Sadler Vaden
Dad Rock

Thirty Tigers / Dirty Mag Records (2024)

|WEBSITE| |TWITTER| |INSTAGRAM| |FACEBOOK| |SPOTIFY| |BANDCAMP|

“Isbell's lead guitarist has the chops to match licks with the boss, which is saying something. But Anybody Out There? — the follow-up to Vaden's 2016 debut album — is a tuneful power pop set that puts the emphasis on songs rather than solos.” — The New York Times (via Associated Press)

"Rock and Roll Masterpiece…From the Zeppelin-esque title track to the Pink Floyd-tinged 'Curtain Call' to the Joe Walsh-inspired 'Golden Child,' Vaden shares his influences with a certain sense of pride. But Anybody Out There? isn’t a tribute record to the rock eras of the past; it’s something much deeper and more important." — No Depression

“Vaden delves into some hot-button, contemporary topics on the album's 10 tracks, surveying the state of the nation, and the world” — Billboard Magazine

“Sadler Vaden Mixes Oasis With Tom Petty” — Rolling Stone

"Anybody Out There? positively drips with Vaden's sparky riffs and melodious solos." — Guitar World

“Anybody Out There? is a collection of classic rock-inspired songs that crackle with power-pop energy and seamlessly wield influences from R.E.M. to The Who. Finding the common ground between polished pop and garage-inspired rock ‘n’ roll...” — Okra Magazine

"[Vaden] makes each of these tracks reverberate with the best aspects of the Americana genre that has clearly influenced him, while carving out his own space in it." — American Songwriter

"Sadler Vaden brings classic rock into the present tense" — Nashville Lifestyles

“Masterful rock guitarist and songsmith…Vaden is a rare migratory species, a gunslinging sideman with a stockpile of killer songs...exploring the rich textures of the pop branch of Southern rock’s family tree.” — Nashville Scene

“A slice of irresistible retro rock 'n' roll that will appeal to anyone who has a stack of California country, '90s alt-rock and Americana classics in their record collection." — Wide Open Country

"For fans of Vaden’s self-titled debut, Anybody Out There? will feel like a proper follow-up, maintaining the genuineness of his love for rock while forging a record that is distinctively and inimitably his." — The Boot

“The opening track ‘Next to You,’ with its jangly opening chords, is classic rock as it should be. The same can be said for the infectious ‘Golden Child,’ one of the best moments on an album filled with ‘best moments.’ But far from being just another great guitar hero, Sadler also shows a knack for solid songwriting, best highlighted on some of his slower numbers like ‘Don’t Worry.’” — Glide Magazine

Acclaimed solo artist. Songwriter. Grammy-winning member of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Producer. Studio musician. Modern-day guitar hero. A professional musician since the age of 18, Sadler Vaden has spent the better part of two decades on stage, on the road, and in the recording studio, lending his unique rock & roll approach to highly-revered bands, up-and-coming acts, and solo albums.

Vaden’s newest solo effort, Dad Rock, is an 8-song set of classic rock jams and ballads, recorded after Vaden became a father, that features an impressive cast of esteemed rock musicians who are also dads like Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Julian Dorio (The Whigs, Eagles of Death Metal), Art Edmaiston (JJ Grey & Mofro), and more. The album includes new songs Vaden wrote specifically for his two sons, like "Townsend's Theme" and "I'll Always Come Back," the latter of which was inspired by what he tells them every time he leaves for tour; and older tracks Vaden has long wanted to share with the world, like "Two Balloons," a tribute to his late parents that matches the tattoo on his left arm.

Dad Rock follows 2020's Anybody Out There?, a "Rock and Roll Masterpiece" (No Depression) that "Mixes Oasis With Tom Petty” (Rolling Stone) and "positively drips with Vaden's sparky riffs and melodious solos" (Guitar World). Of his solo return, Vaden offers, "It's been four years since my last album, and my wife and I have had two beautiful boys since then, which has really shifted my perspective in life and in how I write songs. These are mostly new songs but some older unreleased songs that I have a totally new connection with after becoming a father...I feel like we are experiencing a new era of Dad where you see many men really stepping up to the plate and being there for their kids and their wife more, cooking more, doing more duties around the house. It's actually cool to be a good dad these days and I hope that's a trend that continues."

Since his last release, Vaden has continued touring and recording with Isbell while further establishing himself behind the board as well, producing Morgan Wade's last two records, Reckless and Psychopath (serving as a co-writer on both), among others. On how he found time to work on his solo material, Vaden offers, "I was technically only in the studio for two days, two sessions in December just days before my second son Theo was born. Everything else was done remotely or at my home studio when I could carve out an hour here and there. I really knew what I wanted things to sound like on this record so it was important to me to not let things get overcooked by laboring over parts and sounds too much. And also, we play close to 100 shows a year, so there’s really no time for that anyways...We mixed the record remotely with Owen Lewis using Audiomovers, which is software that you can put on the stereo output of your DAW and send someone a link so they can listen to a mix or recording session in real time. I’d be listening to the link in my AirPods while he’s mixing and I’d be changing dirty diapers or making bottles or chasing my toddler around getting ready for bedtime. Dad Rock indeed."

Raised in North Myrtle Beach and the outskirts of Charleston, SC, Vaden began playing gigs as a teenager, serving as the frontman of a locally-beloved rock & roll power trio named Leslie. The band shared shows with headliners like Drivin’ N Cryin’ and Jason Isbell, both of whom later recruited Vaden to join their own lineups. During his time with Drivin’ N Cryin’, he produced the band's series of Songs… EPs while also playing lead guitar on crowd favorites like "Fly Me Courageous" and "Straight to Hell." He left the group for Isbell's band in 2013, shortly before Isbell's career-shifting album Southeastern hit stores, and has remained an integral member of the group ever since, lending his vocal harmonies and song-serving guitar fretwork to Grammy-winning albums like Something More Than Free and The Nashville Sound along the way. Meanwhile, he has also continued releasing his own material, including his 2016 self-titled debut full-length and standalone singles like "Monster," the latter of which was hailed by Rolling Stone as a "T. Rex-evoking jam [that] doubles as a commentary on the U.S.'s negative political and social climate." 

"It's always been there for me, through the good and bad," Sadler Vaden says of the rock & roll genre, whose uplift and epic punch first convinced him to pick up the guitar as a 10-year-old. Years later, he's proudly carrying the torch, nodding to the rock & roll music that came before him while crafting some contemporary classics of his own.  

Sadler Vaden On Tour

For more information, please contact:
Jake Lanier
jake@luckybirdmedia.com