Alex Kilroy announces “New Shade of Blue”
Alex Kilroy has announced a new EP, New Shade of Blue, due October 23. The Transylvania-born guitarist and singer-songwriter has also released the project’s lead single, “Crossroads On My Mind.”
The EP follows Kilroy’s debut album, Break My Chains, which was released in May. While that album incorporated blues rock, Southern influences, gospel, pop and melodic songwriting, New Shade of Blue moves toward a more traditional blues sound.
“Crossroads On My Mind” draws heavily from Kilroy’s own journey from Romania to the United States. The song reflects on his childhood in Transylvania, years spent playing local clubs, difficulties obtaining a visa and the support of his parents as he pursued a career in music.
Kilroy grew up in Bistrița, Romania, in a musical family and initially studied classical piano. His direction changed after his father imported a car from the United States that contained a copy of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Live at Montreux.
Watching Vaughan perform “Texas Flood” made an immediate impression on Kilroy.
“I could feel what he was feeling,” Kilroy recalls. “It clicked. That’s me. That’s what I want to do.”
His father challenged him to learn three Stevie Ray Vaughan songs note-for-note during a single summer before allowing him to leave piano behind and focus on guitar. Kilroy eventually fronted an SRV tribute band that toured Europe and opened for Lucky Peterson at Romania’s Sighișoara Blues Festival while still a teenager.
His father also encouraged him to develop his own musical identity.
“You can’t be the next Stevie Ray Vaughan. He already did that.”
At age 20, Kilroy raised money through wedding gigs and competed on The Voice Romania before earning a scholarship opportunity for Berklee College of Music’s summer program. He later booked his own performance at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago.
Visa complications sent Kilroy back to Romania for several months before he was eventually able to return to the United States. He later settled in Nashville, working gigs and sessions before relocating to Florida and connecting with management partners Clyde Harris and Pat Armstrong.
Those experiences eventually led to Break My Chains, produced with Tres Sasser, mixed by Joe Costa in Nashville and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. The album included its title track as well as Kilroy’s original “Let The Good Times Roll,” featuring Vince Gill.
With New Shade of Blue, Kilroy is putting a greater emphasis on traditional blues phrasing, grooves and guitar playing while drawing from his own experiences.
The project also arrives following the death of Kilroy’s father, Iulian, earlier this year. A guitarist who later moved into artist management, Iulian was one of Kilroy’s earliest musical influences and encouraged his son to respect the blues tradition without simply imitating his heroes.
That influence is reflected throughout the new project, particularly on “Crossroads On My Mind,” which connects Kilroy’s musical roots with his journey from Romania to the United States.
The seven-track EP also includes renditions of Stevie Wonder’s “Living For The City” and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Life By The Drop.” Kilroy recorded the latter on August 27, 2026, in memory of Vaughan’s life and legacy.
New Shade of Blue Track Listing
- Crossroads On My Mind
- New Shade Of Blue
- Sacred Ground
- Sacred Ground (Reprise)
- Make It Stop Raining
- Living For The City
- Life By The Drop
