Joe Dillstrom

I am currently in the early stages of recording my sophomore album, The Big Sad. My first album, Heart String Tugs, consisted of love songs in a folk/light-jazz idiom, and the songs of this next album have a combined mood that is best described as more ‘blue’–a deepening of blues and jazz sensibilities, with lyrics that reflect honestly on internal conflicts and mental health struggles (hence the title). I hope to finish principal recording for the project by the end of 2023 and to have a finished product by early summer 2024.

Ideally I would like to perform this album on a stage with a small combo–upright bass, percussion, a guitarist, and horns. I would enlist either my band (subject to availability) or area personnel to do so. I hope to present a refined, engaging program of music within the parameters of the album itself–an intimate, warm performance.

Mixtape Music Series
Spring 2024