FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Originally circulated on a limited-run CD in the late 1990s. Arrives digitally for the first time.
Easthampton, MA — July 31, 2026 — Brave Tiger Records is proud to announce Catch and Release Program, an archival solo-acoustic album by singer-songwriter Jesse Sterling Harrison, arriving on streaming services on Friday, August 14, 2026. The twelve-song album was recorded in 1998 in a Northampton, Massachusetts apartment Harrison shared with his then-roommate, BTR founder Joshua Thayer, and circulated at the time only on a small-run CD among friends. Thayer, who engineered the original sessions, remastered the recordings in April 2026 for their first digital release.
The album is the ninth catalog release for Brave Tiger Records (BTR-009) and is presented as an archival release: voice and acoustic guitar, recorded over two days in a living room, unedited beyond mastering, and faithful to its original lo-fi character.
In 1998, Harrison was playing solo shows at coffeehouses in downtown Northampton — close enough to sling a guitar case over his shoulder and walk. He and Thayer were roommates in a Pioneer Valley apartment, working day jobs and, in the afternoons, playing whiffleball and grilling burgers in the backyard. Over two days, Thayer set up a few microphones around Harrison in the corner of their living room and recorded him singing and playing his Gibson Blues King — the twelve songs of Catch and Release Program, voice and guitar, nothing else.
“I still vividly remember the two days we spent making these solo recordings of Jesse and his guitar, singing into the corner of our living room,” said Thayer. “Over a couple decades, it has remained in my subconscious as both a fun recording project and a lovely and raw capture of Jesse as a writer, singer, and performer. There are moments of beautiful flatpicking and there are moments of furious strumming, mixed with the command Jesse has of his own voice. Honestly, a recording that’s stuck with me ever since we made it, and I’m really happy to be able to help shepherd it out into the world together with my old friend.”
Harrison, now on the other side of fifty with grown children, has written and released a great deal of music in the decades since — but says these early recordings remain the ones his audience connects with most.
“It’s raw but polished. It’s tight but a little dangerous. This all happened a long time ago but I’m proud of the work we did.”
“I’ve done a few acoustic albums and written a lot of acoustic songs,” Harrison says. “I’ve listened to a lot of this type of music too, and I think this is one of the most unique and unusual acoustic sets you’ll find on record.”
About the release
- Title: Catch and Release Program
- Artist: Jesse Sterling Harrison
- Catalog: BTR-009
- Format: 12-track archival album
- Runtime: 43:11
- Recorded: 1998, Northampton, MA apartment (voice and guitar)
- Engineered: Joshua Thayer
- Mastered: April 2026, Joshua Thayer
- Streaming release date: Friday, August 14, 2026
- Bandcamp: jessesterlingharrison1.bandcamp.com (available now)
About Jesse Sterling Harrison
Jesse Sterling Harrison is a singer and multi-instrumentalist based in Easthampton, Massachusetts. He has released numerous albums as a solo performer and under the Corson Overlord and Mystic Warrior names, as well as creating several film soundtracks and playing with the bands Hector, Product 19, Emma’s Garden, and Stone Bull. Jesse has a degree in music from Hampshire College and is married to the noted poet Mari Nichols-Haining.
About Brave Tiger Records
Brave Tiger Records is a small, curated label based in Boston, releasing music by a deliberate roster of artists. The label was started in Western Massachusetts in the early 2000s and re-established in 2023 with the release of Bird Children by Joshua David Thayer. More at bravetigerrecords.com.
Press contact: Joshua Thayer | brave@bravetigerrecords.com
