(Metamora, IL) Joe Stamm, leader of the Black Dirt Country Rock scene, has released a new studio project titled More Than Just Bones (Den Tree Records), a dynamic five-song EP that marks a new chapter in the celebrated singer-songwriter’s career. It includes a songwriting contribution from rising country star Charles Wesley Godwin, along with backing by Godwin’s longtime group The Allegheny High and was produced by its guitarist, Al Torrence. Now, after over a decade of independently released music and self-promoted tours, Stamm is poised to reach a wider audience.
To listen to More Than Just Bones go here (https://bit.ly/3T59S0d)
Lead single “Drive Me Around” previewed this new collection upon its debut last month. Co-written with Godwin, “Drive Me Around” marks their second collaboration since 2024’s “Flower of the Everglades” from the Allegheny EP released that same year. Those sessions also saw Stamm team with The Allegheny High for the first time.
Charles Wesley Godwin says:
“Joe Stamm is a songwriter’s songwriter. It’s always been a pleasure writing with Joe. He’s prolific and true to his heart, following the muse wherever it takes him. This EP is a beautiful piece of work, and it has one of the best new songs I’ve heard in a long time, ‘Only the Dead.’ I can’t recommend it enough!”
Joe Stamm explains how More Than Just Bones came together:
“Charles brought me the initial idea for ‘Drive Me Around.’ I’ve got heaps of respect for Charles and his writing, so he didn’t have to twist my arm. And I’m a huge fan of Al Torrence and The Allegheny High, too. They have sensibility in buckets and this ethereal sound that will suddenly crack open into driving rock ‘n roll. They are crescendo personified.”
More Than Just Bones follows last year’s Joe Stamm Band full-length, Little Crosses. In a four-and-a-half-star review of that album, Country Music People said Stamm, “represents everything compelling about independent country music, authentic regional storytelling, exceptional musical craftsmanship and genuine feel,” calling the results, “a masterclass.”
Now for his latest studio work, Stamm shifts focus from the extroverted Little Crosses – with its widescreen Springsteen and Mellencamp references shown in tracks like the anthemic “Territory Town” – to take a more incisive and sonically adventurous approach. Yet, starting with the turbulent epic “Only the Dead,” through to the propulsively introspective closer “Before You Were Gone,” More Than Just Bones finds Stamm continuing to pull at life’s essential truths – the beating heart of his compelling songwriting – with unflinching honesty and depth. Indeed, the EP is truly a family affair: two tracks are co-credited to Stamm’s nearly three-year-old daughter, Cady Jane.
Summing up what The Allegheny High brought to the table with More Than Just Bones, Stamm says, “They just have this way of finding the heart of a song… If you give those fellas space to help you tell a story, they’ll draw you up a beautiful soundtrack.”
MORE THAN JUST BONES TRACK LISTING:
1. Only the Dead
2. Drive Me Around**
3. Sing Along*
4. In My Arms Again
5. Before You Were Gone*
All songs written by Joe Stamm
* Written by Joe Stamm and Cady Jane Stamm
**Written by Charles Wesley Godwin and Joe Stamm
Lead vocals: Joe Stamm
Background vocals: Al Torrence, Abigail Paulson
Acoustic guitar: Al Torrence, Joe Stamm (on “Sing Along”)
Electric guitar: Al Torrence, Eric James
Bass: Nate Catanzarite
Drums and percussion: Joe Pinchotti III
Keyboards: Max Somerville
Steel guitar and banjo: Amico DeMuzio
Produced, engineered and mixed by Al Torrence at Music Garden Studios, New Brighton, PA
Of his career to date, Whiskey Riff says Stamm, “has amassed an impressive and extremely underrated catalog of music that proves his songwriting prowess.” Lonesome Highway adds that Stamm’s sound is “roots rock with a broad appeal that has lyrical depth to match its robust disposition.” But you won’t see critical raves like these go to his head. Rather, Stamm – a musician’s musician – embodies quiet leadership, earning respect by doing the work, night in and night out.
Joe Stamm will bring his U.S. tour in support of More Than Just Bones to the NKY/greater Cincinnati area for a live performance at the Southgate House Revival:
EVENT: :
The Southgate House Revival
CITY:
Newport, KY
DATE:
Thursday, October 22
For tickets and more show details go to joestammband.com.
About Joe Stamm:
Joe Stamm’s music has a way of making seemingly minor moments feel as vivid and full as the river valley that runs through his central Illinois home. Stamm has put down deep roots there, among the prime farmland fed for generations by waterways stretching from the edge of the Windy City down to the Mighty Mississippi. From this backdrop, Stamm creates compelling new narratives resonant with firsthand experience and honed by more than a decade of writing, performing, and touring. His salt-of-the-earth work, described as, “Blue-collar without cliché, tough without bluster” (Country Music People), draws from the region’s down-home sounds, channeling
everything from rustic rock n’ roll and rugged country to straight up folk storytelling. The result is true and authentic: Black Dirt Country Rock. This unique mix runs through all of Stamm’s work, whether leading his longtime group, the hard-hitting Joe Stamm Band, or crafting a more stripped-back solo project. Stamm has sharpened his skills to such fine detail, you’d think he was in the scrum while you were getting up to no good in your hometown, sitting at your dinner table when you got the bad news, or celebrating on your porch when you got the good news. His well-drawn lyrics, coupled with a lived-in voice rich with feeling… well, that’s what honest music is all about. For more Information go to: joestammband.com
Press Materials:
Publicity photos, promo reels, More Than Just Bones artwork, and full EP credits available here (https://bit.ly/4ACimg9)
