The Anticipated Follow-Up to Breakthrough Debut Whiplash Finds Riccio Embracing Emotional Reckoning and a Bold Electric Evolution

Listen To New Single "Pilar, NM" HERE

February 17, 2026 - Today, Nashville-based songwriter Jobi Riccio has announced her new albumFace The Feeling, due out May 15 on Yep Roc Records. Co-produced by Riccio and longtime collaborators Isaiah Beard and Jesse Timm, the new record marks a bold sonic evolution for the Americana Honors & Awards Emerging Artist of the Year nominee and a John Prine Songwriters Fellowship honoree. Expanding beyond the folk and country foundations of her breakthrough debut album Whiplash, Riccio moves toward a more electric, indie-rock-driven sound on Face The Feeling.

That sonic shift mirrors a deeper emotional reckoning at the core of the album. Where Whiplash chronicled coming of age and the search for escape,Face The Feeling finds Riccio confronting emotions she once tried to outrun - grief, rage, self-doubt, and desire - and choosing to sit fully inside the discomfort. Riccio treats each emotion as something unavoidable and illuminated, like a billboard flashing into view at full speed.

Written between Colorado and Nashville, Face The Feeling balances light and dark, restraint and release, ecstatic highs and mournful lows. From the rich album opener "A Little at a Time," to Riccio's hopeful love song "Idaho," to the slow-burning, anthemic closer "Doesn't Matter," the collection emerges as an exquisite excavation of self with sharp clarity and confidence.

Riccio previewed the album late last year with pre-release singles "Wildfire Season," which Ann Powers deemed "protest music at its finest" in NPR Music's "Best Songs of 2025" list, and "The Ridge." Last month, she released the gritty "Buzzkill," which Stereogum called "a spunky, catchy salt-of-the-earth rock song." Stereogum also noted, "We named Jobi Riccio's debut Whiplash one of the best country albums of 2023, though her music has at least as much to do with alternative rock." Watch the official "Buzzkill" music video HERE .

Today, Riccio has shared the new single "Pilar, NM," which features the album title in the lyrics: "Make myself turn and face the feeling / And sit inside of it." A restrained, quietly powerful track, the song explores devotion to the things that matter most, even when they're difficult to hold onto. Built around Riccio's unguarded vocal delivery, "Pilar, NM" distills the album's emotional core. "I've always been a pretty open book," Riccio says. "But allowing myself to be challenged and learning the power of letting go was a big part of developing this album."

Listen to "Pilar, NM" here: LINK

Riccio has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, made her national television debut on CBS Saturday Morning, and toured with artists including Lucius, Jason Isbell, and Iron & Wine. With Face The Feeling, she pushes beyond expectation toward her most confident and expansive work to date.

"I wanted to create a place - for myself and for others - to face the good, bad, and ugly feelings," Riccio says. "Even when the noise of the world gets overwhelming."

Face The Feeling is out May 15 via Yep Roc Records. Pre-order / pre-save here: https://jobiriccio.lnk.to/FaceTheFeeling

Riccio joined John Craigie for a run of Colorado tour dates this month and will perform aboard the Cayamo Cruise 2026 in March. Last week, she announced that she'll perform as part of the "Songwriters Celebrate John Prine" special event on June 9 at Wolf Trap outside of DC. Other confirmed performers include Emmylou Harris, Margo Price, Patty Griffin, I'm With Her, Lucius, Allison Russell, Tommy Prine and more. Please visit https://www.jobiriccio.com/ for more information.

Face The Feeling Tracklist

1. A Little at a Time
2. The Ridge
3. Pilar, NM
4. Love of the Song
5. Buzzkill
6. Wildfire Season
7. Coyote
8. Idaho
9. High Beam
10. Easy
11. Doesn't Matter

For more information, please contact Taylor Perry ( [email protected] ).

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