Will Johnson and the members of Magnolia Electric Co. release version of ‘The Big Beast’.

Will Johnson and the remaining members of beloved band Magnolia Electric Co. have joined forces for new recordings as Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. 

In September, Magnolia and Johnson Electric Co. will pay tribute to their work with the late Jason Molina and perform four shows in Texas, September 18-21, 2025. Today they share a roaring version of “The Big Beast” and announce a seven-inch record out in September.

Will Johnson is the Texas songwriter in Centro-matic, South San Gabriel, and a current member of the400 Unit with Jason Isbell. Johnson released his 10th solo album Diamond City last month, and was part of the 2009 collaborative album Molina and Johnson, a record for which a tour was canceled due to Molina’s struggles with alcohol. 

The tour follows the well-worn Texas trail that Molina and Magnolia traveled many times during their seven years of near non-stop touring as Magnolia Electric Co. It marks the 20th anniversary of a ten-show Texas tour undertaken in 2005 as part of their massive world tour supporting the 2005 albums What Comes After the Blues and Trials and Errors. Expect multiple sets and a solemn yet celebratory evening in memory of Jason Molina — their bandmate, collaborator, and friend.

Magnolia and Johnson Electric Co. (featuring Will Johnson along with original Magnolia Electric Co. members Mike Brenner, Jason Evans Groth, Michael Kapinus, Mark Rice, and Pete Schreiner) convened in Texas earlier this year to record new studio versions of both Molina’s and Johnson’s songs, much in the vein of the 2018 Goshen Electric Company collaboration between Magnolia and Tim Showalter of Strand of Oaks.

The sessions were recorded and mixed by Johnson’s longtime collaborator Britton Beisenherz and mastered by Magnolia mastering engineer Matthew Barnhart. Iconic artwork by Will Schaff graces the cover, whose artwork has now been inextricably linked to Jason Molina’s songwriting.