Michael McDonald Returns with First New Music in Nearly a Decade

Five-time Grammy Award winning vocalist and acclaimed singer/songwriter Michael McDonald's new release Wide Open, his first album of new music in nearly a decade, is coming September 15 via BMG. The record features special guests including Warren Haynes, Robben Ford, Marcus Miller and Branford Marsalis.

In addition to his work writing/recording the new album, McDonald most recently collaborated with bassist Thundercat and Kenny Loggins on the track "Show You The Way," which he performed with Thundercat at Coachella in April. The Los Angeles Times hailed McDonald's surprise appearance as one of the "10 best performances" at the festival, praising "McDonald's silky keys over Thundercat's undulating bass," while The Guardian called it "a perfect moment in a set that contained slick highs" and Billboard noted, "Who thought that in 2017 65-year old Doobie Brothers singer Michael McDonald would bring down the house at Coachella?"

McDonald also recently collaborated with Solange Knowles, Allen Stone, Lawrence and members of Snarky Puppy and Vulfpeck at the Okeechobee Music Fest, and is set to close the Treftles Stage at the Kaaboo Festival this fall.

McDonald will celebrate the release of Wide Open with a performance for PBS' "Soundstage," slated to air this fall, as well as extensive touring throughout the summer and fall including a headlining date at Carnegie Hall on October 19. See below for a complete list of tour dates.

Wide Open follows a trio of albums of R&B and soul covers McDonald recorded for the fabled Motown label, the most recent being 2008's Soul Speak. Wide Open is McDonald's first album of original material in 17 years, comprised largely of material written over a number of years in-between projects and recorded in McDonald's Nashville studio with drummer Shannon Forrest (Faith Hill, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Toto) and an extensive cast of Nashville session musicians.

With a career that encompasses five Grammys, numerous chart successes and personal and professional accolades, as well as collaborations with some of the world's most prominent artists, Michael McDonald remains an enduring force in popular music. Hailing from St. Louis, McDonald arrived in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, honing his talents as a studio musician before becoming an integral part of Steely Dan. In the mid-'70s McDonald was invited to join the Doobie Brothers as the band redefined their sound with McDonald serving as singer, keyboardist and songwriter on such Top 40 singles as "Takin' It To The Streets," "It Keeps You Runnin'," "Minute By Minute" and "What A Fool Believes." Throughout the '80s and '90s McDonald's solo career took off with a string of hits including "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)," "Sweet Freedom," "On My Own" (with Patti LaBelle) and the Grammy-winning James Ingram duet "Yah Mo B There," plus he co-wrote the Van Halen hit "I'll Wait." McDonald has performed with a who's-who of critically acclaimed artists across a number of genres, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Vince Gill and Grizzly Bear.