Ridgeline – the 2nd EP of 3 EP’s being released by Dean Owens is released on Friday 27th September, 2024. The Ridge Trilogy EPs are a taster for Dean’s upcoming genre-busting Spirit Ridge album, recorded at Crinale Studio, a 400 year old farmhouse in the hills in Emilia Romagna, Italy – the land of Dean’s lion tamer great great grandfather. Dean and Don Antonio were introduced by mutual friend John Convertino of Calexico who thought they’d be kindred spirits – he wasn’t wrong. Convertino guests on a couple of the songs (on Spirit Ridge and EPs Vol 2 and 3).

Spirit Ridge is the follow up to Dean’s hugely successful collaboration with Calexico which resulted in 2 remarkable, critically acclaimed albums – Sinner’s Shrine and El Tiradito (The Curse of Sinner’s Shrine) which dramatically evoked the wide panoramic landscapes of the south western US desert states. The songs from Spirit Ridge are similarly cinematic but rooted in the darker, lusher landscape of the north Italian hills. The spirit of the lion tamer is rarely far away!

The Ridge Trilogy is a prelude to the album, and comprises 13 songs mostly recorded at the album sessions, with some of the original demos that Dean made prior to the recording sessions, 4 of them are from the album (including 2 radio edit versions).

Spirit Ridge is Dean’s 12th studio album. He has released 3 highly acclaimed albums (including a double CD) since 2022, 2 recorded with musicians from Calexico and 1 with long term Nashville collaborators Neilson Hubbard and Will Kimbrough, which have seen his profile rise, especially in Europe, with sold out tours in the Netherlands, and festival appearances in UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. He also recently joined Calexico’s Joey Burns on stage in Utrecht.

Co-producer Don Antonio is a renowned Italian producer, musician and film maker, whose work includes producing Alejandro Escovedo’s Echo Dancing album (also recorded at Crinale)