Today, Multi-hyphenate Alexander Ludwig released his full-length debut album, Highway 99 out now via BBR Music Group/BMG. The album features 16 tracks that tell universal stories about small towns, wild nights, broken hearts, and big dreams, brought together by a mixture of amplified guitars, climactic choruses, and heartfelt hooks. Listen now HERE.
“Country music is some of the greatest storytelling on the planet, just like film and television,” said Ludwig. “Good songs can capture a moment in time, and Highway 99 brings me back to so many places, times, and stories in my own life.”
A follow up to his 2021 self-titled EP and career-launching 2020 single “Let Me Be Your Whiskey,” Highway 99 was produced by Kurt Allison and Tully Kennedy — longtime members of Jason Aldean’s band and accomplished songwriters who have penned several hits including the 2021 Grammy-nominated single “I Didn’t Love You” by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood. Other album collaborators include Nashville heavy hitters David Lee Murphy (Sheryl Crow, Kenny Chesney) and Michael Dulaney (Jason Aldean, Reba McEntire).
Ahead of the album’s release, Ludwig gave fans an early preview of the project sharing the anthemic first single “Faded On Me”, blending Country storytelling with rock & roll energy. Featuring previously released favorites “Let me Be Your Whiskey” and “Summer Crazy,” the album also introduces new songs such as the nostalgic “Back,” which takes Ludwig back to those early days of first love and innocence, while “Rough Around the Edges” serves as a reminder to be yourself.
A songwriter since the age of 12, Ludwig grew up in Vancouver, Canada. Every weekend, he’d venture into the Canadian back country with his family, making the trip up Highway 99 to his family’s cabin on Whistler Mountain. Those drives were filled with music, and it was there — gazing out the window as the car pulled away from the Pacific Ocean coastline and headed toward the snow-capped peaks — that he fell in love with Country music.
“I didn’t grow up on a ranch, riding horses,” he notes. “What drew me to Country music were the backwoods, the mountains, and the outdoors. It was a style of music that truly fit the landscapes I loved.”
Highway 99 nods to those influential treks into the northern wilderness. Written and recorded in Nashville during breaks in his busy filming schedule, it’s the sound of a longtime musician reflecting on the genre that has inspired him most of his life.
“Highway 99 is a painting of my life,” he says. “It takes me back to all the places where I heard my first songs by Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, George Strait, and Brantley Gilbert. So many other styles of music try to sell a dream or something you need to attain, but in Country music, the dream is already here. You’re living it. For someone who’s always on the road, it was Country music that helped get me through the tough times. It’s always reminded me to take a breath and be grateful for how good things really are.”
Highway 99 Track List:
- Sunset Town
(Marv Green, David Lee Murphy, Justin Wilson)
- Faded On Me
(Ross Copperman, Jon Nite, Josh Osborne)
- That’s The Life I Want
(Kyle Fishman, Ben Hayslip, David Lee Murphy, Cole Taylor)
- Rough Around The Edges
(Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, David Lee Murphy, Johnny Murphy, Justin Weaver)
- How It Rolls
(Eric Arjes, Brad Tursi)
- 201 Melrose Avenue
(Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, David Lee Murphy)
- That Kinda Love
(Alexander Ludwig, Michael Dulaney)
- Back
(Alexander Ludwig, Kurt Allison, John Edwards, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan)
- If You Don’t I Do
(Joe Clemmons, Jacob Durrett, Michael Hardy, Morgan Wallen)
- Like She Wanted To
(Alexander Ludwig, Nick Brophy, Michael Dulaney)
- Summer Crazy
(Alexander Ludwig, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Justin Wilson)
- After You
(Josh Kerr, Tony Lane, Deric Ruttan)
- Malibu Blue
(Jonathan Singleton, Brad Tursi, Andrew Rollins)
- Can’t Outrun You
(Alexander Ludwig, Kurt Allison, Michael Dulaney, Tully Kennedy)
- Love Today
(Greylan James, David Lee Murphy, Matt Roy)
- Let Me Be Your Whiskey
(Alexander Ludwig, Michael Dulaney)
In addition to working on new music, the well-rounded entertainer stars in the STARZ TV series Heels, which, recently wrapped production on its second season. Most recently, Ludwig can be seen alongside Uzo Aduba and J.K. Simmons in STX’s college sports drama National Champions. Upcoming, he will star in Guy Ritchie’s The Interpreter for MGM and Amazon.