Kurt Vile, photo by Eleanor Petry

Kurt Vile has unveiled Philadelphia’s been good to me, his first new album since 2022’s (watch my moves). The indie standard-bearer and lifelong son of the City of Brotherly Love’s return lands as an essential document of his process and personality, cut from a three-year stretch in “an inspired state of flux.” To preview the project, he’s shared the lead single “Chance to bleed,” alongside a music video directed by Lucky Marvel and a packed live calendar for this summer and fall.

“This is my ‘bringing it all back home to Philly’ record,” Vile said. “I’m treating it like my last record. I put everything into it. It’s my best vocal record. It’s my best electric guitar record. It’s my most organic record, made in the comfort of my own zone.”

Vile started work on Philadelphia’s been good to me back in 2023, and he’s been tinkering with melodies as they strike him when he’s been home from the road up through earlier this year. He tracked the bulk of the record in his basement studio in Philly’s Mt. Airy neighborhood. That scattershot assembly lends an inspired, unrehearsed quality to the record, and it’s clear from the 

mood smoldering under the lead single’s shaggy howl that the songs piled up from moments of clear feeling and stayed close to them. “I’ve been waiting for that kinda natural element to show up again in my recordings, like the old home recording days,” Vile expressed. “I think I finally caught that again, but in a higher fidelity; it’s never overly polished, but it’s still pretty damn shimmery.”

“Chance to bleed” hosts a tangle of backing vocals from Natalie Hoffman (NOTS, Optic Sink), Ethan Buckler (King Kong, Slint) and Greg Cartwright (Reigning Sound, The Oblivians), and Cartwright’s co-lead guitar brawls with Vile’s from the left and right channels in the mix. The video gets at the scenes that inspire Vile these days with footage from Fishtown institution Kung Fu Necktie, packed with cameos including the Violators, the track’s guests, Jim E Brown and Philly hip-hop titan Schoolly D.

“’Chance to bleed’ is some new kinda higher energy rager,” Vile said. “Recorded with my band of bros the Violators in Athens, GA… and then on down the road to Memphis, TN where we got town legend Greg Cartwright to rip with us (KV lead gtr on the left and Greg lead on the right!) I finished this jam out in L.A. with Rob Schnapf at the mixing board and by then it was flyin, baby. The video is a hoot: I invited my Memphis friends back out for that and there’re a ton of other legendary guests so keep your eyes peeled. (Yo, Schoolly D!) Love, KV.”

Philadelphia’s been good to me is available to pre-order and pre-save now. Read on for the full tracklist and Vile’s complete tour itinerary.

Philadelphia’s been good to me – Kurt Vile:
1. Zoom 97
2. 99 BPM
3. Rock ‘o Stone
4. You don’t know cuz it’s my life
5. Chance to Bleed
6. Philly’s been good to me
7. 99th song
8. Red Room Dub
9. Every time I look at you
10. Piano for Sarah
11. Avalanches of Snow

Kurt Vile Tour Dates (new dates in bold):
Tue. June 16 – Toronto, ON @ History *
Wed. June 17 – Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre *
Fri. June 19 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *
Sat. June 20 – Greenfield, MA @ Green River Festival
Sun. June 21 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony (North to Shore Fest) *
Mon. June 22 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre *
Tue. June 23 – Cleveland, OH @ The Roxy *
Thu. June 25 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall *
Fri. June 26 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed *
Sat. June 27 – Eau Claire, WI @ Blue Ox Music Festival
Sun. June 28 – St Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre %
Wed. July 1 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom @
Thu. July 2 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall %
Fri. July 3 – Seattle, WA @ 5th Avenue Theatre %
Sun. July 5 – South Lake Tahoe, CA @ The Hangar %
Tue. July 7 – San Francisco, CA @ The Castro Theater %
Wed. July 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo %
Thu. July 9 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park %
Fri. July 10 – Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren %
Sat. July 11 – Santa Fe, NM @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Co. %
Mon. July 13 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theatre !
Tue. July 14 – Houston, TX @ Heights Theater !
Wed. July 15 – Dallas, TX @ Longhorn Ballroom !
Fri. July 17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern !
Sat. July 18 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium !
Sun. July 19 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel !
Mon. July 20 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom !
Wed. July 22 – Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre !
Thu. July 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount !
Fri. July 24 – Boston, MA @ Royale !
Sat. July 25 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Dell Music Center >$
Thu. Aug. 13 – Paredes de Coura, PT @ Paredes de Coura Festival
Sat. Aug. 15 – Saint-Malo, FR @ La Route du Rock
Mon. Aug. 17 – Hamburg, DE @ Mojo
Tue. Aug. 18 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
Fri. Aug. 21 – Trondheim, NO @ Pstereo
Sun. Aug. 23 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
Mon. Aug. 24 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Tue. Aug. 25 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
Thu. Aug. 27 – La Tour-de-Peilz, CH @ Nox Orae
Fri. Aug. 28 – Paris, FR @ Rock en Seine
Sat. Aug. 29 – Luxembourg, LU @ Den Atelier
Sun. Aug. 30 – Köln, DE @ Gloria
Tue. Sept. 1 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
Wed. Sept. 2 – Prague, CZ @ Archa+
Thu. Sept. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Huxleys Neue Welt
Fri. Sept. 4 – Maastricht, NL @ Zero for Three
Sun. Sept. 6 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road
Mon. Sept. 7 – Bristol, UK @ The Crane %
Tue. Sept. 8 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk %
Wed. Sept. 9 – London, UK @ Troxy %
Fri. Sept. 11 – Manchester, UK @ The Ritz %
Sat. Sept. 12 – Birmingham, UK @ XOYO %
Sun. Sept. 13 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 TV Studio %
Mon. Sept. 14 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street %
Tue. Sept. 15 – Leeds, UK @ Project %
Wed. Nov. 4 – Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall $
Thu. Nov. 5 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall $
Fri. Nov. 6 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall $
Sat. Nov. 7 – St. Louis, MO @ The Sovereign $
Sun. Nov. 8 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall $
Tue. Nov. 10 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s $
Wed. Nov. 11 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall $
Thu. Nov. 12 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room $
Fri. Nov. 13 – Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s $
Sat. Nov. 14 – Denver, CO @ Summit $
Mon. Nov. 16 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge $
Tue. Nov. 17 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall $ #
Wed. Nov. 18 – New Orleans, LA @ Joy Theatre $
Fri. Nov. 20 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club $
Sat. Nov. 21 – Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm $
Sun. Nov. 22 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre $
Mon. Nov. 23 – Richmond, VA @ The National
Tue. Nov. 24 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar $
* w/ The Sadies
% w/ Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band
@ w/ Alex Amen
! w/ Being Dead
$ w/ Twisted Teens
> w/ TAGABOW
# w/ Optic Sink