Darren Watson announces crowdfunding campaign & new single ‘Mister Stanley’, set for release 28 March

Darren Watson announces his album crowdfunding campaign and release date for new single Mister Stanley – a song about deep loss, and even deeper gratitude.

Veteran Pōneke blues artist Darren Watson is releasing a new single, Mister Stanley on Friday 28 March, 2025. Originally featured on John Hiatt’s 2002 album Crossing Muddy Waters, the song is the first single from Watson’s upcoming album, Darren Watson Sings John Hiatt, slated for release on his Lamington Records label in 2025. (Watson is crowdfunding production of the album via Pledge Me. The campaign goes live this week here.)

Mister Stanley features Watson’s sweet but weathered voice front and centre, with a wheezing pump organ droning in the background, a detuned, lightly finger-picked steel body guitar, and Matt Hay’s gloriously minimal harmonica weaving darkly throughout. The songs lyrics are a very raw and direct lament about the loss of a parent.

“This one really grabs you from the get go,” says Watson. “It’s a deep, deep blues and it really gets in. It’s a John Hiatt song for sure but I can hear echoes of artists like Skip James in there. I hope my version does it justice—it’s a song I feel every time I sing it. We aimed to capture the mood just right, and I think we nailed it. Here’s to all the decent step-fathers and mothers in the world, right?!”

“Here’s to all the decent step-fathers and mothers in the world, right?!” – Darren Watson

Mister Stanley will be available via Bandcamp from 28 March. It will be available on all major streaming platforms and digital stores from 25 April.

Photo Credit: Clive Copeman