Space Junk is not a title that suggests a Country Music Hall of Famer playing it safe — and Marty Stuart isn’t. The album, the first entirely instrumental record from Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, draws on surf guitar, Ennio Morricone film scores, and the swinging warmth of Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, recorded at Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood and in Nashville. It arrived as a Record Store Day vinyl exclusive in April 2025, pressed to 1,700 copies, before reaching wider release. Stuart brings the full band to Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe on Thursday, April 1, 2027.
About the Show
Stuart’s path to Space Junk is a long one. He arrived in Nashville in 1972, joining Lester Flatt’s band, and went on to spend six years playing with Johnny Cash. His MCA years produced a run of gold albums: Hillbilly Rock, Tempted, and This One’s Gonna Hurt You. From there he turned toward concept albums and assembled the Fabulous Superlatives for the 2003 release Country Music. He’s a five-time Grammy Award winner, a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, a Grand Ole Opry member, and the founder of the Congress of Country Music. He also earned a Golden Globe nomination for scoring the film All The Pretty Horses, which makes the Morricone thread on Space Junk feel less like a detour and more like something he’d been circling for years.
For the album, Stuart played his 1954 Telecaster with B-bender throughout. “Instrumentals have always been a part of the Fabulous Superlatives repertoire,” he said, “but this is the first completely instrumental album we’ve done, largely inspired by two of my favorite bands from the Sixties, The Ventures and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.” With Stuart are Kenny Vaughan on guitar, Chris Scruggs on bass and steel guitar, and Harry Stinson on drums, a band that has been together since 2003 and plays with the ease that comes with it. The current touring run stretches across North America through April 2027, with Penn’s Peak among the final stops.
Venue & Logistics
Penn’s Peak is in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Gorge, within reach of the Hudson Valley. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. show.
Tickets
Reserved seating runs $31.00 (regular) to $38.50 (premium). Sneak Peak Club members can purchase starting October 13, 2026, at noon; general public on-sale is October 16, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Buy tickets