Ags Connolly - New Album - Yesterday's Man

Aim

To fund the recording, release and promotion of my next album 'Yesterday's Man'.

Folks, the time has come for me to get back into the studio and look to release my next album, tentatively titled Yesterday’s Man. As an independent artist in today’s music industry, crowdfunding is one of the few viable ways to raise money for new recordings, and I hope you’ll see this as a project worth getting behind. A few years ago, a previous campaign of this type saw an incredible group of backers bring to life my album Siempre, which went on to achieve high critical acclaim and become a favourite among both new and old aficionados of my music.

This is an all-or-nothing campaign – if the target amount isn’t raised, the album won’t be funded. I’ll take those odds, and with some cool rewards on offer (details below) hopefully enough people will want to join me on the road to this new album.

Yesterday’s Man is intended to be a milestone album for me that brings my songwriting further into the spotlight. Songs have always been my prime focus in my music and I’m a songwriter first and foremost. Don’t worry though people, this will still be a country album and an Ags Connolly album…I just want to make the songs the real stars of it.

What’s The Plan?

The studio and musicians are lined up and ready to go!

If this album is successfully funded, I’ll be heading into Woodworm Studios in Oxfordshire in mid-April of this year to lay down the ten songs I have ready for Yesterday’s Man (yep, all the songs are written – I wouldn’t start a Crowdfunder without ‘em!). Three of my previous albums have been recorded at Woodworm and the owner/engineer Stuart Jones is someone I rate highly and trust implicitly.

I’m humbled to say I have some superb musicians already on board for this project, including:

Rob Updegraff – guitars. Rob has played on two of my previous albums and on stage with me countless times. For my money one of the best lead guitar players in the country.

Anna Robinson – bass, vocals. A longtime member of Hank Wangford’s band and a natural country bass player and vocalist. This would be the fourth album of mine Anna has appeared on.

CJ Jones – drums. This would be my second time recording with CJ. Like all the best drummers, I never need to think about what he’s doing (except maybe off stage…).

Cahalen Morrison – mandolin, vocals and more. Cahalen is an incredible artist in his own right, and we are very fortunate that he now resides on these shores. His solo and collaborative work is all highly recommended, and I’m bowled over to have him involved.

Sarah Jory – pedal steel. Sarah is known as the greatest female pedal steel guitar player in the world. Her career highlights are many and continue unabated: she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in late 2025 and next month will be the subject of a Country Music Hall Of Fame musician spotlight show. A true trailblazer, it would be an honour to record with Sarah.

Kieran Towers – fiddle. Known for his superior work in bluegrass and old-time bands and duos, Kieran mixes class and versatility. The first call for country fiddle in the UK.

Others possibly to follow…

As with most of my previous albums, the recording and mixing would be completed very quickly once we are able to start. I will be producing and overseeing the entire process, as I have done with my last three albums. Once the music is complete, along with artwork and CD manufacture, the PR process will begin. With a prevailing wind, I hope the album will be officially released later in 2026.

The money from this Crowdfunder will go towards the following components that are vital to self-releasing a record:

Musicians

Studio time (recording, mixing and mastering)

CD manufacturing

PR (album promotion)

Photography

Artwork

My plan is to release Yesterday’s Man both digitally and on CD. I don’t currently intend to release it on vinyl: as much as I love old-school records, the drop in sales for that format mean it is just not viable for an independent artist and would unnecessarily hike up the target amount of this campaign. The situation could change if, say, an independent record label were to offer to fund vinyl production. Otherwise, unfortunately there will not be a vinyl edition.

Stretch target: If we can hit the main target amount on this Crowdfunder early, there will be an additional, stretch target to fund a second, secret project! I’ll reveal the details of this if and when we hit the main target…mysterious, huh?

About Me

It’s likely most of the people backing this campaign are familiar with me and my music. In case you’re not, here’s a run-down: I am a traditional country artist from the UK and have released five albums (four originals plus a tribute) to date. I have toured the UK, Europe and the US for well over a decade, including opening a major European tour for Charley Crockett in 2023. My album Wrong Again was named Album Of The Year at the UK Country Music Awards in 2020, and my last release Your Pal Slim: Songs of James Hand was considered for the Best Traditional Country Album category at the 2026 Grammy Awards.

"Britain's premier traditional country artist" - Saving Country Music

"A New Master who sounds like an Old Master" - Country Music People

How You Can Help

Put simply, this album will not come into being without people like you backing this campaign. The all-or-nothing nature of it can be somewhat daunting, but I believe in the quality of the songs I have for this project and that recording/releasing them in the best possible way is vital.

My only previous album to be crowd-funded was Siempre (released in 2023), which has been arguably my most successful release. My belief is that Yesterday’s Man can reach another level again and open new doors for me as an artist.

There are a number of rewards on offer here – take a look to see if any float your boat. You can even mix and match ‘em if you let me know what you want when you donate. All physical rewards will be shipped in order to arrive on or before the ultimate album release date. I’d be extremely grateful for anything you feel is fitting to contribute and for you being part of this venture.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and to consider backing the making of this new album. Let's get this thing funded!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made