Central Illinois singer/songwriter Joe Stamm is returning to Bloomington with brand new music in tow.
Stamm, from Metamora, releases a new EP today called More Than Just Bones, with a full band launch show scheduled Friday night at the Castle Theatre.
The record is firmly planted in Stamm's wheelhouse, blending outlaw country with Midwest Americana layers. It also marks a deepening of Stamm's collaboration with guitarist Al Torrence, who produced and engineered last year's LP, Little Crosses, and Charles Wesley Godwin of the Pittsburgh-based band Allegheny High.
The EP features a tracklist of five songs with a lead single, Drive Me Around which was released last month. The entire project was produced, mixed and engineered by Torrence, who joins on acoustic and electric guitar plus a few background vocals.
Godwin helped with the songwriting of the EP and said he admires Stamm’s work.
“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,” Godwin said.
This is the duo’s second collaboration after working on Flower of the Everglades in 2024. Those sessions also saw Stamm team with The Allegheny High for the first time.
“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,” Stamm said.
Joe Stamm Band plays at 8 p.m. Friday [doors at 7 p.m.] at the Castle Theatre, 209 E. Washington St., Bloomington. Tickets are $20 at the door and online at thecastletheatre.com.
