North Louisiana singer/songwriter Robert Finley has announced his eagerly awaited new album, Hallelujah! Don’t Let The Devil Fool Ya, arriving via Easy Eye Sound on Friday, October 10. Physical pre-orders/digital pre-saves are available now.
Produced by longtime collaborator Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Sound Studios in Nashville, Finley’s fourth album for Easy Eye Sound sees Bernice, LA’s favorite son infusing the sacred sounds of gospel into his already unique take on the blues, soul, and R&B. Highlights include the deeply spiritual new single, “Helping Hand,” available now as a “Complete My Album” track.
Hailed by FLOOD for its “simmering ’70s psych-funk guitar melodies, hand percussion, and stirring vocals,” the track is joined by an official music video, directed by filmmaker Tim Hardiman (John Anderson, Blake Shelton) and streaming now on YouTube.
“Making a gospel record was the first thing I ever wanted to do,” says Robert Finley. “I’ve had at least one gospel song on each album, and I even did a gospel song on America’s Got Talent. One of the guys said he didn’t know if it was the type of crowd for that, but some of those people were in tears.”
Like most Finley recording sessions, Hallelujah! Don’t Let The Devil Fool Ya, came together with startling speed. Backed by an all-star combo featuring Auerbach and fellow guitarist Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie, Primal Scream, The The), drummer Malcolm Catto (The Heliocentrics, Madlib, DJ Shadow), bassist Tommy Brenneck, and keyboardist Ray Jacildo, along with call-and-response vocal support from his daughter, singer Christy Johnson, the album was fully improvised and tracked not in a month, not in a week, but in a furiously fruitful single day.
“Back in the day when Robert played for tips, he’d ask people questions and improvise songs for them on the spot,” says Dan Auerbach. “That was the method, and that was the way, and choosing that direction – everything improvised, playing, singing and writing off the cuff – sparked a session of divinely inspired creativity, because letting the spirit move him is a trademark of Finley’s creative process.”
“Dan was like, ‘Okay, Robert. Sing something,’” Finley says. “It’s scripture. The good Lord said, ‘If you open your mouth, I’ll speak for you.’”
Finley and his band will celebrate the impending arrival of Hallelujah! Don’t Let The Devil Fool Ya with a top-billed festival appearance at New Haven, CT’s CT Folk Festival on September 10, followed by a headline tour of Europe/UK beginning October 4 at London’s Islington Assembly Hall and then making stops in France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Lithuania. For complete details and ticket information, please visit robertfinleyofficial.com.
ROBERT FINLEY – LIVE 2025
SEPTEMBER
10 – New Haven, CT – CT Folk Festival †
OCTOBER
4 – London, United Kingdom – Islington Assembly Hall
7 – Caen, France – Le BBC
8 – Betton, France – Festival Le Grand Soufflet †
9 – Paris, France – La Cigale
11 – Kaunas, Lithuania – Festivalis Kaunas Blues 2025 †
13 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – LantarenVenster
14 – Haarlem, Netherlands – Patronaat
15 – Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands – Poppodium Gebouw
17 – Ares, France – Espace Brémontier
18 – St-Chamond, France – Rhino Jazz(s) 2025 †
19 – Istres, France – L’Usine – Scenes Et Cones
21 – Saint-Brieuc, France – Bonjour Minuit
22 – Balma, France – Interférence
23 – Zaragoza, Spain – Rock & Blues Café
24 – Santiago De Compostela, Spain – Sala Capitol
25 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Mon
26 – Bilbao, Spain – Sirimiri
† FESTIVAL APPEARANCE
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After a lifetime of hard work, Robert Finley has established himself as one of today’s preeminent spokesmen of the blues. Born and raised in the small town of Bernice, LA, Finley spent decades playing music as a street performer and leader of the gospel group Brother Finley and the Gospel Sisters before making his long overdue recording debut at the young age of 62 with 2016’s Age Don’t Mean A Thing. The album captured the attention of Easy Eye Sound founder Dan Auerbach, beginning a long collaborative relationship that has included 2017’s Goin’ Platinum, 2021’s autobiographical Sharecropper’s Son, and 2023’s critically acclaimed Black Bayou. An 11-track tour de force that coalesces southern soul, jazz, folk, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and more into a raw, thundering tribute to Finley’s home state of Louisiana, the latter album was met by ecstatic applause from leading publications around the world spanning SPIN, The FADER, No Depression, American Songwriter, Paste, Uncut, and more with MOJO simply declaring in a five-starred rave, “Black Bayou is surely the album Finley was put on Earth to create, filled with stories only he could tell.”
An electrifying performer known for his soulful swagger and gritty vocal power, Finley has since proven a hugely popular international live act with sold-out headline tours, countless festival appearances, shows alongside The Black Keys, and a leading role in Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Revue. Finley has also made a number of high-profile network TV appearances, including the 2019 season of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” – where he eventually made it to the semi-finals – and CBS Saturday Morning. Having overcome great adversity – including losing his sight in his 60s – Robert Finley is now justly recognized the world over as a singular storyteller and one of the last great bluesmen of the modern era, a true living legend with still more magic to come.
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ROBERT FINLEY – HALLELUJAH! DON’T LET THE DEVIL FOOL YA (Easy Eye Sound) Release Date: Friday, October 10, 2025
Tracklist:
- I Wanna Thank You
- Praise Him
- Holy Ghost Party
- His Love
- Helping Hand
- Can’t Take My Joy
- On The Battlefield
- I Am A Witness
CONNECT WITH ROBERT FINLEY
ROBERTFINLEYOFFICIAL.COM | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
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Press Contacts:
Ken Weinstein
weinstein@bighassle.com