THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Co-produced by Dave Cobb and Morgane Stapleton, newly crowned CMA Male Vocalist of the Year award winner Chris Stapleton’s fourth album Higher was recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A. Across its 14 songs, Stapleton showcases his supernatural voice and musical versatility with songs that span genres and defy easy categorization — even to the man himself.
“Whenever we’re releasing new music, we don’t have a specific ritual really, but I think there’s a little bit of apprehension, a little bit of excitement mixed together wondering how fans will react, really,” he says. “I think that’s the main thing going on in our heads when we put something out is we hope whatever we’ve done will be something that people will gravitate to and enjoy.”
Alongside Stapleton (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide electric guitar), the album features Cobb (acoustic guitar, eclectic guitar), J.T. Cure (bass), Paul Franklin (pedal steel), Derek Mixon (drums), Stapleton’s wife Morgane (background vocals, synthesizer, tambourine), and Lee Pardini (organ, piano).
The new album follows 2020’s acclaimed Starting Over, which went on to win three awards at the 67th Grammys: Best Country Album, Best Country Solo Performance (You Should Probably Leave) and Best Country Song (Cold) in addition to earning Album Of The Year honours at both the CMA and ACM Awards. Prior to Starting Over, Stapleton released a pair of platinum-certified releases — 2017’s From A Room: Volume 1 and Volume 2 — as well as his five-times platinum breakthrough solo debut album in 2015, Traveller.
