Punch Brothers Announce New Album, Tour

The Punch Brothers have announced the release of their fourth studio album.

'The Phosphorescent Blues' is set for release on Jan. 27. The band worked with legendary producer T Bone Burnett on the project after meeting him during the recording of the 'Inside Llewyn Davis' soundtrack. The band -- made up of guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjo player Noam Pikelny, mandolinist and lead singer Chris Thile and fiddler Gabe Witcher -- wrote the tracks for the album during a series of writing "retreats" over the past year. They joined Burnett at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, Calif., to spend a month recording the album this summer.

“We often go to bars after shows or writing sessions, to be around other people for a little while. And I’d see people just like me on their phones, telling people they wish they were there, texting people who really are there. Then a song would come on that somebody likes, and then they see that someone else does too, and maybe they both sing it together, and that moment is spiritual, some shared experience, and they are interacting, in the flesh, with their fellow man. And that’s communion," Thile says. "Many of the songs on this record dive into that: How do we cultivate beautiful, three-dimensional experiences with our fellow man in this day and age?”

Thile and Witcher sat down with Burnett before recording and found out that he was thinking along the same lines; a commencement address he recently gave at the University of Southern California spoke to the impact of technology on human interaction.

“Thile and I looked at each and said, ‘This is unbelievable. It’s exactly what we are writing about,’" Witcher says. "So this was a perfect, serendipitous union.”

The new album will be accompanied by a 23-city North American tour, beginning Feb. 20 in Washington, D.C. See a list of tour stops below. Ticket information is available at PunchBrothers.com.

'The Phosphorescent Blues' is available to pre-order on iTunes, with instant downloads of the tracks 'I Blew It Off' and 'Julep.' Pre-orders for CD and vinyl versions (which include four additional tracks) are available via PunchBrothers.com; they come with a full download of the album on release day as well as the instant downloads of 'I Blew It Off' and 'Julep.'

Punch Brothers North American Tour Dates:

2/20 -- Washington, D.C. -- 9:30 Club
2/24 -- Asheville, N.C. -- Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
2/26 -- Atlanta, Ga. -- Tabernacle
2/27 -- Nashville, Tenn. -- Ryman Auditorium
2/28 -- Chicago, Ill. -- Riviera Theatre
3/1 -- Minneapolis, Minn. -- First Avenue
3/4 -- Philadelphia, Pa. -- Union Transfer
3/5 -- New York, N.Y. -- Beacon Theatre
3/6 -- Boston, Mass. -- House of Blues
3/7 -- Portland, Maine -- State Theatre
3/25 -- Vancouver, B.C. -- Vogue Theatre
3/26 -- Seattle, Wash. -- The Moore Theatre
3/27 -- Portland, Ore. -- Roseland Theater
3/28 -- Stateline, Nev. -- Harrah's Tahoe
4/1 -- San Diego, Calif. -- North Park Theatre
4/2 -- Los Angeles, Calif. -- Fonda Theatre
4/3 -- San Francisco, Calif. -- Fillmore
4/6 -- Salt Lake City, Utah -- Depot
4/7 -- Denver, Colo. -- Ogden Theatre
4/9 -- Austin, Texas -- ACL Live at Moody Theater
4/10 -- Houston, Texas -- House of Blues
4/11 -- Dallas, Texas -- House of Blues
4/13 -- Tucson, Ariz. -- Rialto Theatre
4/14 -- Mesa, Ariz. -- Mesa Arts Center