Molly Hatchet Rides Again, ‘Nebraska’ Turns 44, and AM Radio Gets a Boost in Washington
Written by Jarvis Prime on September 30, 2026
Southern rock's Molly Hatchet has its first new album in 16 years on the way, and September 30 marks birthdays for some classic records. There's also a stack of October releases and good news for the AM dial.
Good Wednesday, Pretoria Fields family. It's the last day of September, and there's plenty of music news to go around, so pour yourself something cold and let's get into it.
We'll start close to home with some Southern rock. Molly Hatchet has announced Lost Horizon, its first studio album since 2010's Justice. It arrives November 27 on Steamhammer. The band cut it at Abbey Road's Studio 2 in London, and the first single has a title that fits this part of the world just fine: "Dixie Highway." Longtime guitarist Bobby Ingram leads a lineup that includes Parker Lee on lead vocals. Ingram calls this chapter "Molly Hatchet 2.0" and says the band's Southern rock roots stay put. If you'd like to hear them live, they play Ponte Vedra Concert Hall in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on October 17.
September 30 also has a good bit of history behind it. On this day in 1982, Bruce Springsteen released Nebraska, a stripped-down folk record that sounded nothing like the Boss's earlier work. In 1985, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble put out Soul to Soul, their third studio album. In 1997, Bob Dylan released Time Out of Mind, his 30th studio album and a return to the sound that made him a legend. It's also the birthday of T. Rex's Marc Bolan, born in London in 1947.
There's a full shelf of new music on the way, too. This Friday, October 2, brings a remixed and expanded edition of The Beatles' Rubber Soul, a six-CD Foghat box called Road Fever: The Complete Bearsville Recordings 1972-1975, and a 50th anniversary vinyl pressing of Rush's 2112. On October 9, look for Sheryl Crow's new album Pick You Up and Greta Van Fleet's Palace for the People. On October 16, Richard Thompson releases Hippies, Thugs and Heroes. The same day brings Before the Gold Rush: An American Country Rock Anthology 1966-1973, a three-CD set that includes Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers. And on October 23, Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi puts out a rare solo album, From the Dark, with Queen's Brian May among the guests.
Here's one for the radio folks. The U.S. House has passed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act by voice vote. The bill would require automakers to include AM radio in new passenger vehicles at no extra cost. Supporters point out that AM stays on the air when cell networks and power go down, and that it's still a key source of local news, weather and farm information in rural communities like ours. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it has 61 cosponsors. Also in radio news, nominations are open for the Country Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2027, with inductees to be revealed at Country Radio Seminar in Nashville next March.
That's the news for this last day of September. Keep it tuned right here at Pretoria Fields Radio, where the good stuff never goes out of style.
— The Pretoria Fields Radio news desk
