Pat Metheny Launches New Label With Side-Eye III+, His First Major Studio Album in Six Years

Pat Metheny enters 2026 with a rare kind of double announcement. A new album and a new label.

The twenty-time Grammy-winning guitarist and composer has unveiled Uniquity Music, a new imprint created in partnership with Primary Wave, and will release Side-Eye III+ on February 27. The album marks Metheny’s first major studio release in six years and becomes the inaugural title on his new label, which will also house reissues of his complete catalog from 1984 onward, along with all future releases.

For an artist whose work has often resisted easy categorization, the move feels both strategic and deeply personal. Metheny has long operated on his own terms. Now, he finally has a permanent home for the music itself.

Photo credit: Jimmy Katz

A Long-Held Vision

Metheny has spoken openly about the motivation behind Uniquity. “My dream for years has been to have a place where all of my work, past and future, could live under a single umbrella,” he says. “With the creation of Uniquity Music, that dream has now become a reality.”

That sense of ownership matters. For listeners who have followed Metheny’s arc from Song X forward, the idea that his entire modern catalog will now be curated and preserved under his direct guidance represents a meaningful shift in how this music will live going forward. We hope that translates to some excellent future vinyl reissues and pressings.

The Side-Eye Project Evolves

Side-Eye III+ continues Metheny’s Side-Eye concept, originally designed as a platform for showcasing younger musicians he had encountered on the road. The core trio on the new album remains Metheny, Chris Fishman on keyboards, and Joe Dyson on drums, a group that has toured extensively together.

But once recording began, Metheny realized the material was asking for something larger which is where the “+” comes in.

Fifteen additional musicians were brought into the sessions, expanding the scope of the project well beyond the trio format. Among them are bassist Daryl Johns, harpist Brandee Younger, percussionist Luis Conte, and a vocal ensemble led by Mark Kibble of Take 6. The result is an album that remains grounded in Metheny’s language while significantly broadening its sonic palette.

“There is a relationship to the Gospel tradition,” Metheny says of the vocal work, “but I think most people will hear the kinds of harmonies and melodies that identify it as mine right away.”

First Single and Tour

The album’s first single, “In On It,” is available now. Metheny and the Side-Eye III+ ensemble will follow the album with an extensive worldwide tour throughout 2026, with dates across the U.S., Europe, and the U.K., beginning March 2 in Jackson, Mississippi, and extending through late July.

While the touring group will remain anchored by Metheny, Fishman, and Dyson, the upcoming run will also introduce new collaborators, including bassist Jermaine Paul and percussionist and vocalist Leonard Patton, as Metheny continues to evolve the project in real time.

Why This Matters

It is tempting to frame every new Metheny release as a victory lap. But what makes Side-Eye III+ and Uniquity Music compelling is not legacy. It is momentum.

Metheny describes the new album as “one of the best records I have ever made,” and there is no sense that he is retreating into retrospection. Instead, the launch of Uniquity suggests an artist consolidating decades of work in order to move forward with greater clarity, control, and purpose.