It may be the biggest news of the year in local music: the Connells are out with a new album, for the first time in 20 years.

Formed at UNC in the early 1980s, the Connells are one of the seminal bands of the Chapel Hill music scene. Working with famed North Carolina producers like Don Dixon and Mitch Easter, the Connells were at the center of the jangle-pop movement of the ’80s that also gave rise to R.E.M. and the dB’s. And with albums like 1990’s “One Simple Word” and 1993’s “Ring” (featuring their biggest hit, “74-75”), the band was also at the forefront of the early-90s explosion of local music in the Triangle.

The band released its most recent album in 2001 – a collection of demos called “Old School Dropouts” – but the Connells never broke up, and now they’re back with brand new music, in the form of an album called “Steadman’s Wake.”

Featuring eight new songs plus re-recordings of three songs from that 2001 album, “Steadman’s Wake” officially releases on Friday, September 24. The band has already released three singles from the album – including the title track, a hit that pairs the classic Connells sound with an uncharacteristically trenchant political message.

The Connells are celebrating the new album with a tour that includes a stop at Cats Cradle on October 15.

97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck spoke with Connells front man Doug MacMillan during “Live & Local” this week – listen to their conversation below.


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