Neal Casal Tribute Album/Documentary in Works
- Circles Around the Sun and Billy Strings to record first track Feb. 10
Neal Casal's Circles Around the Sun bandmates on Feb. 10 will enter a studio with Billy Strings to record the first track for Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal.
A tribute/fund-raising LP, Highway Butterfly will be co-produced by Jim Scott and Widespread Panic/Hard Working Americans bassist Dave Schools and feature remakes of Casal's compositions by other artists that will be announced as they record. Net proceeds from the resultant album will go to MusiCares and Backline, which provide health and mental health services for musicians in need; Casal's royalties will go to the Neal Casal Music Foundation to provide musical instruments and music lessons to children's in the late guitarist's home state of New Jersey.
Casal - who worked with Blackfoot, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, HWA, CATS, Beachwood Sparks, the Skiffle Players and others in addition to solo recordings - committed suicide at age 50 in 2019.
“A life on the road takes its toll on a musician's physical and mental health," said a news release announcing the benefit recording. "Casal said as much in a note (he) left behind ... Now more than ever, musicians need resources (to) which to turn."
In addition to Highway Butterfly, a Casal documentary by Justin Kreutzmann is also in the works, per a statement on Casal's Instagram page.