Jim James to Release New Album "Wowed Out," Perform at Wes Anderson Concert

Jim James has announced details of his new album, Wowed Out , marking his first solo recording in eight years. With the promise of more tour dates on the way, the 3x Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter and founding member of indie rock band My Morning Jacket has also confirmed a few special appearances this summer.

James, who is also a producer and multi-instrumentalist, will release Wowed Out via ATO Records on Friday, August 28, with pre-orders/pre-saves available now. The project, which is James’ fifth solo project overall, features material that James originally composed for two major film-scoring projects in the early 2010s and then transformed “into an audacious, immersive new work of soulful psychedelia.” The 10-track album is described as offering a “radically sincere statement against disillusionment, one that argues for tenderness as resistance, nature as refuge, and awe as a counterforce to dread and despair.”

An announcement explains that the album came to be after James started going through a stash of recordings he’d created with longtime friend, award-winning composer Brian Reitzell, who has worked with Sofia Coppola on films such as “Lost in Translation” and “The Virgin Suicides.”

“There’ve been times in my life where I’ve felt lost or depressed, but music has always been the thing that pulls me back,” James said in a statement. “When I think about making this album, it almost feels like I was in some kind of dream and now I’m trying to remember what the dream was about. The whole thing brought me a lot of joy and comfort while I was making it, and I hope it brings everyone else a little joy and comfort too.”

Tuesday’s album news coincides with the premier of the first single, “Come Again,” a tune that evolved from a cue James initially composed for a scene set in a teddy bear factory. Check out the official music video, which was “conceived and edited with analog videographic illusions by W.G. Rickel,” below.

“‘Come Again’ came from feeling discouraged by how much things are changing in directions I don’t agree with, but trying to remember that there’s still so much beauty to be experienced,” James said. “You’ve got to just keep going and keep trying again and again and again to find joy.”

James recently took part in a Q&A focused on his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, as part of Pollstar ’s Louisville/Lexington Market Focus. During the interview he revealed that he had a new solo LP on the way and that he’d be “playing some shows for that in December.” While we wait for those tour dates to be announced, James has confirmed he’ll be taking the stage at Park City, Utah’s annual Song Summit on Aug. 28 and performing at the all-star concert event “Music From the Films of Wes Anderson,” which takes place at the Hollywood Bowl July 10-12. The all-star concert includes appearances from Beck, Jackson Browne, Bill Murray, Britt Daniel and others.

READ MORE Jim James On Louisville & Its ‘Hot, Steamy, Funky, Beautiful Spiritual Vibe’

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/06/23/jim-james-announces-new-album-mmj-frontman-set-to-perform-at-all-star-wes-anderson-concert-event/)._