Pokey LaFarge Releases HAMBONE Single, RENT MONEY Album Due Sept 11

Pokey LaFarge has released HAMBONE, a new single that will open his forthcming album RENT MONEY, set for release on Friday, September 11 through his own label, Boxer Boy Records. An official music video for the song, directed by Jacob Butler, premiered the same day. The single arrives as LaFarge's North American headline tour resumes on August 27 with a solo performance in Arundel, Maine.

'Hambone' marks the latest single and opening track from LaFarge's eagerly awaited new album, Rent Money, arriving everywhere on Friday, September 11. Pre-orders/pre-saves are available now.

'My producer, Elliot Bergman, sent me a recording of him playing hambone on his thigh,' Pokey LaFarge says. 'We put a drum track and some bass behind it – that's what you hear on the record, the original bass and his hambone. It's just a party track, you know? It shows how, in the end, a lot of what I do is really just dance music.'

Produced by Elliot Bergman (Wild Belle, LA LOM, Natalie Bergman), Rent Money once again finds Pokey LaFarge deftly traversing the boundaries of genre, seamlessly integrating the myriad strains of 20th century American music – spanning, but not limited to, urban blues, primal rock 'n roll, early jazz, ragtime, first wave reggae, boogie, gospel and electric country funk – with a freewheeling command of earnest songcraft, inspired performance, and subversive creativity. The album sees the Illinois native pushing forward yet again in what can be safely declared his finest collection to date, impassioned and mature, both as no-nonsense social commentary and heartfelt expression of personal experience. Driven by twanging guitars, plucky rhythms, and undeniably captivating melodies, songs like 'My Baby Loves Me' and the outspoken first single and title track, 'Rent Money,' soar and swing, their joyous refrains belying the kitchen-table issues and inescapable undercurrent of constant worry that permeates these troubled times.

'People are always going to tell you what they think you should play,' says Pokey LaFarge, 'what you should sing about, how you should sound, how you should look, how you should act. And I've always just been like, nah. Nope. I've just completely gone my own way, and hopefully I've been honest and authentic in the process.

'I'm just trying to make music that AI can't replicate. Things are so homogenized right now. That's what I'm really, really, really resistant to, especially when it comes to music. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to conform.'

LaFarge is currently introducing fans old and new to Rent Money with an epic headline tour featuring full-band performances and solo shows set to travel North America through a holiday season finale at Los Angeles, CA's historic Lodge Room on December 19. An EU/UK headline run will follow in March 2027, with stops in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Germany. For complete details and ticket information, visit www.pokeylafarge.net/tour.

Tracklist

The Thing

My Baby Loves Me

Hambone

Rent Money

Stick Together

Work

Stranger

Can't Take it With You

Told You No

Big Boss Man

On and On

Tour Dates

AUGUST 27 – Arundel, ME – Vinegar Hill Music Theatre *

28 – Plainfield, VT – The Creative Campus at Goddard *

30 – Falmouth, MA – Hermann Theater @ Falmouth Academy *

SEPTEMBER 11 – Bloomington, IL – The Castle Theatre

12 – St Louis, MO – Delmar Hall

13 – Des Moines, IA – Wooly's

15 – Madison, WI – Atwood Music Hall

16 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bell's Eccentric Cafe

17 – Ferndale, MI – The Magic Bag

18 – Toronto, ON – The Concert Hall

19 - Ottawa, ON - City Folk Festival

20 – Homer, NY – Center for the Arts of Homer

22 – Ardmore, PA – Ardmore Music Hall

23 – Washington, DC – The Atlantis

25 – Cincinnati, OH – Ludlow Garage

26 – Pelham, TN – The Caverns

27 – Indianapolis, IN – HI–FI Indy

NOVEMBER 10 – Somerville, MA – Arts at The Armory

11 – Amherst, MA – The Drake Amherst

12 – New York, NY – Sony Hall

13 – Kingston, NY – Assembly

14 – Camden, ME – Camden Opera House

DECEMBER 2 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall

3 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line

4 – Omaha, NE – Waiting Room Lounge

5 – Denver, CO – The Gothic Theatre

6 – Fort Collins, CO – Washington's

8 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Commonwealth Room

9 – Boise, ID – Shrine Social Club

11 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater

12 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theatre

13 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre

15 – Sebastopol, CA – HopMonk Tavern

16 – San Francisco, CA – Bimbo's 365 Club

17 – Felton, CA – Felton Music Hall

18 – Carlsbad, CA – NAMM Museum of Making Music

19 – Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room

MARCH 2027 9 – Dublin, Ireland – Button Factory

11 – Bristol, United Kingdom – Lanter Hall

12 – London, United Kingdom – Islington Assembly Hall

13 – Manchester, United Kingdom – Manchester Folk Festival @ Band on the Wall

15 – Leuven, Belgium – Het Depot

16 – Paris, France – New Morning

18 – Groningen, Netherlands – Oosterpoort

19 – Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVredenburg

20 – Cologne, Germany – Gebäude 9

21 – Dresden, Germany – Beatpol

23 – Berlin, Germany – Lido

25 – Breda, Netherlands – Mezz

26 – Venlo, Netherlands – Grenswerk

27 – Brugge, Belgium – Cactus

* Solo Performance

LaFarge said the track grew out of a recording producer Elliot Bergman sent him of himself playing hambone on his thigh, which was then layered with bass and drums. Pre-orders and pre-saves for RENT MONEY are available ahead of the album's September 11 release.

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