J.M. Clifford Releases 'Old Dirt Road' From THINGS THAT WE CAN'T CHANGE

New York–based singer-songwriter and bluegrass musician J.M. Clifford has released his latest single, 'Old Dirt Road,' available everywhere today. The song is the third single from Clifford's upcoming album, Things That We Can't Change, arriving October 16. The tune features his friend and Grammy Award-winning guitarist Chris Eldridge (Punch Brothers, Infamous Stringdusters) and reflects on becoming a parent and how having a child reshapes your understanding of time, responsibility, and love.

'My wife Nicole and I had our first little one last January. People tell you your life will never be the same when you have a kid, but you don't really know what that means until you go through it,' says Clifford. 'I wrote this song before our son came along, imagining what that life would be like. It was a lovely dream. Turns out reality is more complicated, and more beautiful, than I could have ever imagined.'

On 'Old Dirt Road,' the road becomes a metaphor for that imagined journey: a path toward home, family, and lasting love. But the song's meaning has deepened with experience. What once existed as a beautiful vision of the future now carries the perspective of someone who has begun living it. Clifford has discovered that real family life can be messier, more demanding, and ultimately more beautiful than he ever could have imagined.

Produced by Ron Pope, Things That We Can't Change features songwriting collaborations with Pope and performances from some of the finest musicians in bluegrass, including Wes Corbett (banjo), Shaun Richardson (mandolin), Christian Sedelmyer (fiddle), Jeff Picker (bass), and Justin Moses (dobro). Clifford contributes guitar and lead vocals, with Liz Dewey and Justin Blanner on backing vocals. Built around the question of how we respond to the things we cannot control, Things That We Can't Change explores loss, love, regret, faith, parenthood, and the search for acceptance through Clifford's blend of bluegrass tradition and deeply personal songwriting.

For Clifford, bluegrass has always been more than a genre—it is a community. After discovering the Brooklyn bluegrass scene at Sunny's Bar in Red Hook, he immersed himself in the music, studying artists like Norman Blake, Bill Monroe, and The Stanley Brothers while becoming a performer, teacher, and advocate for the tradition.

Today, Clifford teaches music in Brooklyn, where he shares his love of songwriting and creativity with his students. With Things That We Can't Change, he continues to create music that finds the universal in the personal, writing songs about heartbreak, hope, family, and the ongoing work of accepting life as it comes.

About J.M. Clifford

J.M. Clifford is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and elementary school music educator whose work blends bluegrass, folk, and Americana with a strong narrative voice. A rising presence on the national songwriting circuit, he has earned top honors at the Pensacola Beach Songwriter Festival and Solarfest, and was a finalist in the 2025 Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Contest and the 2024 American Songwriter Contest. His debut album On a Saturday Night drew praise from The Bluegrass Situation, Bluegrass Today, and Holler Country, while 'Complicated Man' landed on Ear to the Ground Music's Top 20 Songs of 2023. A 2026 Grey Fox Emerging Artist and an Official Showcase Artist at the 2023 IBMA Business Conference, Clifford has toured nationally and opened for Ron Pope and Dar Williams. Offstage, he brings that same passion to the classroom, teaching music to elementary students in New York City.