Happy the Man have released a new single, Fourth Of July: An American Suite, today, June 29, 2026, in advance of the United States’ 250th anniversary.
The large-scale work was composed by Ron Riddle during his years scoring television projects for Discovery Channel and TLC. Its origins trace back to the Houston fireworks spectacle featured in the series Detonators, for which Riddle served as composer.
The piece combines progressive rock, orchestral arrangements, cinematic Americana, and soundtrack-style rhythms. Several sections were originally written with Happy the Man’s musical approach in mind, which led to the current recording with members of the band.
“This project feels strangely inevitable,” Riddle said. “The original piece already carried the DNA of Happy the Man inside it. What’s exciting now is hearing those ideas finally realized by the musicians who inspired that side of the writing in the first place.”
The recording features original Happy the Man members Rick Kennell on bass and Stanley Whitaker on guitar. The tracks were recorded in the musicians’ own studios, then mixed and mastered by Kennell at Innermost Studios.
Two versions of the single are available: a full version with a climactic-building orchestral prelude and a fireworks version.