NEW YORK (AP) — Just cue up the first song from the new album by The Doobie Brothers and you'll hear something unusual: harmony, in a new way.
It's not just that soulful blast from Michael McDonald, marking his first time recording with the band in 45 years. Listen and you'll also hear founding member Pat Simmons and original vocalist Tom Johnston.
“Walk This Road” — with the always-welcome addition of Mavis Staples — is a horn-and-slide-guitar slice of bluesy, wailing rock that's also a celebration of a band that has endured changes and re-formed with members now in their 70s.
“Somehow, here we are,” says McDonald. “We’ve been friends throughout the years. Our kids have all grown up together and our kids have kind of kept us in contact even at times when we might have dropped off the radar for each other.”
The Doobie Brothers, who formed in 1970 and initially broke up in 1982, have a packed 2025 planned: A European tour that leads to a North American one, the strong new album and inclusion in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
“I don’t think any of us ever even really thought we’d still be on stage at this age doing this, much less together,” says McDonald. “That we’re still able to express ourselves artistically is something that’s not lost on us.”
The North American tour kicks off in Detroit on Aug. 4 and heads to such cities as New York, Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Toronto. The opening act will be The Coral Reefer Band.
“Walk This Road” features 10 new songs sung by McDonald, Simmons and Johnston, who collaborated on writing the tracks and play on each other's tunes. Longtime collaborator John McFee also returned for the project.
The album, out June 6, has something for everyone — honky-tonk, driving country, flirty Southern pop, moody folk and melodic rock. There are songs about New Orleans and Hawaii. Angels make the lyrics on two songs.
“One of the strengths of our live show was the fact that you couldn’t get bored with any one style of music because everything was kind of a different bag,” says McDonald, who officially reunited with the band on tour in 2019. “We like to do that. You know, I think this album is hopefully no different in that respect.”
John Shanks, who produced the band's 2021 album “Liberté,” returned for “Walk This Road,” lending them his Los Angeles studio, with a writing room upstairs and a recording booth downstairs where each songwriter took turns cutting tracks.
“The band, I think, presents all of us with an opportunity to do things that we might not do just as individual songwriters,” says McDonald.
While the Doobies have never been a concept band, the album explores seizing the moments, reflects on paths taken and coming to grips with the past.
“This is a snapshot in time of where the band is and where the writers are,” says Johnston. “We didn’t consciously sit down and say, 'Well, we’re going to try and do this.’”
One track, "Learn to Let Go," is an unrequited love song that's about letting go of things that hold you back, while “Speed of Pain” is about how the worst things in life can become the best.
“In many cases, it’s just a situation where you have to lose it all. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met over the years who have told me that going to jail was the best thing that ever happened to them,” says McDonald. “I think total defeat in this world is the great teacher.”
The Doobie Brothers are already members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — with tracks like “Takin’ It To the Streets,” “What a Fool Believes” and “Minute By Minute” — but shortly after the album comes out, they'll be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
“I think it’s really great for this band," says Johnston. "I think it’s great for us as individual writers, but I think it’s also great for the group, and it kind of carries on the name, if you will.”
McDonald and Johnston both expressed a little surprise that they're still making music with the folks they worked with in their 20s and are still a draw on the road.
“It’s just fun to visit all these places musically. It’s fun to put that out in front of the crowd live. And to do an album now — I didn’t picture doing this, but I’m all for it,” Johnston says.
FILE - Tom Johnston, from left, Michael McDonald, John McFee and Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers pose for a portrait at Show Biz Studios in Los Angeles on Aug. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - John Cowan, from left, Michael McDonald, Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston, and John McFee of the Doobie Brothers at the Ryman Auditorium on Nov. 18, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al Wagner/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Members of the Doobie Brothers, from left, Tom Johnston, John McFee, Michael McDonald and Pat Simmons pose for a portrait in Los Angeles on Aug. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills fans arrived early and lingered long after the game ended to bid what could be farewell to their long-time home stadium filled with 53 years of memories — and often piles of snow.
After singing along together to The Killers' “Mr. Brightside” in the closing minutes of a 35-8 victory against the New York Jets, most everyone in the crowd of 70,944 remained in their seats to bask in the glow of fireworks as Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World” played over the stadium speakers.
Several players stopped in the end zone to watch a retrospective video, with the Buffalo-based Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” as the soundtrack while fans recorded selfie videos of the celebratory scene. Offensive lineman Alec Anderson even jumped into the crowd to pose for pictures before leaving the field.
With the Bills (12-5), the AFC's 6th seed, opening the playoffs at Jacksonville in the wild-card round next week, there's but a slim chance they'll play at their old home again. Next season, Buffalo is set to move into its new $1.2 billion facility being built across the street.
The farewell game evoked “a lifetime of memories,” said Therese Forton-Barnes, selected the team’s Fan of the Year, before the Bills kicked of their regular-season finale. “In our culture that we know and love, we can bond together from that experience. Our love for this team, our love for this city, have branched from those roots.”
Forton-Barnes, a past president of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, attended Bills games as a child at the old War Memorial Stadium in downtown Buffalo, colloquially known as “The Rockpile.” She has been a season ticket holder since Jim Kelly joined the Bills in 1986 at what was then Rich Stadium, later renamed for the team’s founding owner Ralph Wilson, and then corporate sponsors New Era and Highmark.
“I’ve been to over 350 games,” she said. “Today we’re here to cherish and celebrate the past, present and future. We have so many memories that you can’t erase at Rich Stadium, The Ralph, and now Highmark. Forever we will hold these memories when we move across the street.”
There was a celebratory mood to the day, with fans arriving early. Cars lined Abbott Road some 90 minutes before the stadium lots opened for a game the Bills rested most of their starters, with a brisk wind blowing in off of nearby Lake Erie and with temperatures dipping into the low 20s.
And most were in their seats when Bills owner Terry Pegula thanked fans and stadium workers in a pregame address.
With Buffalo leading 21-0 at halftime, many fans stayed in their seats as Kelly and fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Reed addressed them from the field, and the team played a video message from 100-year-old Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy.
“The fans have been unbelievable,” said Jack Hofstetter, a ticket-taker since the stadium opened in 1973 who was presented with Super Bowl tickets before Sunday’s game by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. “I was a kid making 8 bucks a game back in those days. I got to see all the sports, ushering in the stadium and taking tickets later on. All the memories, it’s been fantastic.”
Bud Light commemorated the stadium finale and Bills fan culture with the release of a special-edition beer brewed with melted snow shoveled out of the stadium earlier this season.
In what has become a winter tradition at the stadium, fans were hired to clear the stands after a lake-effect storm dropped more than a foot of snow on the region this week.
The few remaining shovelers were still present clearing the pathways and end zone stands of snow some five hours before kickoff. The new stadium won’t require as many shovelers, with the field heated and with more than two-thirds of the 60,000-plus seats covered by a curved roof overhang.
Fears of fans rushing the field were abated with large contingent of security personnel and backed by New York State troopers began lining the field during the final 2-minute warning.
Fans stayed in the stands, singing along to the music, with many lingering to take one last glimpse inside the stadium where the scoreboard broadcast one last message:
“Thank You, Bills Mafia.”
AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Fans watch a ceremony after the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White (27) remains on the field to watch a tribute video after the Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y.(AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Fans watch a ceremony after the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Fans celebrate after the Buffalo Bills scored a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Fans celebrate and throw snow in the stands after an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Aga Deters, right, and her husband Fred Deters, walk near Highmark Stadium before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Michael Wygant shoves snow from a tunnel before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Alec Anderson (70) spikes the ball after running back Ty Johnson scored a touchdown against the New York Jets in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
FILE - The existing Highmark Stadium, foreground, frames the construction on the new Highmark Stadium, upper right, which is scheduled to open with the 2026 season, shown before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, Oct. 5, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Salt crew member Jim Earl sprinkles salt in the upper deck before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
