Nobody knows more about renewal than Cidny Bullens. Renewal, rebirth, restart—these don’t come easy and they don’t come often. And he’s had a lifetime full of them. From making his name as a young artist working with the likes of Elton John, Bob Dylan, and Rod Stewart and contributing vocals to the Grease soundtrack to releasing beloved albums both as a solo artist and with trio The Refugees and two Grammy nominations. From the masterful and heartbreaking award-winning album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth (written after the tragic death of his 11-year-old daughter) to an acclaimed one-person show that shared his personal heights and depths, including coming out as transgender late in life. And now, with his first album under the name Cidny, fully embracing his truest self, he is reborn again. “This is a new beginning,” he smiles. “This is me now.”

Due October 27 via Kill Rock Stars, Little Pieces explores Bullens’ transition and recent years through burnished twangy rock and immense hooks that will embed immediately into the heart. Where his new book TransElectric: My Life as a Cosmic Rock Star cracks open Bullens’ history and heart for all to see (complete with a foreword from Sir Elton John), its musical companion distills that same beauty into the taut musicianship, expressive poetry, and thoughtful melodies that he’s made a career out of.

Co-produced by Nashville legend Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell), this set of songs crackles with vibrant life and a refusal to be defined by anything but itself. “Some may walk on the wild side/ Of course you can walk like a man/ I'm walkin' through this world/ As exactly who I am,” Bullens insists on “Walkin’ Through the World”, the measured certainty in his delivery an inspiration. The swooning, Dylan-esque “The Gender Line” similarly builds from Bullens’ own experience shifting into a resonant tale of not quit