LIGHTHOUSE sees Duff McKagan baring more of his artistic spirit than ever before, fusing acoustic elements with hard-edged rock ‘n’ roll to land at the sweet spot between soul-searching reflection and pure energy. The album was first announced earlier this spring alongside its title track, LIGHTHOUSE. LIGHTHOUSE was met by critical applause from the likes of Rolling Stone, which wrote, “‘Won’t you be my lighthouse?’ (McKagan) sings over a gospel backdrop of organ and backup vocalists. ‘Give me sight and lead me on/Oh, shine on me, my lighthouse/And dry my aching bones.’ The music then shifts gears and becomes more uplifting as McKagan leads a choir singing ‘Shine, shine, shine,’ building bigger and bigger.”
For more than 40 years, Duff McKagan has been an unstoppable creative force, spanning a multitude of bands, tours, collaborations, and writings. Now, with his long awaited new solo album, LIGHTHOUSE, the veteran musician proves to be, at his heart, a gifted singer-songwriter with a distinctive knack for authenticity and introspection.
In 2019, McKagan opened his own recording studio, allowing him a long hoped-for opportunity to “finally explore songs that I may have written the night before or some of those old riffs from years ago. This is a big deal for me.” He spent much of the next two years working with longtime producer/collaborator Martin Feveyear (Mark Lanegan, Brandi Carlile), chipping away at a series of intensely personal new songs.
LIGHTHOUSE now marks the first full length collection born in McKagan’s studio. Songs like HOPE (featuring veteran Paul McCartney drummer Abe Laboriel Jr and melodic lead guitar from Slash) and the philosophical I JUST DON’T KNOW (featuring contributions from McKagan’s longtime friend, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains) see McKagan baring more of his artistic spirit than ever before, fusing acoustic elements with hard-edged rock ‘n’ roll to land at the sweet spot between soul-searching reflection and pure energy. The 11-song collection is further highlighted by an additional take on the title track, LIGHTHOUSE (REPRISE), joined by the one and only Iggy Pop.
McKagan first unveiled his new music earlier this year with THIS IS THE SONG, a three-song EP honouring Mental Health Awareness Month alongside a call to action on Propeller. The EP – which was met by critical applause in Rolling Stone, Consequence of Sound, Loudwire, and American Songwriter, to name just a few – includes the deeply moving title track, THIS IS THE SONG, joined by an official companion video streaming now on YouTube.
Starting at just 15, McKagan has been a part of such diverse and influential bands as The Vains (1979), The Fastbacks (1980), The Living (1982), The Fartz (1990), 10 Minute Warning (1993), and Loaded (1998), along, of course, with his historic role as founding member of both Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver. Produced by 3x GRAMMY® Award-winner Shooter Jennings, McKagan’s 2019 second solo album, TENDERNESS, marked a powerful new chapter for the ever-evolving artist, taking on societal ills and his own personal transgressions against a rich sonic backdrop of Americana-fueled arrangements. Named by Loudwire as one of that year’s “50 Best Rock Albums” and hailed by Rolling Stone in a three-and-a-half (out of four)-starred rave as “an album full of beauty and heart…It’s music of conscience, heavy songs with a light touch,” the album includes the volatile rocker, “Chip Away,” which earned extraordinary praise from the Maestro himself, Bob Dylan, who recently declared the song a personal favorite.
“There’s a Duff McKagan song called ‘Chip Away’ that has profound meaning for me,” Dylan told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s a graphic song. Chip away, chip away, like Michelangelo, breaking up solid marble stone to discover the form of King David inside. He didn’t build him from the ground up, he chipped away the stone until he discovered the king. It’s like my own songwriting, I overwrite something, then I chip away lines and phrases until I get to the real thing.”
Along with his prolific musical efforts, McKagan is the New York Times best-selling author of 2011’s It’s So Easy: And Other Lies and 2015’s How to Be a Man: (And Other Illusions), and the co-host (with Susan Holmes McKagan) of the popular Three Chords & The Truth radio show, airing in North America on Sirius XM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard (Ch. 38). In addition, Three Chords & The Truth airs weekly on stations around the globe including Denmark’s myROCK, the UK’s Planet Rock, Finland’s Radio Rock, Ireland’s Nova, Norway’s Radio Rock, Sweden’s Rock Klassiker, Germany/Switzerland/Austria’s Rock Antenne, Iceland’s x977, and Poland’s Antyradio.
McKagan also currently serves as a core member of a modern day “Wrecking Crew” alongside GRAMMY® Award-winning musician/producer, Andrew Watt, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, recording and co-writing on such recent albums as Ozzy Osbourne’s Ordinary Man (2020) and 2x GRAMMY® Award-winning Patient No. 9 (2022) and Iggy Pop’s acclaimed Every Loser (2023). What’s more, McKagan – with Watt, Smith, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Josh Klinghoffer – is part of the recently unveiled Iggy Pop & The Losers lineup, who made a high-profile televised debut earlier this year with an electrifying performance of the feverish “Frenzy” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (streaming HERE).
McKagan is currently traveling with Guns N’ Roses on an epic global tour currently traveling North America with dates slated through mid-October.
