Benjamin Tod, frontman of the Lost Dog Street Band, has been one of the most prolific artists in county music for quite some time now.
Dating back to the the release of their debut album Sick Pup in 2011, Lost Dog Street Band has released seven albums, and with Tod’s three additional solo albums, he has been responsible for 10 albums in the last 12 years. Releasing well-received, authentic country music at a rate few other artists, if any, have been able to maintain over the same period, Tod has established himself as a mainstay at the top of non-mainstream country music.
And while Tod announced this past summer that he and Lost Dog Street Band planned to stop touring after their 2022 shows, he shows no signs of slowing down on the writing and recording. In an update on the band’s status posted to the Lost Dog Street Band Instagram page last week, Tod confirmed that fans can count on another album being released this year.
“We’ve been a little distant on here lately planning our next move. There are a lot of physical and psychological pieces coming together for the future of Lost Dog.
We have a lot of very tough decisions to make and every one of them cost something and gives something. I can’t believe we ran like we did on the road all the years by the leanest means necessary. It’s shocking it worked at all, much less thrived thanks to y’all.
I can tell you one thing for certain; we ain’t licked yet and there will be a new LDSB album recorded this year.”
The message included a from back in 2014, busking in Portsmouth, New Hampshire:
Obviously, there aren’t many details out there yet about what this project will entail or when it will be released, but either way, this is great news for country music fans and the genre as a whole.
One of the best songwriters in today’s country music scene, Tod has seen and done a lot in his life, and his experiences have shaped the perspectives and brings authenticity to the stories he shares in his music. While I don’t know exactly what to expect with this LDSB album, I can confidently say that like all of Benjamin Tod’s music, it will be a masterclass in introspective songwriting and powerful stories told.
In the meantime, here’s a few of my favorite songs from the many Lost Dog Street Band projects. If you’re a fan yourself, hopefully these will continue to keep you occupied as we await LDSB’s 2023 record. If you’re not too familiar with Tod’s music, hopefully you like what you hear and these inspire you to take a deeper dive into his music.
“From the Day You Were Born” – Sick Pup (2011)
“When I Went Down to Georgia” – Homeward Bound (2015)
“Terrible and True” – Weight of a Trigger (2019)
“Shady Grove” – Magnolia Sessions (2021)
“Fighting Like Hell to Be Free” – Glory (2022)
