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HEAD TO THE LONELY CITY WITH BILL

posted December 15th, 2025

A surprise gift from Bill Callahan, just in time for the holidays! Before we all collectively check out for the season, Bill's here to end the year with a new song for every kindred spirit: "Lonely City," the second single off his forthcoming new album, My Days of 58. As the drums tease and take their time, Callahan strums his six-string forward with admiration, sending his voice out to the familiar, ever-changing places we call home: "First thing I do / When I get back to you / Walk around and see what's new." Jerry David DeCicca's there on tambourine, too!

The music video for "Lonely City" was made by renowned street photographer Daniel Arnold. Daniel pulled from over 15 years of his photos to bring the visual world of Bill's song into stunning focus; it is also the first time Arnold's photography has been used in a music video. Fitting for the occasion!

As Bill puts it:

“Lonely City is a song I’ve been meaning to write for decades. It has been inside me that long. I tend to focus my writing on humans and the spirit within. So writing about concrete and steel felt like a no go. Like I’m going to write a song about a car next?
But of course cities are made by humans so they are human, too. 
You have a relationship with them, like friends. 
You get mad at them when you get a parking ticket, you love them when they offer you a nice meal. 
It’s a song acknowledging all this.”

Bill Callahan, 2025

My Days of 58 features the impassioned playing of Bill’s trusted touring band: Matt Kinsey on guitar, Jim White on drums, and Dustin Laurenzi on saxophone. The album also features contributions from Richard Bowden (fiddle), Pat Thrasher (piano), Chris Vreeland (bass), Mike St. Clair (trombone), Bill McCullough (pedal steel), and Eve Searls (backing vocals). Head into “Lonely City” today, and drive straight through to My Days of 58 when it’s out on February 27, 2026!

 

Artists in this story: Bill Callahan