Amy Irving Takes Willie Nelson's Songs on a 'Thrilling' Genre-Bending Ride for Her New Album Always Will Be (Exclusive)

• Amy Irving will release her second album on April 25
• The record features 10 songs written or made famous by Willie Nelson
• PEOPLE is debuting the music video for "If You Want Me to Love You I Will"

Amy Irving, the Oscar-nominated star of classics like Carrie, Yentl, Crossing Delancey and Traffic, is on a new adventure with her budding music career. Her upcoming second album, Always Will Be, is devoted to songs by her Honeysuckle Rose costar and longtime friend, Willie Nelson. 

The record features 10 songs written or made famous by Nelson, including the title track. Another highlight is “If You Want Me to Love You I Will,” which received a music video PEOPLE is debuting exclusively ahead of the album’s release. Like “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” which Irving also re-recorded, it was featured in Honeysuckle Rose.

However, unlike the country ballad Irving recorded in 1980, the new take on “If You Want Me to Love You I Will” sounds more like a forgotten punk rock hit from the same year. It’s the signature of Always Will Be, which was produced by bandleader Goolis (Jules David Bartkowski), Tom Tierney and Irving’s son and manager Gabriel Barreto, as Irving filters Nelson’s songs through a kaleidoscope of different genres.

“I'm very excited about showing off Jules David Bartkowski's arrangements,” Irving, 71, says in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, calling Bartkowski’s unexpected interpretations “one of the more thrilling” aspects of the album. 

“It's not like a country album at all,” Irving says. “It's got a punk song. It's got Brazilian, it's got French pop. I mean, it just was really fun to explore it all.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Always Will Be” is a tribute to Irving’s late best friend, Judy Nelson, who died after a battle with breast cancer. Even though Irving didn’t know who or what Nelson was writing about when he wrote the song, she still felt an emotional connection to it. That’s the magic of great songs — they might have a personal origin for the songwriter, but there’s a universal feeling behind them.

“I mean, every time you get your heart broken and you put on the radio and there's somebody singing exactly how you're feeling, you know,” Irving told PEOPLE with a laugh. “Or falling in love and somebody knows how to articulate it a lot better than [you].”

Irving and Nelson’s friendship dates back to 1979, when they began filming Honeysuckle Rose. Nelson contributed to Irving’s first album, 2023’s Born in a Trunk, and his voice is again heard on Always Will Be. Nelson, who suggested Irving record an album full of his songs to follow her first album, recorded a guitar solo for “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.” Even though he was recorded in Texas and Irving in New York, their work perfectly fit together.

The album also features Amy Helm on “Always Will Be,” Louis Cato on “Everywhere I Go,” Steve Earle on “I Wish I Didn’t Love You,” Chris Pierce on “I Guess I’ve Come to Live Here” and Lizzie No on “It’s a Dream Come True.”

Although Irving is now focusing on her music career, she’s also looking back fondly on the classic films on her resume. In particular, 1988’s Crossing Delancey has experienced a rebirth, thanks to the romantic comedy’s recent availability on streamers and the Criterion Collection’s 4K Blu-ray release in February. The movie, directed by Joan Micklin Silver, starred Irving as a single New York Jewish woman torn between a womanizing author and a pickle man, played by Peter Riegert. 

Irving told PEOPLE she is “surprised and thrilled” by the film’s resurgence, adding that it has always had a place in her heart. 

“It's given people something wonderful,” Irving said. “Everything from people telling me they found their pickle man to ‘Now I can wear my hair curly all the time because you did and I don't have to straighten my hair anymore.’ “

Always Will Be will be released on Friday, April 25 and the video for “If You Want Me to Love You I Will” can be seen above. Irving will be performing songs from the album at New York City's City Winery on May 4 and at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y. on May 31. Tickets are available at Irving's website.