Stay Gold is the eighth full-length studio album from American musician Butch Walker, released on August 26, 2016, through DangerBird records in the United States[6] and Lojinx in Europe.[7] The album was announced in June of that year with the lead single “East Coast Girl”.[8]
Following his previous release, Afraid of Ghosts, an emotional album recorded after the loss of his father, Stay Gold presents a much more upbeat and optimistic outlook, with Walker saying "I spilled it all out on [Afraid of Ghosts] and it was a heavy subject. Where do you go from there? [...] It triggered a lot of bittersweet nostalgia. So I started writing about all that, and it sounded like the template should be more of a celebration, as far as the music goes."[9]
Background and production
Walker on tour at Minneapolis' Varsity Theater on September 11, 2016
Walker cites the 1983 film The Outsiders as a major thematic influence for the record, echoing his own small town childhood, with the title referencing the line spoken by Johnny Cade to Ponyboy Curtis, "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold."[9]
