Lenny Kaye Releases Debut Solo Album ‘Goin’ Local’ Via Yep Roc Records
“SHOWS OFF HIS VERSATILITY, OPEN MIND, MUSICAL CURIOSITY AND WIDE-RANGING TASTE” (NPR FRESH AIR)
LISTEN TO “IF I WERE YOU,” A REFLECTION ON THE UNIVERSALITY OF LOVE:
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Photo credit: Dina Regine |
July 17, 2026: Lenny Kaye has released his debut solo album Goin’ Local via Yep Roc Records. The 12-song collection finds the guitarist, author and producer stepping forward with a deeply personal collection written over the course of many years, “a refreshingly raw self-portrait…future-focused and filled with emotional wisdom” (Rolling Stone).
Weaving together a lifetime of experiences and musical explorations, the “godfather of garage rock” (NPR Music) has arrived with his most intimate and fully realized artistic statement yet: “I feel like I’m a new artist,” says Kaye, “I’ve learned how to be myself, to be at one with my instrument, with my creative spirit.”
Listen to “If I Were You,” an ode to the universal experience of love, loss and memory, here: https://youtu.be/6a_sQ4jy5ZU
Listen to ‘Goin’ Local’ here: https://lennykaye.lnk.to/GoinLocal
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Most recently, Kaye previewed the collection with “The Things You Leave Behind,” a track that Terry Gross praised during a career-spanning conversation about the new record for NPR's Fresh Air, saying "I've never heard a song like this before.” Of the full collection Gross adds, “Scorching guitar, tender ballads that made me smile and laugh. Lenny Kaye is one of those people who seems to know everything there is to know about rock and pop music,” says Gross. Listen to the full discussion here. Before that, Kaye shared “Solstice” - which was co-written with Patti Smith and continues an ongoing, multi-decade artistic partnership between them that has encompassed classics from “Free Money” to “Ghost Dance” and “Radio Ethiopia” to “Southern Cross.” He first introduced the collection with “Goin’ Local” - the album’s “robust title track…that affirms [Kaye’s] faith in rock’n’roll” (MOJO). For more than half a century, Kaye has remained defiantly uncategorizable and "kaleidoscopic in his creative output” (Aquarium Drunkard). The longest-serving member of the Patti Smith Group, he has also curated the seminal garage rock anthology Nuggets – “one of the most influential compilations ever” (The Guardian) – co-wrote Waylon Jennings’ autobiography, penned music to Allen Ginsberg’s poetry alongside Paul McCartney and Philip Glass - and produced projects for Suzanne Vega, Soul Asylum, Jessi Colter and more. Last month, Kaye appeared in conversation with Emmy-award winning actor, musician and author Michael Imperioli for a special GRAMMY Museum evening in NYC, featuring a discussion of Kaye's career, the making of Goin' Local. Read more about the evening via Rolling Stone here. Following a run of summer dates with Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Kaye will perform with the Patti Smith Group at Riot Fest and CBGB Festival this September. For more information please visit: https://www.yeproc.com/ |
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Lenny Kaye Tour Dates July 17 - Harlow's - Sacramento, CA * July 18 - The Freight - Berkeley, CA * July 19 - The Ivy Room - Albany, CA (w/ Penelope Houston) September 18 - Metro - Chicago, IL September 20 - Riot Fest - Chicago, IL (w/ Patti Smith) September 26 - CBGB Festival - New York, NY (w/ Patti Smith) * with Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore
‘Goin Local’ Track List 1. Goin’ Local 2. This Love 3. If I Were You 4. Let’s Make a Memory 5. A Friend Like You 6. Be That As It May (May Day) 7. Solstice 8. World Book Night 9. Pennsylvania Girls 10. Poppy 11. The Things You Leave Behind 12. Yes I Will FOR PRESS INQUIRIES: Matt Hanks - mhanks@shorefire.com Max Lefkowitz - mlefkowitz@shorefire.com Anna DeNelsky - adenelsky@shorefire.com |