Steve Martin is back in his banjo bag, linking up with the celebrated picker Alison Brown for a new collaborative album, Safe, Sensible and Sane, out Oct. 17 via Brown’s Compass Records.
The album announcement is accompanied by a new song, “Dear Time,” a tender meditation on the passing of time, which features guest vocals from Jackson Browne and harmonies from Jeff Hanna (who was briefly Browne’s bandmate in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). The track also arrives with a music video, which was filmed at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
Of returning to the famed venue to record the clip, Martin tells Rolling Stone: “The Troubadour was the center of a controlled nuclear explosion for so many careers. To play again, with Jackson and Alison, on the stage where so much began for me was indeed a delirious moment.”
Brown adds, “For me, it was magical to be able to bring Jackson, Steve and Jeff together for this recording, and to have a chance to shine a light on our shared histories in the LA folk and bluegrass scenes.”
Browne and Hanna are among many guests set to show up on Safe, Sensible and Sane. The 12-track record also features contributions from Vince Gill, Indigo Girls, Della Mae, Tim O’Brien, and Aoife O’Donovan.
Before making a whole album together, Martin and Brown collaborated on a pair of songs, “Foggy Morning Breaking” and “Bluegrass Radio,” released in 2023 and 2024, respectively. In a statement, Brown said the pair didn’t even get into Safe, Sensible and Sound with the specific idea of making an album.
“We were just having a good time writing songs, and at some point we realized we’d written enough to gather them all together and put a bow on it,” she said. “There was a joy and ease and sense of fun to the whole process, and now hopefully everyone who listens will share that joy.”
The pair recorded the album at Compass Sound Studio in Nashville. Along with the aforementioned guests, the LP features contributions from an array of accomplished roots players, like mandolinist Sam Bush, fiddle player Stuart Duncan, guitarist/banjoist Molly Tuttle, and mandolinist Sierra Hull.
“With the banjo, there are so many styles you can work with, but Alison and I both have an ear for its more melodic, melancholy aspect,” Martin said. “We got together and played music for days, and ended up making a record where our entire banjo histories coalesce.”
Before releasing Safe, Sensible and Sound, Martin and Brown will team up to co-host the 2025 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards. The show will take place Sept. 18 at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
