Photo by Annie Beedy

Eric D. Johnson’s project Fruit Bats is celebrating its 20th year in 2021. To ring in the milestone, Johnson has announced a new album from Fruit Bats, titled The Pet Parade. Along with the album announcement, Fruit Bats shared a new single from the record, “Holy Rose.”

“‘Holy Rose’ is possibly the most ‘direct’ song on The Pet Parade,” Johnson said (via press release). “I wrote this about the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County and was finishing it up right when fire season was raging in California. My wife grew up in Sonoma County and just had to sit there and watch her childhood burn down. This is a love song to the native West Coasters.”

The album was produced by Josh Kaufman, who Johnson plays with in Bonny Light Horseman. Drummers Joe Russo and Matt Barrick feature on the record, as well as singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels, pianist Thomas Bartlett and fiddler Jim Becker.

“I’m still really excited to make records,” Johnson says of his current attitude. “Lucky and happy and maybe happier that things went slower for me. I’m savoring it a lot more.”

Pre-order The Pet Parade here. Listen to “Holy Rose” below!