VIA PRESS RELEASE | Emmylou Harris will release Spyboy on November 7, 2025 via New West Records. The 19-track live album was produced by Buddy Miller and Emmylou Harris and features Miller on guitar and vocals, Brady Blade on drums, percussion, and vocals, and Daryl Johnson on bass, djembe, percussion, and vocals as well.
Originally issued on compact disc by Eminent Records in 1998, the 2025 edition of Spyboy features 5 previously unreleased recordings of the band performing Tom Petty & the Heartbreaker’s “Thing About You,” Bob Dylan’s “Every Grain of Sand,” Bill Monroe’s “Get Up John,” Lucinda Williams’ “Sweet Old World,” as well as the Harris and Kate & Anna McGarrigle co-write “All I Left Behind.” It also features updated artwork as well as new and updated liner notes written by Harris and Miller. A limited pressing of Spyboy was made available in celebration of Record Store Day in May and quickly sold out.
Spyboy grew out of Wrecking Ball, Harris’ groundbreaking 1995 collaboration with the producer Daniel Lanois. That album, among her best and most celebrated, offers a very different idea of what country music could be, how it might sound and move. “It was such a sonic departure for me,” says Harris. “When we were making the record, I was thinking: Okay, I love this, but how am I going to play it? I’d had the Hot Band and then I’d had my bluegrass band, the Nash Ramblers.
I loved playing with them, but I knew this was different.” For the subsequent tour, Lanois temporarily played guitar (before being replaced by Miller), and brought in bassist Daryl Johnson and drummer Brady Blade. In 1996 and 1997 they toured America and Europe together, never playing a song the same way twice. “It was really something to be on that stage every night with that band and that energy,” Harris says.
Sequencing old songs alongside new ones, the album tests the tensile strength of each one, pushing them into wilder and more psychedelic territory while remaining grounded in earthy country music. It’s completely unique in Emmylou Harris’ catalog, a crucial document of an important chapter in her career. “It’s such a special record,” Harris says. “Well, they all are, but this one is really, really special. That was such a fantastic band and such an amazing time.”
Harris continues in her updated liner notes, “I’ve spent the better part of my adult life in the company of some pretty great bands. Spyboy is one of them, and this album is a snapshot of us. Like the spyboy leading the Mardi Gras parade, they led me into a new century, reinvigorated me as a singer, and inspired me night after night with their energy and unique musicianship.” Adding, “For those who never experienced Spyboy in action, this album is the next best thing. For me it’s a sweet and welcome trip down memory lane.” Miller says, “I wanted proof that I was actually part of this thing, so I asked if I could bring some recording gear to document the band, just for fun. This was before Pro Tools and iPhones. You needed racks of stuff. Our sound crew, Dean Norman and Doug Dawson, helped set up, run cables, and changed tapes every night. Together we recorded around 25 shows.”
Miller and Harris culled through hundreds of tracks to choose the ones that best represented the Spyboy ethos of endless possibility. The album had its own identity separate from Wrecking Ball, and it revealed a new side of Harris, as she pushed her voice to match the rhythmic volatility of Johnson and Blade. Because Wrecking Ball was such a different kind of album for her, it attracted a different kind of fan. Miller noticed that the crowds skewed younger with each show, as a new generation of fans discovered Harris through the album. “There was a curiosity factor,” she says. “I might have lost some of my regular folk-oriented fans, who were perplexed by the album, but my true fans have always zigged with me when I’ve zigged and they’ve always zagged with me when I’ve zagged.”
A special screening of Spyboy Live at the Legendary Exit/In has been announced for Wednesday, November 5. Originally released in 1998 and directed by James Burton Yockey (Music City Roots, Bluegrass Underground), the film has been restored and is now available in ultra high definition. It features 10 live performances from Nashville’s famed music venue, the Exit/In, alongside narration by Harris. A Q&A with Emmylou Harris and Buddy Miller will immediately follow the screening with proceeds from the event benefiting Bonaparte’s Retreat, the nonprofit dog rescue organization founded by Harris in 2004.
Bonaparte’s Retreat focuses on the neglected and forgotten—senior dogs, large dogs, or dogs in need of imminent medical care or surgery. Their mission is to love and care for these wonderful animals for as long as it takes to find their forever homes. General Admission tickets will be available for a $30 donation at Belcourt.org. A limited number of tickets for a private pre-film reception, including wine and appetizers and reserved seating will be available soon under the “news & events” page on the Bonaparte’s Retreat site.
Emmylou Harris’ Spyboy will be available across digital platforms, compact disc, and clear color vinyl. The album is available for pre-order NOW via NEW WEST RECORDS.
