In a jam-packed alt. country scene, there are seemingly an endless number of bands that can nearly be described as generational. With stellar groups such as Turnpike Troubadours, Flatland Cavalry, Shane Smith & the Saints, Whiskey Myers, The Red Clay Strays and many, many more outdoing themselves with every release, 49 Winchester has continually proved that they should be named at the top of the list as well. Between the combination of their perfect blend of southern rock and country, their tight live band and world-class vocals from frontman, Isaac Gibson, it’s become more and more apparent every year that the Virginia group is becoming one of the most overlooked bands in the genre today. As 2025 came to a close, 49 announced they had signed with MCA Records through its Lucille Records imprint, which is run by producer extraordinaire Dave Cobb, the Chief Creative Officer. No one has put in more work than they have to get to this point, and Gibson says they’re “thrilled” to be working with Cobb: “We’re thrilled to be joining the MCA and Lucille family. Working with Dave Cobb is a dream, and we can’t wait for our fans to hear the new music we’re creating together.” In case you’re somehow unfamiliar with Dave Cobb, it’s pretty easy to argue that he’s the best producer in the genre right now. Over the past 15 years, he’s produced the likes of Chris Stapleton’s Traveller, Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, Whiskey Myers’ Mud, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit’s Southeastern, Colter Wall’s self-titled 2017 album, the A Star is Born soundtrack and a countless number of other incredible projects. In case that wasn’t already exciting enough, back on February 6th, the Virginia band announced that their fifth studio album, Change Of Plans, is officially releasing on May 16th. Additionally, they would confirm that the album would contain 10 songs and, most importantly, be produced by Cobb himself. Fresh off the album announcement, Gibson recently appeared on Troy Cartwright’s 10 Year Town Podcast. Diving into working with Cobb, the frontman would call him the “gold standard” in terms of producers for today’s alt. country scene, noting how incredible it was to work with him. “Working with Dave’s a pretty incredible thing. That’s one of those producers that, for somebody in our kind of vein of country music, that’s kind of the golden standard… Getting the opportunity to work with somebody like that is pretty incredible. Dave’s great at capturing emotion in a particular moment. You know what I mean? So this is the first record we’ve ever done with live takes and stuff like that. Most of the stuff that we’ve done in the past has been very sort of analytical, overanalyze everything, listen to every single thing as closely as possible.” Additionally, Gibson would dive into what made working with Cobb so special. As he noted, in the past 49 would always strive for a perfect-sounding record. With the Traveller producer, however, he urged the band to lean into the raw and authentic nature present in their live shows, focusing on capturing the energy and emotion in each song instead. As the frontman would explain, this resulted in what he describes as their best album to date, noting it’s a “step above anything” they’ve ever recorded in the past. “I think we took a lot more of that approach into it as opposed to being [like], ‘How can we compose a perfect record?’ This was like let’s capture energy, let’s capture an emotion, let’s capture a moment in time. And I think that was a really eye-opening thing for us to make a record that way. I think it really brought the best out in us, too. It’s a step above anything we’ve ever done before.” Given how stellar the album’s first two tracks, both their cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” and “Pardon Me” are, it’s safe to say that Cobb worked his magic once again. We are in for an absolute treat come May 15th. Watch the full podcast here: 49 Winchester Tour Dates 2.05.26 Oxford, MS The Lyric Oxford 2.06.26 Fayetteville, AR Ozark Music Hall 2.07.26 Springfield, MO Gillioz Theatre 2.10.26 Bloomington, IL The Castle Theater 2.12.26 West Des Moines, IA Val Air Ballroom 2.13.26 Hays, KS The Fox Theatre 2.14.26 Wichita, KS The Cotillion 2.17.26 Davenport, IA Capitol Theatre 2.19.26 North Little Rock, AR Simmons Bank Arena* 2.20.26 Kansas City, MO T-Mobile Center* 2.21.26 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center* 2.24.26 San Antonio, TX San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo 2.27.26 El Paso, TX Lowbrow Palace 2.28.26 Tempe, AZ Extra Innings Festival 3.05.26 Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City* 3.06.26 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex* 3.07.26 Charleston, SC North Charleston Coliseum* 3.13.26 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom 3.14.26 Austin, TX Rodeo Austin 3.19.26 Birmingham, AL Legacy Arena at the BJCC* 3.20.26 Atlanta, GA State Farm Arena* 3.21.26 Nashville, TN Grand Ole Opry 4.09.26 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 4.10.26 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE 4.11.26 Newport, KY MegaCorp Pavilion 4.13.26 Albany, NY Empire Live 4.16.26 Columbus, OH KEMBA Live! 4.17.26 Cleveland, OH Globe Iron 4.18.26 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre 4.24.26 Lexington, KY The Burl Outdoors 4.25.26 Lexington, KY The Burl Outdoors 4.29.26 New York, NY Webster Hall 5.02.26 Santiago, MX DuckFest 5.15.26 Pelham, TN The Caverns 5.16.26 Pelham, TN The Caverns 5.29.26 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Ponte Vedra Concert Hall 5.30.26 Orlando, FL The Plaza Live 5.31.26 Panama City Beach, FL Gulf Coast Jam 6.02.26 Wilmington, NC Greenfield Lake Amphitheatre 6.05.26 Dewey Beach, DE Bottle & Cork 6.26.26 North Platte, NE NebraskaLand Days 6.27.26 Lubbock, TX Cotton Fest 7.09.26 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center for the Arts^ 7.10.26 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center^ 7.11.26 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium^ 7.16.26 Toronto, ON RBC Amphitheatre^ 7.17.26 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center^ 7.18.26 Burgettstown, PA The Pavilion at Star Lake 7.23.26 Camden, NJ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion^ 7.24.26 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach^ 7.25.26 Saratoga Springs, NY Broadview Stage at SPAC^ 7.30.26 Boston, MA Fenway Park^ 7.31.26 Syracuse, NY Empower FCU Amphitheater^ 8.01.26 Darien Center, NY Six Flags Darien Lake^ 8.06.26 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans^ 8.13.26 Birmingham, AL Coca-Cola Amphitheater^ 8.14.26 Charlotte, NC Truliant Amphitheater^ 8.15.26 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live^ 8.21.26 Kansas City, MO Richard L. Berkeley Riverfront Park^ 8.22.26 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Theatre^ 8.23.26 Minneapolis, MN Target Field^ 8.27.26 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center^ 8.28.26 Clarkston, MI Pine Knob Music Theatre^ 8.29.26 Grand Rapids, MI Acrisure Amphitheater^ 9.10.26 Austin, TX Moody Center^ 9.11.26 Dallas, TX Dos Equis Pavilion^ 9.12.26 Rogers, AR Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion^ 9.17.26 Maryland Heights, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheater^ 9.18.26 Noblesville, IN Ruoff Music Center^ 9.19.26 Tinley Park, IL Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre^ 9.24.26 Alpharetta, GA Ameris Bank Amphitheatre^ 9.25.26 Tampa, FL Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheatre^ 9.26.26 West Palm Beach, FL iThink Financial Amphitheatre *Eric Church Support ^Tim McGraw SupportThe post “A Step Above Anything We’ve Ever Done”: Isaac Gibson Says 49 Winchester’s Upcoming Album, ‘Change Of Plans,’ Is Their Best Project Yet first appeared on Whiskey Riff.