MELBOURNE, Australia (January 2026) Originally from Melbourne, award-winning singer-songwriter Julian James and his band The Moonshine State will release their new album Prey to the Crow on 6 February 2026. Produced by ARIA Award-winner Matt Fell, the record leans into James’s whiskey-drenched Americana and hill-country blues, shaped by years of constant touring and life on the road. While the album carries the full sound of The Moonshine State, Julian currently tours primarily as a dynamic duo with his wife and long-time musical partner Beci Kate. Living full-time in a bus and rarely off the road, the pair bring the same grit, groove and connection heard on the record to stages across Australia and Europe. Prey to the Crow features key contributions from celebrated fiddler Pete Denahy, harmony vocals/guitar from the Hussy Hicks, and a guest harmonica appearance from blues legend Charlie Musselwhite on a reworked Muddy Waters classic, Catfish.

High-energy hill-country sound with special guests Built on the raw, road-tested feel of Julian James & the Moonshine State’s live shows, Prey to the Crow amplifies Julian’s resonant vocals and finger-picked guitar with Denahy’s fiery fiddle and Fell’s grounded, roots-first production. Drawing from alt-country, folk, soul, bluegrass and hill-country blues, the songs move between sweaty juke-joint grit and front-porch storytelling without losing their modern edge. The album’s title track Prey to the Crow opens with a swampy groove and gospel-tinged chorus, driven by the interplay between Julian’s guitar and Pete’s Fiddle. End-album highlight Catfish offers an upbeat reinterpretation of the Muddy Waters classic, featuring Musselwhite’s unmistakable harp and backing vocals from the Hussy Hicks. Across the record, fiddle, bass and layered harmonies weave together to breathe new life into traditional blues and country forms.

Expected release: February 6, 2026

"Live at Star" is the latest album by Julian James and his band " The Moonshine State " . Featuring some favorite old timey songs, furious fiddle, Porch side finger picking and Foot stomping grooves.
Recorded at the Star Hotel, Yackandandah on a late February afternoon, the beers were flowing, the sun was shinning and the moonshine state was in full flight!
Featuring some of Australia's best pickers "Julian James - Vox /Guitar, Pete Denahy - Fiddle( Slim Dusty Band) Aron Mclean - Bass (The Pigs) and
"Rolie" Dwyer on the Drums " Recorded by : Bill Bate and Kalem Bradborn Mixed/Mastered: RBD productions Artwork : Bec Lingham

Emerging from Melbourne's famous music scene award winning artist Julian James has been cutting his teeth for the past 13 years at renowned festivals around Australia, both Solo and with a Chicago blues outfit.

After the success of his past two solo albums, countless tours and over 150,000kms around Australia, Julian has landed on a sound that draws from both a humming Louisiana back-porch swamp and roadhouse juke joint.

Joining forces with one of the industry's most proclaimed Americana producers Matt Fell, The album “Devil Town’ was created.

‘"My goal is to take the sound inside an artist's head and with all the tools we have here at our disposal, turn it into something they'd never imagined". -Matt’

Fell has crafted Julian’s unique voice and down-home song-writing to new highs, creating a modern record that harks back to the rhythm and roots of the Americas.

Having released two singles prior “Title Track - Devil Town” and “Little Lady” the album has been anticipated to be “a cut above” album for Julian James.

The album Devil Town hark back to an era so bygone it might as well be new again, so grab a glass of moonshine on the front porch, wait for the sun to set and smile at the devil when he knocks on your screen door…

Julian James - The front man from the raucous Melbourne based Chicago Blues outfit 'Catfish Voodoo' has been playing around Australia for the past 8 Years. His style is based deep in the Blues/ Gospel Acoustic Strummers of the South, with biblical references of Love, Loss and Debauchery. Recorded with Paulie Bignell (The Detonators, Paulie Bignell and the Thornbury Two) in Hailstone Studios 'Whiskey and the Devil' is a mix of the contemporary and traditional that showcases a different side of a man familiar to Australian blues fans. Julian James will be hitting the streets to a town near you! E