Finger Lakes old-time banjo player Benny Bleu will self-release his new album ‘When I Am a Fossil’ on June 5, 2026. The project will be officially announced March 25 alongside the title track and an accompanying music video. Rooted in old-time tradition while branching into jazz textures and global rhythms, the record reflects Bleu’s background as a geologist and explores humanity’s relationship with the natural world and with one another.
The album has been ten years in the making and centers on the idea of geological time. Its songs consider how future scientists might interpret the Anthropocene through the fossil record of human activity. “How might a scientist from the deep future know we were here?” Bleu asks in the notes for the title track, reflecting on the evidence humanity will leave behind.
‘When I Am a Fossil’ was recorded live to tape over four days in May 2025 at 145 Studio in Millheim, Pennsylvania. Bleu co-produced the sessions with multi-instrumentalist Gus Tritsch, whose fiddle, guitar and mandolin shape the album’s sonic palette. Drummer Huck Tritsch and bassist Eric Heveron-Smith provide the rhythmic backbone while Katie Martucci of The Ladles contributes backing vocals.
The ten-song set blends original compositions, traditional material, and carefully chosen covers. Highlights include “Fairy Shrimp,” “March of the Mollusk,” and “Abbey Lovely,” alongside interpretations of Josef Zawinul’s “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” Ola Belle Reed’s “I’ve Endured,” and the traditional “Penny’s Farm.” “All I Want to Be” will also appear on a forthcoming American Roots compilation from Putumayo.
Mixing was handled by GRAMMY-nominated engineer Joseph “joebass” DeJarnette at Studio 808A in Brooklyn, with mastering by Tom Nunes at Atomic Disc in Salem, Oregon. The album artwork was created by Sarah Gorry. A sequence of singles leads up to the release, beginning March 25 with the title track and music video, followed by “I’ve Endured” on April 15 and “Serenity Song” with a lyric video on May 13.
Tracklist:
When I Am a Fossil
Fairy Shrimp
Serenity Song
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
All I Want to Be
Old Dog
March of the Mollusk
I’ve Endured
Abbey Lovely
Penny’s Farm
Tour Dates:
Mar 6 – Washington DC – Music on the Hill
Mar 7 – Baltimore MD – Four Hour Day
Mar 8 – Lancaster PA – West Art
Mar 12 – Geneseo NY – Cosmic Charlies (w Ric Robertson)
Apr 10 – Rochester NY – Little Theatre
Apr 17 – Frostburg MD – Clatter Cafe (w Dakota Karper)
Apr 18 – Westminster MD – Common Ground Downtown (w Dakota Karper)
Apr 19 – Naples NY – Hollerhorn Distilling
May 3 – Saratoga Springs NY – Caffe Lena (full band)
Jun 6 – Rochester NY – Bop Shop Records (full band)
Jun 13 – Rochester NY – Abilene (full band)
Jun 14 – Naples NY – Hollerhorn Distilling (full band)
Jun 26 – Rochester NY – Skylark Lounge (full band square dance)
Sep 20 – Walton NY – Music on the Delaware
Nov 12 – Soquel CA – Ugly Mug
Nov 16 – Portland OR – Hostel Cafe