Willow Avalon reveals debut album Southern Belle Raisin' Hell, due 17 January

Titled Southern Belle Raisin' Hell, the record is set for a 17 January 2025 release and features what appears to be legitimate arrest mugshot of the Georgia-born artist as the cover artwork.

Was Willow Avalon actually arrested? The 26-year old did in fact have brush with the law last summer when she was pulled over for in South Georgia for doing 74 in a 55 zone, as detailed in a Facebook post by her father, the musician Jim White. "She [also had] a ticket that she got 8 years ago in Georgia that was adjudicated and resolved is now showing up as unresolved, so her license is suspended," White explained.

The Atlantic Records-signed Avalon announced the release in an Instagram post, adding: "’m now a law abiding woman and I’ve learned my lesson!! Thank you to my kind and ever so amazing lawyer McCracken King Poston Jr who also probably wrote the best trial story ever, if you like small town murder trials with a incredible twist you’ll love his book “Zenith Man”. I thought the wrongful arrest I went through was bad, but good lord wait till you read the book!!!"

Criminal defence attorney MCracken King Poston Jr gained national attention for cases which were featured on TV show such as CNN Presents and Dateline NBC.

Avalon will follow up the album's release with a headline tour of North America and her first shows in the UK and Ireland, including an appearance at C2C:
Manchester Academy - 10 March / O2 Institute2 Birmingham - 11 March /Neon 194, London - 12 March / The O2London (C2C) - 14 March / OVO Hydro. Glasgow (C2C) – 16 March / Oran Mor Auditorium, Glasgow – 18 March / Limelight, Belfast – 20 March / Opium, Dublin – 21 March

Avalon's father Jim White also hits London next year with a headline show at The Lexington on 11 February. White recently completed his first novel, Incidental Contact, a “Magical Realism memoir” about around a series of uncanny coincidences that happened him during his days driving a taxi in New York City.

Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell track list

1. 'Runs in the Family'
2. 'Something We Regret'
3. 'Homewrecker'
4. 'Yodelayheewho' (feat. Maggie Antone)
5. 'Baby Blue'
6. 'Country Never Leaves'
7. 'Tequila or Whiskey'
8. 'The Actor'
9. 'Southern Belle Raisin' Hell'
10. 'Gettin' Rich, Goin' Broke'
11. 'Hey There, Dolly'
12. 'Want Me Now'
13. 'Damned'
14. 'Good Morning, Goodbye'

Read Best Fit's 2023 profile of Willow Avalon: "A songwriter of depth and nuance with the battle-scars to match"