Things have been awfully busy in the Big Thief world lately. The band recently parted ways with bassist Max Oleartchik, and they devoted most of their headlining set at Portland’s Project Pabst festival to debuting new songs. Now, bandleader Adrianne Lenker has released a new single of her own, and it might sound familiar to anyone who’s seen either Big Thief or Lenker’s solo sets in recent years.

Earlier this year, Adrianne Lenker released her spare, countrified solo album Bright Future. During those sessions, she recorded “Once A Bunch,” and the song appeared as a bonus track on the album’s Japanese CD edition. (They’re still doing that!) Both Big Thief and Adrianne Lenker have been playing “Once A Bunch” live since 2021, and now it’s getting a proper single release.

In its recorded form, “Once A Bunch” is a ramshackle, lo-fi campfire-singalong thing. It’s got a lot of fiddle and a keening country-folk sensibility, and it fits right in with the sensibility of Bright Future. The song is coming out as Adrianne Lenker gets ready to head out on a solo tour of the East Coast this fall, but all the dates are already sold out. Listen to the song below.

A 7″ single of “Once A Bunch” is coming out this fall, and it’ll be available exclusively at independent record stores.