A studio portrait of country and Americana singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale against a dark grey background. The person has silver, shoulder-length hair and wears a vibrant, multi-colored floral western-style shirt with pearl snap buttons. They are holding a sunburst-finish acoustic guitar with a dark leather strap, looking directly at the camera with a steady, neutral expression. — Jim Lauderdale Credit: Yep Roc

To kick off the 2020s, Jim Lauderdale released an uplifting post-pandemic album, Hope. Last year, he tapped the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys in a return to bluegrass.

In between those outings, however, was Game Changer, a 2022 honky-tonk record put to tape at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios featuring songs he’d written with bassist and longtime collaborator Jay Weaver.

“Country music is constantly evolving, but I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for steel guitar and a Telecaster,” Lauderdale, a two-time Grammy-winner, said in a press release from that cycle. “I have done my job on this record if people who love classic country feel like they can put it on, or have it in their collection, and it would fit right in.”

Tickets to see Jim Lauderdale & The Game Changers play Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa on Thursday, March 26 are still available for $25.03.

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This article appears in Mar. 19 – 25, 2026.