Live Forever

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Hurray for the Riff Raff's Live Forever was captured live over the course of two sold-out summer nights at the Old Town School of Folk Music in bandleader Alynda Segarra’s new home of Chicago. Spanning 14 songs, Live Forever presents their acclaimed 2024 album The Past Is Still Alive in its entirety, as well as a selection of set-defining staples, like “Pa’lante,” "Pyramid Scheme," and LIFE ON EARTH’s “Precious Cargo” and “Rhododendron."

Description

Hurray for the Riff Raff announced the release of Live Forever, a new live record, on February 23, 2026, the exact two-year anniversary of The Past Is Still Alive—named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far by Pitchfork, and one of the Best Albums of 2024 by the New York Times, Atlantic, Associated Press, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Out, Mojo, Uncut, and a multitude of others. Arriving digitally on March 20, 2026, and physically on May 8 via Nonesuch, Live Forever was captured over the course of two sold-out summer nights at the Old Town School of Folk Music in bandleader Alynda Segarra’s new home of Chicago. Spanning 14 songs, Live Forever presents The Past Is Still Alive in its entirety, as well as a selection of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s show-stopping, set-defining staples: decrying ICE on the poetic “Precious Cargo” and The Navigator’s anthemic “Pa’lante”; the prescient digital age critique of “Pyramid Scheme”; and ripping through a folk-rock rendition of LIFE ON EARTH’s “Rhododendron."

“I moved to Chicago in September 2024, the year I released The Past Is Still Alive and hit the road with a new band—a group of musicians recommended by my front of house/production manager, Johnny Wilson. Everyone had ties to the city, and had been playing together in the DIY scene for over a decade," Alynda Segarra says. "Since then we’ve traveled the world together, becoming family, playing the best shows of my life. Chicago has become home for me, and I feel grateful for the welcome I’ve gotten into the best music scene in the country.

"I wanted to capture this time and this brilliant band, a moment that won’t last forever. This record is a love letter to the working class musicians out there, we who slug it out on the road against all odds. We deserve so much more from an industry built to exploit us. It’s a thank you to all the fans supporting live music, you who believe songs made by human beings are a vital life force. Thank you.”

Fronted by Alynda Segarra (they/them), Live Forever features the musicians from Hurray for the Riff Raff’s latest touring lineup—Parker Grogan (electric guitar, vocals), Nnamdi Ogbonnaya (bass, backing vocals), Marcus Drake (drums) and Sen Morimoto (saxophone, keyboards), produced by Johnny Wilson. In addition to hundreds of tour dates behind The Past Is Still Alive, they have played the stages of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Austin City Limits, The Kelly Clarkson Show, CBS Saturday Morning, Newport Folk Festival and more, while recently sharing bills with everyone from Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman to Ani DiFranco, Bright Eyes, Orville Peck, Soccer Mommy and The Head and the Heart.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Johnny Wilson 
Live sound by Johnny Wilson

Engineered by Steve Marek
Mixed by Steve Marek and Johnny Wilson at Cybernetic Meadow Recording, Chicago, IL July 17-18, 2025
Mastered by Heba Kadra at Heba Kadry, Brooklyn, NY
Assistant mastering by Jacob Clements
Recorded at Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, Illinois

Photography and Design by Alexa Viscius

Album Status
Artist Name
Hurray for the Riff Raff
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Hurray for the Riff Raff (Alynda Segarra), vocals (1-14), acoustic guitar (1-14)
Parker Grogan, electric guitar (1-14), backing vocals (1-14)
Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, bass (1-14), backing vocals (1-14) Marcus Drake, drums (1-14)
Sen Morimoto, saxophone (1-14), keyboards(1-14)

reissues?
new-release
Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
2LP+MP3 (due May 8)
Price
30.00
UPC
075597893205
Slug
live-forever-2lp-mp3-bundle
Label
CD+MP3 (due May 8)
Price
13.00
UPC
075597893199
Slug
live-forever-cd-mp3-bundle
Label
96/24 HD FLAC (out now)
Price
10.00
UPC
075597893229
Slug
live-forever-hd-flac-album-96khz-24bit
Label
MP3 (out now)
Price
9.00
UPC
075597893236
Slug
live-forever-mp3-album

News & Reviews

  • "This record really was a next chapter for me in my life and as an artist, this time in my life that I thought was an ending suddenly was like, oh my God, it's only just beginning," Hurray for the Riff Raff, aka Alynda Segarra, tells Song Exploder host Hrishikesh Hirway on the show's latest episode, about their track "Alibi," from the album The Past Is Still Alive, a live performance of which can also be heard on the new recording Live Forever. "Especially when this song came out and the way that people responded to it, it felt immediately different than any other time in my career. It just felt like, whoa, I'm not giving up on this." You can hear the episode here.

  • Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Live Forever is now available digitally, with the CD and double LP due May 8. It was captured live over the course of two sold-out summer nights at the Old Town School of Folk Music in bandleader Alynda Segarra’s new home of Chicago. Spanning 14 songs, Live Forever presents their acclaimed 2024 album The Past Is Still Alive in its entirety, as well as a selection of set-defining staples, like “Pa’lante,” “Pyramid Scheme,” and LIFE ON EARTH’s “Precious Cargo” and “Rhododendron.”

  • About This Album

    Hurray for the Riff Raff announced the release of Live Forever, a new live record, on February 23, 2026, the exact two-year anniversary of The Past Is Still Alive—named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far by Pitchfork, and one of the Best Albums of 2024 by the New York Times, Atlantic, Associated Press, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Out, Mojo, Uncut, and a multitude of others. Arriving digitally on March 20, 2026, and physically on May 8 via Nonesuch, Live Forever was captured over the course of two sold-out summer nights at the Old Town School of Folk Music in bandleader Alynda Segarra’s new home of Chicago. Spanning 14 songs, Live Forever presents The Past Is Still Alive in its entirety, as well as a selection of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s show-stopping, set-defining staples: decrying ICE on the poetic “Precious Cargo” and The Navigator’s anthemic “Pa’lante”; the prescient digital age critique of “Pyramid Scheme”; and ripping through a folk-rock rendition of LIFE ON EARTH’s “Rhododendron."

    “I moved to Chicago in September 2024, the year I released The Past Is Still Alive and hit the road with a new band—a group of musicians recommended by my front of house/production manager, Johnny Wilson. Everyone had ties to the city, and had been playing together in the DIY scene for over a decade," Alynda Segarra says. "Since then we’ve traveled the world together, becoming family, playing the best shows of my life. Chicago has become home for me, and I feel grateful for the welcome I’ve gotten into the best music scene in the country.

    "I wanted to capture this time and this brilliant band, a moment that won’t last forever. This record is a love letter to the working class musicians out there, we who slug it out on the road against all odds. We deserve so much more from an industry built to exploit us. It’s a thank you to all the fans supporting live music, you who believe songs made by human beings are a vital life force. Thank you.”

    Fronted by Alynda Segarra (they/them), Live Forever features the musicians from Hurray for the Riff Raff’s latest touring lineup—Parker Grogan (electric guitar, vocals), Nnamdi Ogbonnaya (bass, backing vocals), Marcus Drake (drums) and Sen Morimoto (saxophone, keyboards), produced by Johnny Wilson. In addition to hundreds of tour dates behind The Past Is Still Alive, they have played the stages of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Austin City Limits, The Kelly Clarkson Show, CBS Saturday Morning, Newport Folk Festival and more, while recently sharing bills with everyone from Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman to Ani DiFranco, Bright Eyes, Orville Peck, Soccer Mommy and The Head and the Heart.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Hurray for the Riff Raff (Alynda Segarra), vocals (1-14), acoustic guitar (1-14)
    Parker Grogan, electric guitar (1-14), backing vocals (1-14)
    Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, bass (1-14), backing vocals (1-14) Marcus Drake, drums (1-14)
    Sen Morimoto, saxophone (1-14), keyboards(1-14)

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Johnny Wilson 
    Live sound by Johnny Wilson
    
Engineered by Steve Marek
    Mixed by Steve Marek and Johnny Wilson at Cybernetic Meadow Recording, Chicago, IL July 17-18, 2025
    Mastered by Heba Kadra at Heba Kadry, Brooklyn, NY
    Assistant mastering by Jacob Clements
    Recorded at Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, Illinois

    Photography and Design by Alexa Viscius