Photo Credit: Gustavo Olivares

Thee Sacred Souls have announced their sophomore LP, Got A Story To Tell, available on Oct. 4 via Daptone Records. The retro-soul outfit also released the forthcoming project’s first single, “Lucid Girl,” as well as an accompanying music video. Got A Story To Tell arrives two years after their self-titled debut record and features 12 new songs by drummer and guitarist Alejandro Garcia, bassist and drummer Salvador Samano and vocalist Josh Lane, with production from Gabriel Roth at Penrose Recorders. 

Drawing on the musical stylings of Arthur Verocai, the Delfonics and Mary Wells, among other artists, the San Diego-based trio turned toward their inspirations while producing Got A Story To Tell. Keeping their roots in mind, the record also features special guests like Larry Rendon, an original member of Thee Midniters, who Thee Sacred Souls pay homage to in their band name. This mutual and lifelong love of and appreciation for soul music underscores the whole project and culminates as a timeless homage to the genre and its history.

The accompanying music video for the album opener, “Lucid Girl,” also highlights a special kind of power. Directed by CAKE (Emma Kolb) at the Compton Cowboys ranch, “Lucid Girl” calls attention to the very kind of independent women the song describes, as per Thee Sacred Souls’ typical narrative style. Such power comes to fruition through the performance of equestrian Zoie Brogdon: the percussion punctuates the main character’s exploration of freedom. As the track builds, so does the confidence of Brogdon’s character, who gallops and dances to the band’s layered harmonies with grace and grit.  

Amid their busy summer and the release of the Got A Story To Tell tracks that follow “Lucid Girl,” Thee Sacred Souls is set for a number of festival performances across the globe. Appearances include Celebrate Brooklyn on June 22, Festival International de Jazz de Montreal on July 2, Montreux, Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival on July 20, Los Angeles’ Aug. 31 Fool in Love Festival, Seattle’s Bumbershoot on Sept. 1 and Berlin’s Lollapalooza, scheduled for Sept. 8. 

Their largest headline tour to date kicks off in the fall with notable stops at Nashville, Tenn.’s Ryman Auditorium on Oct. 16, Chicago’s Salt Shed on Nov. 2 and Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Brooklyn Paramount on Nov. 8. The band will then headline The Fillmore Philadelphia on Nov. 9, Boston’s Roadrunner on Nov. 10 and Montreal, Quebec’s MTELUS on Nov. 12 before bringing their fall run to a close at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Nov. 14.

Fans can pre-order Got A Story To Tell here, and read on for a full tracklist, as well as a list of upcoming tour dates. For tickets, which go on sale Friday, and more information on pre-sales, visit theesacredsouls.com.

Got A Story To Tell Tracklist:

01 Lucid Girl

02 Price I’ll Pay

03 Live for You

04 On My Mind

05 Waiting on the Right Time

06 Losing Side of Love

07 Somebody Knew

08 My Heart is Drowning

09 Stuck in the Mud

10 In the Mirror

11 One and the Same

12 I’m So Glad I Found You, Baby

Upcoming Thee Sacred Souls Tour Dates: 

June 22 – Celebrate Brooklyn – Brooklyn, N.Y.^

June 27 – Twilight Concert Series – Salt Lake City, Utah ^

June 29 – Endless Sunshine – Denver^ 

July 2 – Festival International de Jazz de Montreal – Montreal, Quebec^ 

July 13 – North Sea Jazz Festival – Rotterdam, Holland^

July 16 – Moldejazz – Molde, Norway^

July 18 – KulturFestival – St. Gallen, Switzerland^

July 19 – GurtenFest – Bern, Switzerland ^

July 20 – Montreux Jazz Festival – Montreux, Switzerland^

July 27 – Out of Space – Skokie, Ill.^

July 28 – Nelsonville Music Festival – Nelsonville, Ohio ^

Aug. 3 – Endless Sunsets – San Diego^

Aug. 8 –  Way Out West – Gothenburg, Sweden^

Aug. 9 – Flow Festival – Helsinki, Finland^

Aug. 10 – Øyafestivalen – Oslo, Norway^

Aug. 13 – Semana Grande de Gijón – Gijón, Spain^

Aug. 16 – Pukkelpop – Hasselt, Belgium^

Aug. 18 – Electric Picnic – Stradbally, Ireland^

Aug. 20 – Nice Jazz Festival – Nice, France^

Aug. 31 –  Fool In Love Festival – Los Angeles^

Sept. 1 – Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival – Seattle^

Sept. 7 – Superbloom – Munich, Germany^

Sept. 8  – Lollapalooza – Berlin, Germany^

Sept. 10 – Tolhuistuin – Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sept. 14 – La Maroquinerie – Paris, France 

Sept. 16 – Band On The Wall – Manchester, U.K.

Sept. 19 – Jazz Cafe – London, U.K.

Sept. 28 –  Soundside Music Festival – Bridgeport, Conn.^

Oct. 11 – Ting Pavilion – Charlottesville, Va.

Oct. 12 – Rabbit Rabbit – Asheville, N.C.

Oct. 14 – The Ritz – Raleigh, N.C.

Oct. 16 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, Tenn.

Oct. 18 – III Points – Miami

Oct. 21 – Tabernacle – Atlanta

Oct. 22 – The Fillmore New Orleans – New Orleans

Oct. 23 – The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall – Houston

Oct. 25 – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater – Austin, Texas

Oct. 26 – South Side Ballroom – Dallas

Oct. 27 – The Momentary – Bentonville, Ark.

Oct. 29 – Egyptian Room – Indianapolis

Oct. 31 – HISTORY – Toronto, Ontario

Nov. 2 – Salt Shed – Chicago

Nov. 3 – St. Andrew’s Hall – Detroit

Nov. 6 – Roxian Theatre – McKees Rocks, Pa

Nov. 8 – Brooklyn Paramount – Brooklyn, N.Y.

Nov. 9 – The Fillmore Philadelphia – Philadelphia

Nov. 10 – Roadrunner – Boston

Nov. 12 – MTELUS – Montreal, Quebec

Nov. 14 – The Fillmore Silver Spring – Silver Springs, Md.

^Festival Performance