On Thursday, October 23rd, the Community Center for the Performing Arts proudly welcomes Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s to the WOW Hall.

Rhett Miller at Old Boy Vintage in Bend, Oregon, April 2025. Photo by Jason Quigley.

The tenth solo album from Rhett Miller, A lifetime of riding by night is a study in surrender. Days before undergoing potentially damaging surgery on his vocal cords, the Texas-born singer/songwriter headed into the studio with his Old 97’s bandmate Murry Hammond and recorded a batch of songs, then handed them off for Hammond to complete as he recovered. Threaded with his lived-in reflection on mortality and love in all forms, the album contains some of Miller’s most unguarded material yet—an achievement he attributes to revelations gleaned through his recent work in teaching songwriting at The New School in Manhattan, as well as the open-hearted nature of his collaborations with an eclectic lineup of co-writers (e.g., Turnpike Troubadours frontman Evan Felker, singer/songwriters Caitlin Rose and Nicole Atkins, former New Yorker editor Ben Greenman). Rooted in Miller’s soul-baring vocal work, A lifetime of riding by night ultimately proves the immense power in releasing all attempts to control the creative impulse.