026. The song “serves as a rallying cry for freedom – for ourselves, the people we love and those who cannot fight for themselves.”
Pierce shares:
I’ve never believed my job as a songwriter is to tell people what to think. My hope is to help people see one another more clearly. I’ve spent enough years traveling this country to know that every policy eventually arrives at someone’s front door. That’s where songs begin for me—not in politics, but in people. ‘It Ain’t Ever Wrong to Be Free’ is about the courage to protect your peace, speak honestly, and stand beside people whose voices are too often ignored. To me, freedom means the most when it makes room for someone else.
Produced by frequent collaborators David Resnik and Niko Bolas (Neil Young, The Mavericks), the new album “captures moments in the lives of everyday people as they struggle with crisis.”
The album also features performances from Allison Russell, Steve Earle, Grey DeLisle and Garrison Starr.
This weekend, Pierce will take the stage at Newport Folk Festival before heading to Minneapolis, San Diego, Vancouver and more cities, including stops this fall at Farm Aid, AmericanaFest and NPR’s Mountain Stage.
Tour Dates:
July 24 – White Sulfur Springs, MT – Red Ants Pants Music Festival
July 26 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival
July 28 – Minneapolis, MN – Icehouse
July 30-31 – Appleton, WI – Mile of Music
August 1 – Berwyn, IL – Fitzgerald’s
August 2 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
August 22 – Pasadena, CA – Levitt Pavilion (Album Release Show)
August 26 – San Diego, CA – Holding Company
August 29 – Sutter Creek, CA – Shake Ridge Ranch
September 17 – Nashville, TN – The Basement (AMERICANAFEST)
September 20 – Duluth, GA – Red Clay Music Foundry
September 23 – Richmond, VA – The Tin Pan
September 24 – Raleigh, NC – Pour House Music Hall
September 26 – Virginia Beach, VA – Farm Aid
October 16-17 – Vancouver, BC – Kay Meek Arts Centre (JJ Cale Tribute Show)
October 20 – Tacoma, WA – Spanish Ballroom at Elks Temple
October 21 – Prosser, WA – Brewminatti
October 24 – Ferndale, CA – The Old Steeple
November 6 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theater *
November 7 – State College, PA – State Theater *
November 8 – Huntington, WV – Mountain Stage
* with Steve Earle
