Today Muscle Shoals singer-songwriter Dylan LeBlanc releases his new EP Pastimes, a self-produced collection of covers of songs from Glen Campbell, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Buffalo Springfield, and JJ Cale that inspired him to create his own acclaimed alt-country sound. Pastimes is streaming everywhere now and will be released on vinyl in November.

LeBlanc has also shared a new visualizer for his cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California.” “When I was 15 years old I got my first paying gig at a local coffee shop called Juri’s,” says LeBlanc. “I remembered this girl that sat behind me in class and I bonded over Led Zeppelin IV. I remember I had gotten a Led Zeppelin box set that year for Christmas, and her favorite song was ‘Going to California.’ I rushed home to learn that song for her and spent hours in my room at my grandmother’s house where I lived at the time so I could play it for her and impress her. This song will always hold a special place in my heart. I love this record and this era of music that I think will always remain untouchable forever and always.”

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Dylan LeBlanc has spent the last decade releasing four acclaimed albums, winning praise for his arresting alt-country style, collaborating with the likes of Emmylou Harris and Brittany Howard, and sharing stages with heavyweights like Bruce Springsteen and Lucinda Williams. Now, the Muscle Shoals songwriter is taking a moment to pay homage to the artists who inspired his unique sound with the Pastimes EP, due out June 18 on ATO Records, a self-produced collection of six covers that LeBlanc says inspired him musically and spiritually.

Each song was chosen for its deeply personal impact: JJ Cale’s “Sensitive Kind” takes LeBlanc back to the smoky dive bars his father would bring him along to as a child. Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” brings him back to age 15, playing his first coffee shop gigs and learning the song to impress a girl. Buffalo Springfield’s “Expecting to Fly” reminds him of teenage joyrides, speeding through the country and listening to music to escape life’s harsh realities. He learned the art of storytelling through songs with the Rolling Stones’ haunting “Play With Fire” and Bob Dylan’s “Blind Willie McTell,” a track that he compares to reading a Southern Gothic Faulkner novel. And Glen Campbell’s “Gentle On My Mind” is a song he remembers from his early childhood, when his grandfather, also a guitarist, would throw parties where friends would gather to drink and sing and forget their troubles.

Pastimes was recorded at Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, live and with as few takes as possible in order to capture a sense of authenticity. Says LeBlanc, “I feel like music is nothing more than a spiritual endeavor to widen the horizons and heighten the senses of the things inside of everyone that sometimes feel unreachable.”

Dylan LeBlanc – Pastimes EP

June 18, 2021 – ATO Records

1. Play With Fire (The Rolling Stones)

2. Expecting to Fly (Buffalo Springfield)

3. Sensitive Kind (JJ Cale)

4. Gentle on My Mind (Glen Campbell)

5. Blind Willie McTell (Bob Dylan)

6. Going to California (Led Zeppelin)

PREVIOUS ACCLAIM FOR DYLAN LEBLANC:

“One of modern country’s most interesting voices, in both senses of the term.” – UNCUT

“Mix[es] the swoon of modern-day Americana with the Brit-folk swirl of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.” – ROLLING STONE

“With Renegade, LeBlanc is fully out of his shell, discovering the range that was there all along, waiting to be found.” – NO DEPRESSION

“Satisfying, cathartic rock ’n’ roll.” – MOTHER JONES

“Brimming with rousing guitars, a powerhouse rhythm section and hook-laced songs that stick in your head on first listen, Renegade takes everything that was good about LeBlanc’s previous albums and shoots it to the moon.” – GUITAR PLAYER

“Sublime voice and evocative songwriting.” – NASHVILLE SCENE

“Welcome to LeBlanc’s finest hour… The opening electric guitar riff explodes into a full-fledged Tom Petty- styled strum rocker, complete with enhanced reverb and a driving, insistently propulsive rhythm.” – AMERICAN SONGWRITER (on Renegade)

“LeBlanc and his band have cranked up the volume on ‘Renegade.’ The title track, for example, sounds like an atmospheric spin on Tom Petty’s ‘Refugee,’ but with LeBlanc’s distinct voice — a high-flying, haunting countertenor — it stands on its own.” – TENNESSEAN