Bonnie "Prince" Billy announces new live album "Ghosts of American Psychonauts"

Announces new live album “Ghosts of American Psychonauts”

Shares new arrangement of “London May (Live in the City of Ghosts)”

Bonnie “Prince” Billy – the persona/stage-name of musician Will Oldham - will release a new live album titled Ghosts of American Psychonauts on September 18th. The 8-song set was recorded at The Pico Union Project in Los Angeles over Valentine’s Day weekend 2025, just a few weeks after the release of The Purple Bird – and features 3 songs from that album, re-arranged with new instrumentation – among highlights from the BPB catalog. You can hear the version of “London May” (featuring the man London May himself - formerly of Samhain - on drums) today.

Stream “London May (Live in the City of Ghosts)” here.

The performance features Oldham’s touring partners Thomas Deakin (clarinet, down-tuned electric guitar) and Jacob Duncan (flute, saxophone) and many additional guests, including the aforementioned May on drums, Emmett Kelly (bass), Ryder McNair (piano), Dv DeVincentis (sax), Patrick Shiroishi (sax) and Dave Ferguson (who produced The Purple Bird and sings here on "Downstream").

Oldham says: Everyone on the stage (on this record) knows how to tell stories, musically, and relies on this storytelling to create liveable real spaces. In February of 2025, in Los Angeles, we had stories to share with each other and we did it with a thorough and cathartic push-and-pull with each other, and with the audience.

The sound of the record doesn't make any sense, nor does its duration, by standard standards, and this allows the record to do what we want music to do which is to make its own sense.

Once you've been on the road for years it's undeniable that the road is also home, because that's where much of our friends and family are. The stage and the audience were full of friends and family, and music is where we meet. 

Tracklisting:

1. Sometimes it’s Hard to Breathe (Live in the City of Ghosts)

2. Shorty’s Ark (Live in the City of Ghosts)

3. London May (Live in the City of Ghosts)

4. Downstream (Live in the City of Ghosts)

5. Strange Form of Life (Live in the City of Ghosts)

6. This Is Far From Over (Live in the City of Ghosts)

7. Trees of Hell (Live in the City of Ghosts)

8. I See a Darkness (Live in the City of Ghosts)

Ghosts of American Psychonauts is available to pre-order on black vinyl, CD and digitally. Pre-order: DomMart Digital

Upcoming live dates

• Friday 7th August – Caprera Openluchttheater, Bloemendaal, NL
• Saturday 8th August – Haldern Pop Festival, Rees, DE
• Sunday 9th August – Parkhotel Weisser Hirsch, Dresden, DE
• Monday 10th August – Kampnagel, Hamburg, DE
• Tuesday 11th August – Grosser Sendesaal Des RBB, Haus Des Rundfunks, Berlin, DE
• Thursday 13th August – Voxhall, Aarhus, DK
• Friday 14th August – Way Out West Festival, Goteberg, SE
• Sunday 16th August – DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, DK
• Tuesday 8th September – Mandela Hall, Belfast, NI
• Wednesday 9th September – Dolans Warehouse, Limerick City, IE
• Thursday 10th September – Set Theatre, Kilkenny, IE
• Friday 11th September – Dún Laoghaire Folk Festival, Dublin, IE
• Saturday 12th September – Dún Laoghaire Folk Festival, Dublin, IE
• Tuesday 10th November – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, BE
• Wednesday 11th November – Koninklijk Theater Carre, Amsterdam, NL
• Friday 13th November – O2 Institute, Birmingham, UK
• Saturday 14th November – The Fire Station, Sunderland, UK
• Sunday 15th November – The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, UK
• Monday 16th November – Albert Hall, Manchester, UK
• Tuesday 17th November – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, UK