This morning, Vermont-based songwriter Zack James—a.k.a. Dari Bay—is announcing that his bedroom-folk opus Longest Day of the Year will be re-released in January, nearly three years to the day since it initially arrived. The project is the result of James joining the Double Double Whammy label family (the Whammy Fammly?), who will be releasing the expanded version of the record that features an additional track titled “Interstate” tacked onto the end. “With the reissue, it’s a cool opportunity to extend the party a bit,” James shares. “Across the album, there’s a theme of staying at a party too long, so it’s kinda perfect.”
Along with the news today, James is sharing a video for that new single, which leans away from the record’s embedded alt-country twang and into a more yearning, jangly, lo-fi bedroom-pop zone. “I remember working on this album and thinking it was a big vibe shift from other music I had made previously, and being excited by that,” the songwriter recalls. “After the release, we were able to do some real fun scrappy touring and met a bunch of good people in the process. It hasn’t been very long since Longest Day of the Year was released, but a fair amount has changed—maybe partially thanks to the album?”
The new/old cut follows the release of the grungier single “The Joke” released over the summer, with Dari Bay promising more new material in 2026. In the meantime, check out the “Interstate” video below, and pre-order the Longest Day reissue on vinyl here.
