Ratboys, photo by Maia Stern/NPR Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Ratboys have announced a deluxe edition of their latest album, Singin’ to an Empty Chair . Due out September 25 on New West Records , the expanded version features covers of tracks from the album by PUP , Wild Pink , Ducks Ltd. , Bad Bad Hats , and Free Range . Ratboys also threw in a cover of their own, a version of Texas punk band the Marked Men’s “Fix My Brain” recorded for SiriusXM earlier this year; check that out below.
“We thought it’d be fun to cover one of our favorite songs and then to ask some of our closest friends and biggest inspirations in music to put their spin on some of our new songs,” lead singer and guitarist Julia Steiner said. “It’s a total trip and such an honor to hear the album songs transformed into something new entirely, and we can’t say thank you enough to our pals for making it happen.”
The band paired the announcement with the release of their first NPR Tiny Desk Concert. During the set, they performed older favorite“Black Earth, WI” as well as two songs off Singin’ to an Empty Chair : “Penny in the Lake” and “What’s Right?” They’ll bring their live show to a number of UK, European, and North American cities later this year on a tour with Smidley , the solo project of Foxing frontman Conor Murphy.
Revisit Nina Corcoran’s profile Ratboys Are Playing the Long Game .
Singin’ to an Empty Chair (Deluxe): 01 Open Up 02 Know You Then 03 Light Night Mountains All That 04 Anywhere 05 Penny in the Lake 06 Strange Love 07 The World, So Madly 08 Just Want You to Know the Truth 09 What's Right? 10 Burn It Down 11 At Peace in the Hundred Acre Wood 12 Fix My Brain (SiriusXM Session) 13 Know You Then (PUP) 14 Light Night Mountains All That (Ducks Ltd.) 15 Anywhere (Bad Bad Hats) 16 Strange Love (Wild Pink) 17 What's Right? (Free Range)
Ratboys 2026 Tour Dates : 09-09 Brighton, United Kingdom - Patterns 09-11 Asten, Netherlands - Misty Fields 09-12 Leffinge, Belgium - Leffingeleuren Festival 09-18 Cincinnati, OH - Fountain Square 09-20 Camden, NJ - XPoNential Music Festival 09-25 Nashville, TN - WNXP Summer Line Series 09-26 Urbana, IL - Pygmalion Fest 09-27 Ferndale, MI - DIY Street Fair 10-08 Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre (Souvenirs: 80 Years of John Prine) 10-14 Lexington, KY - The Burl * 10-15 Bloomington, IN - The Bluebird * 10-16 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note * 10-17 Little Rock, AR - Harvestfest 10-18 Birmingham, AL - Lakeview Marina * 10-20 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club * 10-21 Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre * 10-22 Chattanooga, TN - The Parlour at The Signal * 11-22 Mexico City, Mexico - Corona Capital 12-19 Chicago, IL - Salt Shed