27 July 2026 – Ed Askew Leaves ‘The Final Painting’

The late songwriter, poet and visual artist Ed Askew receives a final posthumous album with ‘The Final Painting’, arriving on 31 July through Drag City. Producer Jerry David DeCicca helped bring the recordings together after encouraging Askew back toward sustained studio work during his later years. Sharon Van Etten appears on ‘Gray Air-o-Plane’, while the album also includes songs such as ‘Winter Song’, ‘Lost In The Kitchen’ and ‘A Train Is A Thought’.

Askew spent decades outside the centre of the folk establishment before younger artists and listeners gradually rediscovered his unusual voice and singular writing. ‘The Final Painting’ is not merely a closing archival footnote. It is another piece of evidence that some artists find their audience slowly, arriving long after the industry has stopped checking the door. Read more folk milestones in our Americana & Folk section.