Americana singer-songwriter Dan Montgomery has released “Outside,” the 10th track from “Dispatches From The Desert,” a new, serialized musical project.
Montgomery retreated to the desert and recorded the 12 tracks over 12 days: one per day. He has been releasing them throughout 2026 in a similar fashion: one track per month, each a dispatch from the desert.
The latest track released, “Outside,” is the story of a woman working the streets at night and sung in her voice, Montgomery said. “Outside” was covered by Julie Christensen on her “Weeds Like Us” album. Montgomery said he liked her arrangement, and so he dropped the key and updated the song.
“Dispatches From The Desert” was influenced by the locale and also survived it. Montgomery traveled from his home in Memphis to record a solo acoustic session in producer Ben Vaughn’s 1975 Silver Streak trailer.
After dragging Vaughn’s studio equipment to the trailer and setting it up, a windstorm whipped in from the west, relentlessly rocking the trailer and knocking out the power. Montgomery and Vaughn fine-tuned the songs by candlelight and went on to record at the house.
“I could’ve recorded anywhere,” Montgomery said. “But the stillness – despite the wind – the focus, and strange way time bends out here, shaped these performances.”
Listen to ‘Outside’ here:
