Keb' Mo' announces new album, Good To Be, recruits Darius Rucker for groove-fueled new single, Good Strong Woman

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The blues veteran's upcoming record, which features songs written in the 1970s and guest spots from Kristin Chenoweth and Old Crow Medicine Show, is due January 21

Keb' Mo'
(Image credit: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music Association)

Keb’ Mo’ has announced his upcoming record Good To Be, and has ushered in the news by sharing the effort’s swaggering first single, Good Strong Woman.

Due January 21, Good To Be will be released via Rounder Records, and is said to be an eclectic celebration of Mo’s musical resilience and roots in country, soul and blues.

The new track, for which Mo’ has enlisted the musical services of singer-songwriter Darius Rucker, flexes the guitarist’s impeccable blues-based abilities via some pinpoint slide licks, as well as his supremely soulful vocals.

A spread of nuanced guitar parts decorate the acoustic guitar-based track, with some delay-tinged electric guitar punctuation marks, a bucketload of dynamic single-note flourishes and even smattering of harmonics amalgamating to form a sweet six-string wall of sound.

Of the single, Keb’ Mo’ – aka Kevin Moore – said, “I co wrote this with two of Nashville’s best country writers, Jason Nix and Jason Gantt. It’s a song that I didn’t think I’d be recording, but it was just too much fun, and I had to give it a shot.  

“When Darius got involved,” he added, “it went from fun to stun.”

The single will feature on the 13-track setlist, alongside Mo’s previously released tracks Sunny and Warm and The Medicine Man, which will also feature songs written from all corners of the blues titan’s career.

As well as featuring songs written at the height of the pandemic, Good To Be will also include songs that were written as far back as the early ‘70s, such as the yet-to-be-released Quiet Moments.

The album itself was co-produced by Keb’ Mo’, country music icon Vince Gill – who produced three of the 13 tracks – and three-time Grammy award-winner Tom Hambridge, whose credits include B.B. King and Buddy Guy.

Alongside Rucker, Good To Be is also set to feature collaborations with actress/singer Kristin Chenoweth and string group Old Crow Medicine Show.

The tracklist for Good To Be can be found below.

  1. Good To Be (Home Again)
  2. So Easy
  3. Sunny and Warm
  4. Good Strong Woman (feat. Darius Rucker)
  5. The Medicine Man (feat. Old Crow Medicine Show)
  6. Marvelous to Me
  7. Lean on Me
  8. Like Love
  9. Dressed Up in Blue
  10. ‘62 Chevy
  11. Louder
  12. So Good to Me
  13. Quiet Moments (feat. Kristin Chenoweth)
  • Good To Be is available to preorder now ahead of its January 21 release.
Matt Owen
Matt Owen
Senior Staff Writer, GuitarWorld.com

Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.