Cordovas w/ Electric Ramble

Cordovas are an Americana rock band out of Nashville whose sound, equal parts soulful harmony, poetic craft, and cosmic improvisation, has long earned comparisons to The Band, Grateful Dead, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. But with their fifth studio album, Back to Life (out January 30, 2026, on Yep Roc Records), the group sharpens the edges of its identity: road- tested, deeply traditional in the ways that matter, and determined to be respected on its own terms. The band’s heartbeat lies between two places. In Todos Santos, Mexico, where Cordovas have lived, written, and built a small community of artists, the songs take shape in their most relaxed state, often amongst a circle of friends. Then it’s back to Nashville, where rehearsal, touring, and recording hammer those ideas into their final form. This cycle has defined the last three years of work, producing songs that are both varied and cohesive, each one revealing another side of the band’s range. At the center of Cordovas are songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Firstman and guitarist/vocalist Lucca Soria, partners in what they call a “musical friendship.” The new record is a testament to their growth not just as musicians but as people. “I’m extremely blessed,” Firstman says. “Everywhere I look is love, and I set it up that way. My whole life is designed around art, not around bills or phone calls. Everything is based on love and enthusiasm, and it radiates from there.” Soria frames it differently but with the same spirit of devotion: “People are at service to us, and we are at service to them. I am incentivized to do my best all of the time in the service of others. In Mexico, it’s also a community. Everyone has a role, and I want to do the best I can for the community.” That philosophy is embodied in the band’s communal compound in Todos Santos. Over the years, Cordovas have acquired five houses there—each designed by Firstman, each tailored to the people who live or pass through them. More than just residences, they function as creative havens: a space where friends, collaborators, and fellow travelers are invited in to write songs, make demos, stage impromptu shows, or simply live alongside the band in a shared rhythm of art and life. It’s not a retreat from the world but a way of reshaping it—an intentional community built around the belief that music thrives when it’s lived in, day after day, with others. With Back to Life, Cordovas are also turning their focus toward something new: building a business framework that matches the artistry they’ve been cultivating for over a decade. After years of keeping their heads down, writing, touring, and perfecting their sound, the band feels this is the record that can propel them into the space they’ve always deserved to occupy. They’ve worked harder than ever, not only on the songs themselves but on the structure around them, bringing the same discipline and fire they apply to their music into the way they release it. The result is an album that shows the full breadth of their talents while positioning the band for a future that finally mirrors their ambition. “We’ve kept our heads down for ten years,” says Firstman. “The craftsmanship shows. The songs are better, the technical parts are better, everything discernible and improved from yesterday.” Through it all, Cordovas remain a band defined by integrity and a hunger for success. They’re traditionalists in the sense that they care about songs, about craft, about doing the work. They’ve taken the long road, built their own world, and now, with Back to Life, they’re stepping forward with their most focused and fully realized music yet.