Bill Kirchen and band “Cat Out Of The Bag” Album Release Party
Bill and his band have a new album"Cat Out Of The Bag” recorded in their hometown Austin TX and London, UK. They will debut a selection of new songs, along with favorites from his Commander Cody and Solo careers“
Press: “At 77, Kirchen still has the enthusiasm and energy of a teen. At home in a honky-tonk or rock forestial, he and his Tele can easily dazzle, but he demonstrates his mettle via tone and taste.”
(Dan Forte, Vintage Guitar Magazine)
From Nick Lowe: “A devastating combination of the elegant and the funky. A really sensational musician with enormous depth.”
Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Kirchen first gained national recognition as a founding father of Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. His trademark guitar licks drove their Hot Rod Lincoln cut into the Top Ten in 1972.
He has released over a dozen albums under his own name, and played guitar live or on record with a who's who of Americana and Roots Rock'N' Roll, among them Gene Vincent, Link Wray, Bo Diddley, Hazel Dickens, Doug Sahm, Hoyt Axton, Emmylou Harris, Maria Muldaur, Dan Hicks, Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello.
His latest recording “Cat out of the Bag” released May 22, 2026 on Last Music Company.
To let a cat out of the bag supposedly means letting something slip, like a secret. But for BILL KIRCHEN, it means escape, as in freedom — from confinement, convention … even gravity. Freedom to hit the road and play rock ‘n’ roll. That’s the energy driving the title track of Kirchen’s new album, Cat Out of the Bag, which showcases the six-string master — dubbed Titan of the Telecaster by Guitar Player magazine — at his gusto-grabbing best.
“That's a good-to-be-alive song,” says Kirchen of the album’s opening track. “It’s a celebration of getting through the worst of the pandemic unscathed, getting back on the road and affirming our belief that the kids are alright.” The first track, “Cat Out of the Bag” is available now as a digital single.
The Austin-based guitarist, singer and songwriter confirms his lust for life — and offers up his lyrically referenced “rock ’n’ roll soul” — in several songs exhibiting the rockabilly-meets-honky-tonk style that earned him his “titan” status (as well as a Best Country Instrumental Performance Grammy nomination for the chicken-pickin’ song, “Poultry in Motion”).
Cat Out of the Bag is also a declaration of freedom from the confines of his past. He wanted to explore new sounds, find new approaches… and he did.
“This album has the broadest scope yet of any of the dozen or so I’ve done in my own name,” he says. “A bigger palette of genres, songwriting, guitar work.” Amid the vibrancy of uptempo songs such as the title tune, the rollicking “Honky-Tonk Hellfire” and “City Mix” (with its “hillbilly licks”), there is also more downbeat fare, both thematically and musically.
