Vermont bluesman John Fusco’s third album, “Borderlands,” is out now on Rocket88 Records, and is already receiving much critical acclaim. 

“Born out of pandemic soul-searching, John Fusco’s new CD is cinematic storytelling of the American southwest, a region branded by distinctive character traits from the historical mirage of Manifest Destiny. Part hard-bitten grit, swirling dust and laden with ancient gospel overtones, Borderlands, set for release on October 21 via Rocket 88 Records, brings an existential reckoning for individuals caught up in their past and faults, and uncertain of the road ahead. Fusco calls it “a kind of peyote passion play.”’

“I’m a storyteller who writes across mediums,” Fusco says. “ I was trying to give musical form to some emotions and questions about our broken country today, and telling a story seems to help me release that and frame those questions on a visceral level.”’

Engineered and produced by George Petit, with additional recording/engineering by Ben Collette here at TRS, the album “takes the listener on a journey with every song.” as reviewed by American Highways. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, Fusco is a storyteller – and a screenwriter at that – perhaps best known for “Young Guns,” the guitar-lover staple “Crossroads” and most recently “Marco Polo” on Netflix. Each song can stand alone as a short film. You can visualize the characters and escape into the mood and groove of the American West, the Southwest in particular (hence the album’s title).

The album features John on vocals, piano and Hammond B3; George Walker Petit on guitar, bass, percussion and ocarina; Russ Lawton on drums; Matthew Backer on slide and dobro; Patrick Richard Ross on fiddle, mandolin and backing vocals; Ashley Betton on backing vocals; JaneBoxall on marimba; Stuart Paton on congas; Connor Young on trumpet; and Michael Hartigan on accordion.

John Fusco is the writer-producer of 12 motion pictures, including “Crossroads”, “Young Guns”, “Thunderheart,” “Hidalgo”, “The Forbidden Kingdom,” the sequel to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and the Academy Award-nominated “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.”

His upcoming film productions include “The Shack” starring Octavia Spencer, Sam Worthington, and Tim McGraw (March 2017) and the Universal Pictures action-adventure “Spirit Animals.” He is the creator and executive producer of the popular series “Marco Polo” currently in its second season on Netflix.

Watch the video for Coyote Man:

Listen/buy the album:

https://lnk.fu.ga/johnfusco_borderlands

For more information about John, visit www.john-fusco.com