ALYSSA BONAGURA
New Album AMERICA’S BACKROADS Out June 5
First single “Hippies and Gypsies” Out March 20
UK HEADLINE TOUR IN JUNE
February & March Shows with Kezia Gill
“She’s got an album coming out…pick it up, you won’t believe your ears!”
Steven Tyler of Aerosmith
“An outstanding artist” Bob Harris
Accomplished singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer Alyssa Bonagura has announced a new album America’s Backroads for release on June 5 via Lookout Mountain Records. Pre-order HERE and gain exclusive pre-sale ticket access to the June headline tour.
America’s Backroads comprises 13 tracks recorded in Nashville, all co-written and produced by Alyssa, and features multi-Grammy award-nominated blues titan Joe Bonamassa. The album includes co-writes with hit songwriters Jeffrey Steele (Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts), David Sneddon (Lewis Capaldi), Theo Hutchcraft (Hurts), and is a collection of songs that showcase her musicality as a guitar player and singer, as well as the storytelling of her unique life experiences touring the backroads of America.
Explaining the origins of her new record, the multi-hyphenate musician shared: “I’ve been waiting 10 years to make this album. Being an independent artist is not easy. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to save up for 1 day in the studio with the A-list Nashville players that you dream of working with.
For Christmas in 2023 I told my parents I thought it would be really special if instead of buying each other gifts, we pooled together our money towards hiring a studio with our favourite musicians and engineers to make some music together as a family; and that’s exactly what we did!
I recorded 9 of the songs on this album in one day at the historic Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, with Grammy award winning engineer Drew Bollman and CMA and ACM award winning musicians that are my dear friends. Some of the songs are new that I’ve written about my time in the UK, like “Life is a Road” and “Old Friends”, and some of the songs are over 10 years old, like “Circles,” “America’s Backroads,” and “Hippies & Gypsies” that were songs about my life I never got to record and release myself. I feel so grateful to have produced this record the way I always wanted to, and to finally be getting these songs out to the fans that have heard them at my live shows. They say good things take time – now I truly know why.”
Alyssa releases autobiographical first single “Hippies and Gypsies” on Friday 20 February and reveals the story behind the track: ““Hippies & Gypsies” is a song about a guitar I found in a pawn shop in Mitchell, South Dakota. I was on my way to a show in Montana with my parents and when we stopped for gas about 10 hrs outside of Livingston, the woman at the gas station was telling us we should really see the Corn Palace before we left.
Mom and I were hesitant to take a detour as we had been driving for about 2 days already from Nashville, but we gave in when my dad said he really wanted to go and decided to check it out.
Once we got there, we realised the Corn Palace was closed, but next to it was a vintage store and a pawn shop. My dad has always had a sixth sense when it comes to finding guitars in pawn shops and so of course, he looked at me and said, “C’mon let’s go in, I bet we’ll find a guitar!” And sure enough, hanging on the wall was an all original 000-18 Martin Guitar from 1963. Original hang tag from Martin, original case, and not a scratch on it. I asked the man if I could play it, and the rest is history.
This song is the story of finding it, and realising that life isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey and making sure to stop along the way because you never know what you may find.”
PRESS ONLY listening link for “Hippies and Gypsies” (embargoed until Friday 20 February): HERE
In celebration of the release of America’s Backroads, Alyssa will embark upon an 8-date headline UK tour on June 10. Full details coming soon. From February 17 to March 1, she will be on the road as special guest of Kezia Gill with shows in Leeds, Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, Manchester, Norwich, London, Portsmouth, Bristol. Tour | Discover Tours Now — Alyssa Bonagura
Alyssa Bonagura biography:
Many endorsements of merit, like those of Steven Tyler and Bob Harris quoted above, along with Alyssa’s overall body of work, have led to her reputation as a powerhouse musical talent on the rise, placing her squarely in the spotlight as one of the best breakthrough artists country music has to offer. Alyssa has over 25 million streams, 15 million U.S. radio impressions, and is a CMT Next Women of Country artist.
Born and raised in Nashville, Alyssa has spent the past decade fine-tuning a sound for her critically acclaimed solo career that leverages her Nashville roots while reaching far beyond. Her sound is every bit as diverse as her own story, as evidenced by any number of both esteemed and rising artists who’ve sought her talents in collaboration.
A lifelong road warrior who grew up on a tour bus with her country music parents Baillie & The Boys, she recorded a duet with Kenny Rogers at 10 years old and received her college diploma from Sir Paul McCartney at LIPA in Liverpool.
Alyssa has performed on many international stages, from legendary venues around the globe (Country Music Hall of Fame, Grand Ole Opry, Royal Albert Hall) to international arena and stadium shows (O2 Arena, Wembley Stadium), plus major festivals worldwide (Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, C2C, CMA Fest, Highways, Pilgrimage, SXSW, Summerfest, Sundance Film Festival). She’s performed with and opened for legendary artists, including Rod Stewart, Charles Kelly (Lady A), Ringo Starr, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Katy Perry, P!nk, Sheryl Crow, Alison Krauss and Toby Keith.
Alyssa is known for wearing many hats (not only literally!) as a multi-faceted artist, with an ongoing passion for writing and producing songs for an array of ACM, CMA & Grammy award-winning and nominated artists. She’s had major international hits with Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Morgan Evans, Jessie James Decker and Jana Kramer, and has written and produced music for UK country acts The Shires, Jade Helliwell, Honeymoon Kemp and most recently produced and co-wrote tracks on Kezia Gill’s latest chart-topping album ‘All On Red’.
Splitting her time between Nashville and London, she’s been making waves through the British Country music scene with packed out headline tours and festival appearances. In 2023 she was asked by the NFL to represent the USA and sing the National Anthem for 87,000 people and 10 million television viewers at Wembley Stadium for the NFL International Games series. In 2025 Alyssa performed at the C2C Festival on the BBC Radio 2 Indigo Stage, Highways late night Jam after Eric Church at the Royal Albert Hall and has supported The Shires on 35 dates of their extensive UK tour. Alyssa also released new songs including “Old Piano” a duet with Charles Kelly of Lady A.
Spring 2026 sees Alyssa’s long awaited new album America’s Backroads released, featuring 13 tracks recorded in Nashville, all co-written and produced by Alyssa, and features multi-Grammy award-nominated blues titan Joe Bonamassa. The album includes co-writes with hit songwriters Jeffrey Steele (Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts), David Sneddon (Lewis Capaldi), Theo Hutchcraft (Hurts), and is a collection of songs that showcases her musicality as a guitar player and singer, as well as the storytelling of her unique life experiences touring the backroads of America.
