NEWS: ROBERT LESTER FOLSOM MUSIC AND DREAMS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY

ROBERT LESTER FOLSOM ANNOUNCES MUSIC AND DREAMS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OUT OCTOBER 16 VIA ANTHOLOGY RECORDINGS

DOUBLE ALBUM PAIRS THE REMASTERED FOLK ROCK RELIC TURNED CULT CLASSIC ALBUM WITH ITS ORIGINAL REEL-TO-REEL DEMOS AND COVERS FROM BEACH HOUSE AND HANNAH COHEN

LISTEN TO “APRIL SUZANNE” COVERED BY BEACH HOUSE HERE & REMASTERED ORIGINAL “APRIL SUZANNE” HERE

PRE-ORDER/PRE-SAVE MUSIC AND DREAMS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION HERE

ROBERT LESTER FOLSOM ON TOUR NOW; PLAYING NYC’S BOWERY BALLROOM OCTOBER 11; TICKETS HERE

There are some records that strike like lightning, and others that slowly reshape the landscape grain by grain. Originally recorded and self-released in 1976, Robert Lester Folsom’s Music and Dreams began its journey passed among friends, and delivered to local record stores and radio stations, before (mostly) falling off the map. Decades later, after a 2010 re-release catapulted it to legend status, Anthology Recordings now presents Music and Dreams: 50th Anniversary Edition out October 16, 2026. The collection pairs a remastered treatment of the album alongside the original reel-to-reel demos and contemporary covers by Beach House and Hannah Cohen, revealing new contour and color to music that continues to find an audience in its own time.

To celebrate the announcement, Beach House’s cover of “April Suzanne” is out today alongside the remastered original. Beach House’s rendition brings a haunting, expansive and hymnal approach to the lovesick and aching spare original.

Beach House says, “We love so many Robert Lester Folsom songs and are very pleased to be included on the 50th anniversary edition of Music and Dreams. We had a lot of fun trying to bring such a classic as ‘April Suzanne’ into our world.”

It was in the early 70s, after years of writing and playing music alone and with friends, that rural Georgia-born Folsom started laying down his original songs on a beloved Sears reel-to-reel. It’s this same reservoir of recordings that eventually became the foundation of Music and Dreams. The songs on the album were selected for a full studio treatment together with Stan Dacus, head engineer at Atlanta’s LeFevre Studios. Folsom eventually pressed 1,000 copies of the LP, 500 45s pairing “My Stove’s On Fire” with “Show Me to the Window,” and a run of eight-track tapes. But without the means to promote the album at a national scale, and with the band members moving on to other things, Folsom gradually turned his attention toward building a family and making a living in Jacksonville, FL, still playing but living in a void outside his dream of being a musician. Since the album’s 2010 reissue by Anthology Recordings, it has been planted in a timeless space primed for perennial rediscovery particularly among generations whose age reflects Folsom’s own when he wrote these songs.

Music and Dreams: 50th Anniversary Edition arrives as double LP, CD, and digital editions, the demo material miraculously sourced by Folsom’s longtime collaborator Don Fleming, all material mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Jessica Thompson.

Music and Dreams’ ascent became tangible in 2024 when Folsom stepped onstage at a sold-out show in Chicago to perform material from the album. Now, Folsom is currently on his first extensive U.S. tour, earning praise from Music Connection as “exceptional…magic [and] commanding.” He will perform at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom on October 11 ahead of the 23-date tour’s conclusion in Richmond, VA on October 18.

Music and Dreams: 50th Anniversary Edition Tracklist:

Music and Dreams (2026 Remastered Version)

Ginger (2026 Remastered Version)

Biding My Time (2026 Remastered Version)

April Suzanne (2026 Remastered Version)

Weeping Willow Tree (2026 Remastered Version)

My Stove’s on Fire (2026 Remastered Version)

Spanish Lady (2026 Remastered Version)

Brown Eyed Lady With Blonde Hair (2026 Remastered Version)

A New Way (2026 Remastered Version)

Show Me to the Window (2026 Remastered Version)

Jericho (2026 Remastered Version)