Austin’s Stephen Doster has worked with a staggering list of musicians across his career, including Dr. John, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, and more. But his own solo career has come in fits and starts. In 1997, he released his debut album to a lot of acclaim, but the follow-up didn’t arrive until 2014. “The business has always frustrated me, but never the playing,” Doster remarked in a somewhat-prescient Austin Chronicle feature published two decades ago. “I guess I just never had the ambition to put out a bunch of independent records just to see something with my name on it.”
Doster is making up for lost time, though, with the release of New Black Suit. The album celebrates a lot of Austin history, dedicated to (and featuring) the late bassist George Reiff. Austin heroes Townes Van Zandt and comedian Bill Hicks influenced the first single, “Shooting For The Stars.” Doster’s Byrds-ian jangle is a perfect fit for the song’s bittersweet ode to youth.
“Shooting For The Stars” appears on New Black Suit, out August 25.
–Art Levy // host, Sunday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., producer, My KUTX
