Ireland Inspires Thom Bishop’s New Album Train Leaving Dallas
Thom Bishop’s latest creative chapter has been shaped by an unexpected but powerful source of inspiration: Ireland. The American songwriter, author and educator has been spending increasing time there with his wife Michele while their daughter Simone studies at the University of Galway. Those visits have deepened Bishop’s connection to Irish music culture and helped inform the spirit of his forthcoming album, Train Leaving Dallas, due for release on July 31st, 2026.
“In recent trips, I’ve become increasingly inspired by the Irish music scene,” Bishop says. “There’s something deeply emotional and authentic about the music culture there—from the buskers on the streets to the traditional songs echoing through pubs. It feels like a place where songs still matter.” That sense of place runs through the album, even though much of the original material was written in Nashville with longtime collaborator Billy Panda.
The album combines six original songs with six covers that Bishop and Panda had performed together over many years in clubs, concerts and festivals. The original songs were recorded at Panda’s Studio P in Sarasota, Florida, while the covers began as stripped-back performances recorded by Bishop alone with his Gibson L4 archtop guitar at Brian Shey’s home studio in Lyons, Colorado. Panda later expanded the arrangements by producing, engineering and performing the remaining instrumentation.
The title track, “Train Leaving Dallas,” has already reached listeners through recordings by vocalists Crystal Sands and Megon McDonough, making Bishop’s own version a significant moment in the project. Led by the single “Here Comes The Night,” the album honours classic songwriting while presenting Bishop’s voice in a renewed setting. It is a record rooted in craft, memory and the feeling that, in Ireland and beyond, songs still have a vital place.