Margo Cilker to Release LITTLE WHITE CROSS Oct. 9, Announces Fall Tour
The album was recorded in Lockhart, Texas with producer Bruce Robison, known for work with Charley Crockett and George Strait.
Acclaimed Western folk singer-songwriter Margo Cilker recently announced her highly anticipated third album, LITTLE WHITE CROSS, sharing the album's title track and lead single. The Bluegrass Situation has revealed a performance of the new track filmed live from the Markleeville General Store at Woollystar Music Festival earlier this summer. Originally written and recorded by her friend Christy Hays, 'Little White Cross' feels country-classic in Cilker's hands as she effortlessly captures its blend of realism and poetry: Little white cross on the side of the road / Little fake flower and a crown of gold / They were going so fast how were they to know / They'd be a little white cross on the side of the road.
Due out October 9 via Fossil Records (a label Cilker recently launched with fellow musician ISMAY), the upcoming 10-song set was recorded in Lockhart, Texas with Bruce Robison, the writer/producer behind work by Charley Crockett, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, and The Chicks.
'You could definitely call it a concept record. If that concept is that I got really sad and went to Texas,' Cilker offers. 'I had some material so dark I didn't think I'd show it to [Bruce]. Then I remembered this is the man who wrote 'Travelin' Soldier.''
When Cilker revealed to Robison the saddest of her original songs (upcoming single 'Molly and Me'), the pair made a conscious choice to let despair lead, recording directly to tape in an all-analog setup with a studio band comprising her 'pedal steel secret weapon' Eric Heywood, Geoff Queen (Hayes Carll), Beth Chrisman (John C. Reilly), Lisa Pankratz (Dave Alvin), and Scott Davis (Band of Heathens), among others. They situated Cilker's originals among a selection of covers that she had taken to playing as a way to process her own pain, some sourced from within her immediate music community. This choice embraces the longtime tradition of Texas troubadours trading tunes and the art of transforming one work into something distinct, while honoring its soul.
'When I find a song that really speaks to me, it helps me make sense of things,' she says. 'Writing can be a lonely affair. But that exchange, that open spirit, it feels essential to art for me.'
The new music follows 2023's VALLEY OF HEART'S DELIGHT, which was nominated for International Album of the Year at the UK Americana Music Awards and received Best of the Year nods from NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, Bandcamp Daily, Paste, No Depression, Uncut, Mojo, BrooklynVegan, and more. Upon release of LITTLE WHITE CROSS, Cilker will embark on an East Coast co-headline tour with Lilly Hiatt, followed by headlining shows in Portland and Seattle and a West Coast run supporting The Cactus Blossoms.
LITTLE WHITE CROSS will arrive on October 9, 2026 via Fossil Records.
Tracklist
1. Little White Cross
2. Ladybug
3. Molly and Me
4. State Line
5. Walls
6. Pauline
7. Road to Las Cruces
8. The Money
9. Maryhill Peaches, Goodnoe Pears
10. Wolves
Margo Cilker On Tour
October 8 - Higher Ground - South Burlington, VT*
October 9 - Iron Horse Music Hall - Northampton, MA*
October 10 - One Longfellow Square - Portland, ME*
October 12 - Baby's All Right - Brooklyn, NY*
October 13 - MilkBoy - Philadelphia, PA*
October 14 - DC9 - Washington, DC*
October 16 - The Hangar - Troy, NY*
October 17 - Cafe 939 - Boston, MA*
October 28 - Polaris Hall - Portland, OR+
October 29 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA+
November 7 - Globe Hall - Denver, CO^
November 8 - The Marigold Room - Santa Fe, NM^
November 10 - Hotel Congress - Tucson, AZ^
November 12 - Dune Room - Indio, CA^
November 13 - The Roxy Theatre - West Hollywood, CA^
November 14 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA^
November 15 - Felton Music Hall - Felton, CA^
*co-headline tour with Lilly Hiatt
+headlining album release shows
^supporting The Cactus Blossoms
Photo Credit: Jon Moore
Photo Credit: Jon Moore
