Billboard Bits: Westerberg

By Jonathan Cohen [Billboard Magazine]
(June 15, 2004)

Paul Westerberg's next solo album, "Folker," is on target for a September release via Vagrant, according to a spokesperson. The set has been finished since last fall, when the former Replacements frontman told Billboard.com, "It's got the classic stuff. You know, the songs of mine that people always like? I think I've got more than I need this time. I think it might be a fan favorite."

" Folker" follows two Westerberg albums released last September: the soundtrack to the documentary "Come Feel Me Tremble" and a set from his Grandpaboy alter ego, "Dead Man Shake." One potential new album cut, "Lookin' Up in Heaven" has already surfaced on the Starbucks CD sampler "Hear Music #10."

Westerberg is planning to tour in support of "Folker," but details are still taking shape. Late last month, he ended a year-plus break from performing with a show in Louisville at a radio trade convention and a private gig in Minneapolis in celebration of his wife's graduate school graduation.