Jim
Reilley

Producer / Bassist / Songwriter

Jim Reilley will most likely be remembered as a founding member, along with musical partner Reese Campbell, of seminal folk rock band The New Dylans.

Founded in 1986, The New Dylans barnstormed the US throughout the 1990s and won critical praise from Rolling Stone, which called their songs “offbeat classics,” as well as from major music publications and newspapers. The Village Voice placed the band in the top five EPs of 1986 in its prestigious Pazz & Jop Poll.

The band won the hearts and minds of fans in the then-burgeoning AAA radio format and received feature spots on important tastemaking programs including NPR’s All Things Considered, Idiot’s Delight with Vin Scelsa, Danny Bonaduce’s WLUP show, Mountain Stage, World Café and Acoustic Café. Michael Stipe of R.E.M. proclaimed The New Dylans his favorite band of 1986, and Natalie Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs would often jump onstage and sing with the band.

After nine years of solid touring with The New Dylans, often over 175 dates a year and sharing stages with luminaries including Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Band, Reilley moved to Nashville to sign a writing and production deal with Curb Records.

As a songwriter, Reilley has had more than 50 songs recorded by artists including Hal Ketchum, Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Lauren Daigle, Hillary Scott, Claudia Church, LeAnn Rimes, Cowboy Crush, Jana Kramer, Tim O’Brien, Leah Blevins and others. He also had a European hit with Danish rock legend Peter Belli. Albums produced by Reilley have won Best Album awards at the Kerrville Folk Festival and MerleFest as well as the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, while many of his productions have gone on to major-label release and millions of streams.

Reilley wrote the title track “First Time Feeling” for Leah Blevins, which has generated several million Spotify streams.

The New Dylans reunited in 2016 and released the critically acclaimed album Meta. Nashville’s daily newspaper, The Tennessean, documented the process from songwriting and recording through the tour that followed. The resulting documentary, Band on the Brink, chronicled the realities, difficulties and triumphs of releasing an album in a changing music business.

In his career, Reilley has produced or made music with Sheryl Crow, Hal Ketchum, David Mead, Al Perkins, Pam Tillis, Lauren Daigle, Lee Brice, John Osborne of Brothers Osborne, Pure Prairie League, LeAnn Rimes, Poco, Daniel Tashian, Hillary Scott, Carly Pearce, Jana Kramer, Linda Davis, Vince Gill, Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys, The Mavericks, Jack Ingram, Leah Andreone, Diamond Rio, Hank Williams Jr., Jett Williams, Minton Sparks, Joy Lynn White, Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien and many others.

He regularly works with members of The Jayhawks, Wilco, Genesis, Cheap Trick, Buckcherry, The Milk Carton Kids, John Mellencamp, The Doobie Brothers, The Dead Boys, Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, Richard Lloyd of Television, the Joe Perry Band, The Black Crowes, Old Crow Medicine Show, Poco, The Cowsills, The Bangles, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Jack White’s band, Ten Years After, The Black Keys, The Band, The Beach Boys, 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M.

Currently, Reilley is focusing mostly on producing emerging alternative rock, country and Americana artists, playing numerous bass sessions and composing original instrumental music for film and television. He is also a member of experimental noise-rock avant-garde ensemble The Birdwatcher Experiment and headed up Grammy-nominated Nashville indie label Plowboy Records in 2020.

2026 marks the 40th anniversary of The New Dylans. The band is working on a covers album of reimagined versions of songs they have always loved to commemorate the anniversary.