To honor late singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Neal Casal, most known as part of the Cardinals, as well as a wealth of solo work, a tribute box set Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal will release November 12. Among the artists honoring the guitar-slinging legend are Steve Earle & the Dukes, Shooter Jennings, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Marcus King, Susan Tedeschi, and Bob Weir, among many others.
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“It was all about adventure, and it was all about connecting as musicians in a real way,” says Casal in a pre-recorded trailer for the release (below). “That’s the great thing about music. You could make friends that way, get people that you know about together and see if it’ll work. Getting to play music is an amazing thing. It never ceases to be interesting, you know. It’s different every single time. There’s always something to be learned and to discover. It never gets old for me.
“There are songwriters who aren’t very well known, and they write these… great songs that really have no place to go,” he continues. “I don’t know, it’s possible I have a couple of those songs myself. I mean, I’m not saying my songs are great, but I know there are tunes that are good… and you think, ‘What could happen to these?'”
Alongside the announcement, Beachwood Sparks and Gospelbeach have issued their version of “You Don’t See Me Crying,” originally found on Casal’s 2006 record No Wish to Reminisce.
All proceeds will benefit the Neal Casal Music Foundation, with additional proceeds going to MusiCares and Backline. Pre-order the five-album release here.
Check out the complete track list below.
1. Aaron Lee Tasjan : “Traveling After Dark”
2. Jaime Wyatt : “Need Shelter”
3. Beachwood Sparks / Gospelbeach: “You Don’t See Me Crying”
4. Marcus King / Eric Krasno : “No One Above You”
5. Fruit Bats : “Feathers for Bakersfield”
6. Billy Strings / Circles Around the Sun: “All the Luck in the World”
7. Dori Freeman / Teddy Thompson: “Sweeten the Distance”
8. Hiss Golden Messenger : “Time Down the Wind”
9. Johnathan Rice : “Me & Queen Sylvia”
10. Mapache: “Wisest of the Wise”
11. Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band: “Freeway to the Canyon”
12. Leslie Mendelson: “Feel No Pain”
13. Jonathan Wilson / Hannah Cohen: “Detroit or Buffalo”
14. Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks: “Day in the Sun”
15. Jimmy Herring / Circles Around the Sun: “Bird With No Name”
16. Shooter Jennings : “Maybe California”
17. Vetiver: “White Fence Round House”
18. Todd Sheaffer : “December”
19. Courtney Jaye : “Grand Island”
20. Oteil Burbridge / Nick Johnson / Steve Kimock / John Morgan Kimock / Duane Trucks : “Superhighway”
21. Britton Buchanan : “Willow Jane”
22. Kenny Roby / Amy Helm : “Too Much to Ask”
23. Bob Weir / Jay Lane & Dave Schools : “Time and Trouble”
24. J Mascis : “Death of a Dream”
25. Tim Heidecker : “The Cold and the Darkness”
26. Warren Haynes : “Free to Go”
27. Rachel Dean : “So Far Astray”
28. Steve Earle & The Dukes : “Highway Butterfly”
29. Victoria Reed : “Angel And You’re Mine”
30. Jason Crosby : “Pray Me Home”
31. Lauren Barth : “Lost Satellite”
32. Jesse Aycock : “The Losing End Again”
33. Puss N Boots: “These Days With You”
34. Tim Bluhm / Kyle Field : “Cold Waves”
35. Zephaniah Ohora / Hazeldine : “Best to Bonnie”
36. The Mattson 2 : “Let It All Begin”
37. Cass McCombs / Ross James / Joe Russo / Farmer Dave Scher / Dave Schools : “You’ll Miss It When It’s Gone”
38. Angie McKenna : “Fell on Hard Times”
39. The Allman Betts Band : “Raining Straight Down”
40. Hazy Malaze / Jena Kraus : “Soul Gets Lost”
41. Robbi Robb: “I Will Weep No More”
