Variety published an interview with Irving where she discussed how she chose the songs on her forthcoming album, her longtime friendship with Willie Nelson, and her relationship with music and acting.

“Judy Nelson was a great love in my life,” says Irving while reflecting on the new song that’s dedicated to her late best friend. “A blessed friendship, I miss her every day. I sing this song for her, and I know she’s dancing. Amy Helm brought so much to the party! She has such a rich soulful voice – it’s like we added a whole choir!”

The origin story of Always Will Be begins with Irving and Nelson’s decades-long friendship, which spans back to when they first met on the set of the 1980 film Honeysuckle Rose. After dueting on a reimagining of his song “I’m Waiting Forever” for her 2023 debut Born In A Trunk, Nelson reached out to his longtime friend with a proposition: Why not record another album, one entirely of his own work?

“I knew she’d probably do a lot of my songs and I knew they’d be good. You know, I’m just an old hustler.” – Willie Nelson

Irving took him up on the offer, collaborating again with bandleader Goolis (Jules David Bartkowski) to pare down a list of 50 options from the songwriter’s oeuvre to these 10 genre-defying tracks. The end result is an incredibly heartfelt album, one that is ultimately rooted in love and friendship. “I’m a romantic person,” Irving says. “I’ve always been a romantic, and I thought the songs had a trajectory—of the first meeting to the end—through relationships. I just think the way people touch each other and connect, especially after we’ve gone through such a disconnect, touching each other’s hearts is very important.”

All corners of Irving’s life find themselves represented over the arc of Always Will Be: “My dog’s a part of it. My best friend, Judy, is a part of it. Willie, of course, is a part. My husband, of course, is part of it. That’s why I chose the songs that I did and why I did it.”

Over Irving’s prolific near-lifelong career, she has been heralded as a “revelation” by Time, while Variety dubbed her “a gifted stage actress of uncompromising integrity.” She first came to prominence with early screen roles in Brian DePalma’s Carrie and The Fury, and stage performances of Romeo and Juliet with the Los Angeles Free Shakespeare Society and Broadway’s Amadeus. Nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Yentl, Irving has captivated audiences with beloved starring roles in films like Crossing Delancey, The Competition and Micki and Maude.

Now in this latest chapter, Irving has created an arresting body of work that couples her gift for dynamic storytelling with her talent for bringing unexpected and inspiring interpretations to the works of others with great nuance and depth. Shifting into music, the playground may look slightly different, but the creative impulse, and deep dedication to craft, remains. “I’m finding something new,” Irving says. “And, boy, there’s nothing that makes you feel more alive.”

1. It’s a Dream Come True (feat. Lizzie No)
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2. Yesterday’s Wine (feat. Goolis)
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3. I Guess I’ve Come to Live Here In Your Eyes (feat. Chris Pierce)
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4. I’d Have To Be Crazy
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5. If You Want Me to Love You I Will
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6. I Wish I Didn’t Love You So (feat. Steve Earle)
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7. Getting Over You (feat. Goolis)
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8. Everywhere I Go (feat. Louis Cato)
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9. Always Will Be (feat. Amy Helm)
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10. Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground (feat. Willie Nelson)
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