The preservation of culture is at the heart of all Dawn Richard does, but especially her music. Over the “Phoenix” singer’s last few album releases, Richard’s New Orleans roots have taken center stage.
This fall, that will continue as Dawn Richard took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce her next studio release, Creole Culture and its soon-approaching release date (October 9 via Merge Records).
“A triptych,” wrote Richard. “New breed. Second line. Creole culture.”
Creole Culture follows Richard’s deeply personal world-building done on 2016’s Redemption, 2019’s new breed, and 2021’s Second Line. With each project, Richard sheds another level of her life told through the lens of New Orleans. But Second Line and Creole Culture‘s titles point to a specific angle of that upbringing.
For those outside of Louisiana, on the surface, second lines are a simple tradition, but for natives, the honor within the music, dancing, and gathering is a spiritual event. On the other hand, Creole is a rich mixed cultural ethnic group with deep roots in New Orleans.
In the liner notes uploaded to Bandcamp, Creole Culture is described as “a triumphant and tragic, sexy and mournful, braggadocious and contemplative.”
The description continued to reveal that, as the album’s title suggests, sonically Creole Culture will blend the wide range of New Orleans music (R&B, soul, hip-hop, and jazz).
Listen to Dawn Richard’s lead Creole Culture singles “baby, can we” featuring Durand Bernarr and “enough.”
Dawn Richard’s album, Creole Culture, is due out on October 9, 2026, via Merge Records. Click here to pre-save or pre-order. Continue reading to view Dawn Richard’s Creole Culture album cover and tracklist.
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Tracklist
- “a creole culture intro” featuring Big Freedia
- “enough”
- “only fans”
- “chuuuuurch”
- “groove city”
- “l v r”
- “pilates”
- “baby, can we?” featuring Durand Bernarr
- “motives”
- “fiesta”
- “faith in the fire”
Album Cover
