Arkansas-forged folkster Willi Carlisle is back with his third new album in as many years, and this time he’s wrangled Tyler Childers, one of the biggest names in contemporary country music, to help him out. 

“The Universal Bubba,” for which Childers jumped into the producer role for the first time in his career, will come out Nov. 6 via Signature Sounds and is available for pre-order on vinyl and CD. 

“The Universal Bubba” by Willi Carlisle

According to Rolling Stone, the early seeds of the partnership between Carlisle and Childers were planted in early 2025, when the two were on tour together in Australia. 

“This record came together by luck, passion, and circumstance,” Carlisle said to Rolling Stone. “Tyler and I had talked a lot about songs while I was opening for him. We sat down and played old-time fiddle music together, too, which was a big joy. I played banjo, Tyler fiddled, and we just gabbed on this and that. We talked about ‘Tomcat and a Dandy,’ his song on ‘Snipe Hunter,’ and played it through a few times together. It truly was just a fun time, an Appalachian and an Ozark guy picking tunes, sharing folk music.”

In addition to producing, Childers also lent Carlisle his touring band for “The Universal Bubba,” which was recorded in a home studio in New Orleans. A peek at the tracklist on Apple Music reveals that singer-songwriter Amanda Shires is featured on the penultimate song. 

On “The Mason Jar at the Center of the World,” the first of the album’s 17 tracks to be released, Carlisle sounds as loose and comfortable as ever. “Took a mason jar of Ozark Shine up the smoky mountainside / Left that jar in Tennessee, it rolled downhill, it followed me / And everywhere that I have been, that jelly jar has been my friend / Gonna cross the ocean, and back again, got the center of the of the world in the middle of my hand,” he sings, surrounded by the ramshackle racket of fiddle, banjo, jaw harp and more.

While the lead single for “The Universal Bubba” may sound like what we’re used to, a press statement from Carlisle about the album suggests that an eclectic mix of styles is on the way:

I think this one goes to outer space … I think this is the widest range of influences that I’ve ever had. It touches on funk, it touches on Americana, Cajun, oldtime, and experimental music … It feels like getting drunk at the Civil War reenactment, or cruising at the cattle auction, or doing molly at the square dance … It’s the first time I’ve ever used synthesizers and double electric guitars. There’s also more fretless 19th century style banjo on it than any record I’ve ever made.

For more Willi Carlisle content, read our review of 2025’s “Winged Victory” or our behind-the-scenes look into the creation of 2024’s “Critterland.”