Dwight Yoakam and The Mavericks at the Miller High Life Theatre

As a songwriter, I try to articulate that Brighter Days are up ahead,” says Dwight Yoakam, whose 21st studio album joyfully reflects where he’s been since the 2015 release of Second Hand Heart, his last album of originals. The aptly titled Brighter Days brims with songs of hope and possibility, written during a time of major change in his personal life: As he puts it, “’Life happens when you’re busy making other plans,’ to quote John Lennon. My world changed so dramatically during the pandemic. I had hope and the future delivered to me in the midst of one of the darker moments in our country’s history”: marriage to his partner Emily Joyce and the birth of their son, Dalton, in 2020.