Accompanying Spotify Playlist ——–> HERE

SONGS

Courtney Patton – Electrostatic

Songs about grief are tricky.  They can be maudlin or morbid and just downright sad. But, when done right, these types of songs can be emotionally charged, powerful and revealing.  Courtney Patton’s “Electrostatic” traces her living through her sister’s death and reaching through the ether to feel her presence.  It’s raw, real, melancholy and surprisingly hopeful all at once.  Patton’s live vocal take aches and cracks in just the right spots

Mason Lively – Love Ain’t Done a Damn Thing

Lively turns a phrase on its ear and comes up with a fresh way to share a sentiment that has been sung about in country music for over 100 years. Love hurts sometimes, but it’s never sounded this good when it’s painful.  That acoustic guitar and harmonica riff will haunt you in a good way for days.

Bri Bagwell – Trenches

Perhaps Bagwell’s most personal song to date.  An honest look at the hills and valleys of making a relationship work despite all odds, including a worldwide pandemic.  She pairs the heartworn lyrics with a bouncy melody that will get this ode to hard won love stuck in your head.

The Great Divide – Good Side

Mike McClure has always had a knack for writing about the human condition through his own lens.  This is another pandemic survival song about coming out on the good side of things. Not since when Jason Isbell proclaimed “last year was a SOB” has surviving a s-storm sounded so uplifting.

Randy Rogers Band – Fast Car

In a career of strong songs about relationships, hook-ups, kiss-offs and barrooms, “Fast Car” slides into the top echelon of the RRB canon  This one is not from his own pen, but Rogers and his bandmates pour their entire heart and soul into the whiskey soaked melody.

John Dempsy – Whiskey Rocks and Grenadine

Dempsy is perhaps the most underrated musician in Texas.  An incredibly thoughtful songwriter, a virtuoso musician and a heart on his sleeve performer, Dempsey pours all that into this love song.  This is the ear wormiest song of the year and if it were to be cut by one of the Parker McCollum’s of the world it would be blasting out of radios nationwide.  If I was a large scale artist looking for my next hit, I’d stop the search here.

Wade Bowen – Everything Has Your Memory

Bowen just seems to get better with each successive release.  He’s always been a melder of melody and lyrics in equal measure with mixing country and rock influences.  This song encapsulates all that and drives it home with a piercing vocal performance that showcases Bowen’s chops.

Adam Hood – The Harder Stuff

Getting sober and having young kids at middle age after having already lived several lifetimes can be quite the adjustment for anyone.  If you make your living singing in honky-tonks and bars, that adjustment is not for the faint of heart.  Luckily. Adam Hood has discovered an artistic renaissance to coincide with his personal boosts.  The twanging tele, the telling words, the subdued Miranda Lambert backing vocals all lead credence to Hood’s message here.

Drew Kennedy – So Far To Go

Kennedy has been closing his sets with this song for the last couple years, but it finally gets the recorded treatment here.  Living life as a troubadour is exciting, but it can also be a draining beating involving lots of miles and time lost at home.  Kennedy recounts his journey in this song and frames in it in the notion of human’s chase for belonging.  He brings it all home with an emotional vocal performance where the tears come right through from his vocal cords to your speakers.

JD Clayton – Beauty Queen

Clayton burst into the Texas scene from Arkansas on the strength of bouncing country-rockers like this one that’s an ode to a girl sweeter than Nana’s chocolate pie. What could sound hokey in the wrong hands comes out of the speakers with an unshakable groove.

Ian Noe – River Fool

Noe has drawn comparisons to John Prine for years and with good reason.  Like so many others who have had to live up to that mantle, Noe just seems to shrug it off and keep singing spirited Appalachian tales filled with clever, descriptive lyrics and a wry vocal delivery.

Shaker Hymns – Thrift Store Chair

A song that namechecks John Prine and was written by 90’s alt rock legend Art Alexakis for his band Everclear may not scream Texas Country hit single, but in the able hands of Nyles Robacewicz and the Shaker Hymns guys, it reaches its full potential and is one of the rare covers that is better than the original.

Other notable favorite songs from the past 12 months:
Dalton Domino – Wannabe,  Jacob Stelly/Slade Coulter – Burnout, Tanner Usrey – Take Me Home, Mayeux & Broussard – Lowdown Shake, Lyle Lovett – 12th of June, American Aquarium – Chicamacomico, Bobby Duncan – Down on the Avenue

ALBUMS

49 Winchester – Fortune Favors the Bold

These Virginia lads announced their national presence in 2022 on the strength of this magnificent album that features frontman Isaac Gibson’s take on country music.  It’s all here folks.  The good times, the heartaches, the triumphs and struggles.  Each song builds on the last and the whole thing paints a picture.  You’re riding shotgun through Gibson’s psyche.  At home, on the road, on stage, in a bar.  Pictures are painted.  

Courtney Patton – Electrostatic

Nothing short of an artistic triumph.  Patton headed into the studio with a crack team of musicians, a notebook full of fully developed songs and the masterful touch of Gordy Quist (Band of Heathens) calling the shots from the producer’s chair.  Patton had yet to deliver a recorded product that matched her bombastic personality or sincere live show.  That is no longer the case.  Electrostatic is a masterpiece.

The Wilder Blue – self-titled

Super groups tend to not work.  The Wilder Blue are working.  After a halting false start with the generic name Hill Country, this Zane Williams fronted group returns with an impressive cast of songs. Williams and Paul Eason lead with pen and voice, but this is an entire group effort that distills harmonies, melodies, lyrics and overall musicality into a pleasant listen that makes you keep pressing repeat.

Drew Kennedy  – Marathon

Marathon is a rumination on life, love and the human experience through the lens of west Texas. Kennedy has always been at his best when telling stories, and the minimalist adobe house recordings rendered here find him accentuating those strengths to an expert level.

John Fullbright – The Liar

John Fullbright is a musical genius and it’s sometimes hard to capture that on a record.  The Liar comes pretty close to doing so.  Fulbright’s calling card has always been evocative and engaging songwriting that he pairs with the perfectly placed instrumentation to get his point across.  This group of songs is no different.

Bri Bagwell  – Corazón y Cabeza

Bagwell is one of the hardest working artists in Texas, or anywhere for that matter.  Titling her latest album the heart and the head, but in Spanish is a proper encapsulation of this New Mexican firecracker and all the slices of her musical personality.  She writes songs from both perspectives and delivers them with a passionate intensity that makes you believe whatever she’s selling.

Whiskey Myers – Tornillo

The east Texas southern rock stalwarts returned with a self-produced album that pushes them in new sonic directions.  Horns joined the party this time and it sounds like an unearthed gem from 1977.

Randy Rogers Band – Homecoming

The RRB got the band back together in a literal sense by bringing Radney Foster back into the producer’s chair.  A back to basics approach is found in the songs, the performance and the title.  RRB came home, but they were never really lost.  Stack this one in the ranks of Randy Rogers Band albums and put it near the top.  The consistent hit makers and headliners keep it rolling.

Kaitlin Butts – What Else Can She Do

Sonically somewhere between Kacey Musgraves, Billie Eilish and outer space, yet lyrically firmly entrenched in Oklahoma, Texas and reality, Butts displays strong artistic growth, conviction and direction. She’s managed to create a movement and a brand from the strength of well-crafted and supremely produced songs.

The Great Divide – Providence 

The Great Divide returned to the fold and picked up like they’d never left.  McClure sings it.  JJ plays it.  The groove and feel are all there.  The songs mean something.  The Red Dirt engineers came back and sat atop the throne they built all those years ago like it was home.

Adam Hood – Bad Days Better

Hood found some inner peace while creating this album and it’s evident in the output.  He sounds more confident and smooth.  Those are two qualities he’s always exemplified on record, but they’re truly at the forefront of this effort.  

Wade Bowen – Somewhere Between the Secret and the Truth

Wade Bowen is a content machine.  He’s always on the road, writing, producing, seeking, guesting, gigging.  His amiable personality and gift for song are found in spades with this album.  Anytime an artist can get Vince Gill to provide a guest vocal to their project and it’s just one of the many cool things on the album and not the sole highlight, you know it’s a landmark.

ARTISTS

49 Winchester

These guys just exploded this year.  National TV, Red Rocks, venues packed from coast to coast, growing fanbase.  They’ve risen to the challenges their strong songs have caused for them.

American Aquarium

BJ Barham and company dropped another banger of a record and then toured it like the pro he is.  Then, he proceeded to showcase why he’s one of the best advocates for songs, the arts and artists anywhere through his tireless promotion of others and his battles against venue merch pirates.  Plus, he remains one of the best social media follows anywhere.  

Flatland Cavalry

2022 found the Cleto Cordero crew rising in stature and status.  They joined major arena tours, sold out just about every show they booked, released an album and developed one of the most entertaining live shows around.

Bri Bagwell

Bagwell never stops working. She tours relentlessly, slings the merch, backs the trailer, performs like a superstar and just happened to release the best album of her career while juggling it all.

Courtney Patton

2022 is the year of CP.  Her artistic potential has been fully realized with the release of Electrostatic and its accompanying tour dates  Her Supper Club shows have become true events and she continues to set the example for what it means to balance career and life.  

Adam Hood

Hood drips with southern soul.  He’s always been able to take the best elements of soul, country, rock and blues and make it something entirely his own Alabama groove.  This year was one of his most triumphant.

Kaitlin Butts

Kaitlin Butts carved out her own niche on the backs of some well-earned songs.  She went through hell to write these songs and she knows how to expertly deliver them.  She has become a brand unto herself by mixing Marfa mysticism with California sizzle…all wrapped up with an Oklahoma bow that is delivered from Tennessee.  It’s an intoxication combination of wit, humor, emotion and personality.

Drew Kennedy

The songwriter’s songwriter, Kennedy has long pulled from the well of west Texas and cranked out some of the most literate, thoughtful songs of the past 15 years.  2022 found him running festivals, side projects and delivering another masterful opus to Texas and life.

Wade Bowen

Wade Bowen is like the fun uncle of the Texas scene.  He’s everyone’s best friend, first call for a good time.  He’s also a rising tide that lifts other boats.  He showcases new talent and old friends.  Whether he’s collaborating with Randy Rogers, playing the Opry solo or headlining a dancehall with his band, Bowen is at the top of the game right now.

Tanner Usrey

Usrey jumped up several rungs in 2022.  His streams increased exponentially alongside his fanbase.  His gigs have become must see events that are often hard to find a ticket to.  Usrey has a unique take on music and adeptly uses collaborators such as Graycie York to say what others can’t.

DISCOVERIES

Ellis Bullard

We didn’t latch onto this dude before Joe Rogan, but after seeing him open for The Damn Quails one night we became believers.  We initially described it as Sturgll meets Moonpies, and that’s still the best way to say it.  It’s never apparent whether this is a Midland style bit or the real deal. Either way it’s entertaining as all get out and worthy of your time. Check this cat out.

Red Clay Strays

These Bama boys blew up after Mile 0 22 despite debuting at the fest alongside fellow scene stealer 49 Winchester.  This band delivers plenty of soul infused in their country and have a dynamic live show that is buzzed about across the south.

Hayden Baker

This guitar slinger from the Houston area has obviously spent time in the woodshed getting those tele chops up to snuff, but he has other tricks up his sleeve too.

Graycie York

Miss York made this list last year, so she’s not completely new to us; but coming off two knockout River Jam performances, millions of streams and some killer bookings leading into 2023 she’s a name you should all be aware of.

Sun Valley Station

Energy. That’s the first word that comes to mind about these cats. Just straight up hill country musical heathens with a sound all their own and the live show to match.

LIVE ACTS

Paul Cauthen

Cauthen’s Big Velvet bravado is only rivaled by the hip hop artists of the day for swag. He takes his Caddy pimp daddy persona to new heights onstage and blazes through his catalog in a way that makes you groove all night long. 

John Dempsy

Honey dripping rock n’ roll.  There’s not a performer around that brings more intensity and passion to the stage than John Dempsy.  If you don’t feel it, he will make you feel it.

Shaker Hymns

You never quite know which direction a Shaker Hymns show will go at any given moment.  Originals, covers, guitar solos, drunken rowdiness, somber remembrances.  It’s all happening at a Shaker show.  It’s loud and live and in your face.  And you’re guaranteed to boogie.

Shane Smith & the Saints

Epic harmonies.  Epic songs.  Epic as in grand, monumental, legendary.  

Jade Marie Patek

Patek started playing band shows for the first time in 2022 and proved why she belongs at the A-list table.  Her strong, malleable voice lends itself to fronting a band and her joyous personality onstage leads you to wanting more.

Adam Hood

Hood has always employed the Chuck Berry live routine to a degree.  You never know if he’s going to have a bass player, a drummer, a keys player, all 3, playing solo, special guests or a backup singer…but you always know it’s going to be memorable and really good.

Drew Cooper

The big Arizona teddy bear with the gruff singing voice and the musical chops to make you pay attention continues to ingratiate himself to audiences beyond his home base on the strength of his live performances.

Flatland Cavalry

Flatland has gone from a band that merely plays Cleto’s songs to a cohesive unit that is putting on a show.  From the dueling guitar/fiddle bits to just having a damn good time together onstage, the Cavalry is running on all cylinders at the moment. 

Wade Bowen

Bowen’s band has gone through some changes in 2022, but alongside longtime bassist Caleb Jones, they just keep delivering night after night.  They are effortless at transitioning from an original to a cover they’ve never played before to backing everyone in a jam.

Austin Meade

As apt to be found on a metal festival bill as a Texas Country one, Meade has carved out a niche for himself by being uniquely original. His live show is unlike any other.

But, this August through October stretch has been particularly heavy-hitting.  New albums from scene heavy weights Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers Band, Adam Hood and Pat Green; new songs from area packers such as Koe Wetzel, Giovannie and the Hired Guns and Shane Smith & the Saints; career defining albums from ladies such as Courtney Patton and Bri Bagwell; ear grabbing singles dropping from new artists such as Jacob Stelly, Kat Hasty, Ellis Bullard and Shaker Hymns. It really kicked into gear around the time Drew Kennedy and 49 Winchester released their most recent collections into the world, and has never really looked back.

The firehose of information that comes at us all on a modern daily basis can be overwhelming.  Nowhere is that more apparent than in the music world.  Artists are constantly releasing content on all sorts of platforms in both official and unofficial capacities.  TikTok covers, Instagram reels, YouTube exclusives, mixtapes, digital releases, vinyl only.  You get it all.  It’s hard to know where to dive in.  

That’s where we try to come in. We try to gatekeep and audit the bad stuff out and showcase only the finest quality stuff.  We miss stuff from time to time, but our batting average is pretty dang good. Our The Drop playlist has become a sought after exposure model for artists looking to get their new products in the ears of the right kind of fans.  The fans that will drive 5 hours (or longer) one way to see their show…and then buy merch while they are there. The ones who become lifelong fans.  The core.

Our core is strong.  Being a music fan is something I’m thankful for.  Being a part of the Texas Music community at large for nearly 25 years, and the Galleywinter community in particular for 20 years is something I’m extremely proud of and grateful for.  It’s a calling, a passion and a mission.  And in fruitful times like we are in currently, it’s just so much fun.  

New music keeps blasting our way.  I won’t lie, over the past 20 years, there have been a few drought years where maybe only 2-3 great albums come out.  This year that is not the case.  Next month as we begin to prepare our year end favorites lists, it’s going to be difficult to cut some of this down.  It’s been that good.  I’m hopeful this streak continues into 2023.  And I’m thankful for the problem of having too much good music.

MINOR CHORDS:

-I loathe everything about Philadelphia sports.  But, as a Rangers fan, give me the Phillies over the Astros.  I just can’t do it.  Do it for Drew Kennedy!

-We’re just about ready to drop our River Jam 2023 details!

-Speaking of good times, it’s almost time to descend up on Key West once more.  Take me there now.

-In one week, the political commercials will cease.

-Over on The Ticket, they are currently in the midst of a game-picking bet where the loser has to ride a Greyhound from Dallas to Phoenix for the Super Bowl.  What’s the worst bet pay-off you have ever seen or heard of?

–This month’s recommended album: The Great Divide – Providence.  As if the noted 2022 releases above weren’t enough, the year has gifted us the first Great Divide album in 20 years.  Mike McClure, JJ Lester and the gang return in peak condition.  It’s as if they never left.  They sound the same sonically; and their always wisdom soaked lyrics now reek of lived in experience.  Take the subject matter out and this record sounds like it was cut in 1998.  That’s a sincere compliment.

-”Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.” – Mark Twain

Courtney Patton is a force of personality.  She makes you feel whatever she is feeling.  Most of the time that is a jovial, life of the party hubris that makes everyone happier than before they saw, heard or listened to her.  Patton also knows how to lean into the sad stuff too.  When you combine this duality with her ability to sing circles around most, you discover what truly makes her a special songwriter and performer.

Patton’s one of those artists that has never quite captured her best self on her studio recordings. Her previous efforts have been solid collections with good songs included, but they just kind of miss hitting that home run level. Electrostatic puts an end to that.  Produced by Band of Heathen Gordy Quist and supported by a cavalcade of A-list musicians, the songs on this album find Patton treading that powerful, soulful, rock-infused folk-country land populated by acts such as Linda Ronstadt, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Nicks.  The unique thing being that Patton infuses each lyric with personal joy, grief, pain, elation and wonder. She wrote them with emotional power and sings them even more powerfully.

Patton’s always known how to give you a ballad and make you believe it.  On this record, she dusts off the other sides of her repertoire. Lead track, “Hold Fast” is the best synopsis of the past two-three years of all of our lives. 

This past year tried to kill us all, a makeshift boat beats a waterfall…

and it turned the tide back on itself and dusted off demons 

on a basement shelf and made them shine…

with all this introspection, we’re forced to face our own reflection

we survived the strain

“Never On the Hurting End” picks up the torch from there and brings the heat.  This is a kiss-off song that male artists produce regularly, but it is striking and cool to hear one from someone like Patton.  “Do You Feel Love” kicks up the jams and tempo even further and harkens back to the best Harold Shedd produced Judds tracks from the late 80’s. “So Flies the Crow” finds Patton leaning into her love of yacht rock, without the cheese.  The vibe is all there and so is the performance. 

The title track is one of the best pieces of music about grief that I’ve ever heard.  Be it about Patton’s sister she lost or her friend Kylie Rae Harris or someone near to you, the words in this song transport you to a heavy space.  The performance and production are tender, measured and aware of the energy involved. Patton weaves in imagery from nature and if you are not moved by this song reaching the first refrain, the tears will likely flow involuntarily. At least they did for me.  This is trauma reconciliation set to music. 

Not created or destroyed

I never felt you leave this place

Though I long to see your face one more time

What would once more grant me

But an endless case of wanting 

For a ladder to your cloud so I could climb

Courtney Patton is communicative, emotive and honest.  Her heart stays on her sleeve in all weather and for the first time the recording studio hasn’t put the umbrella over that heart when it was raining or lent shade when it was sunny.  This record is all heart, all Courtney Patton and all incredible.

I received some troubling news recently regarding the health of a close family member.  After the cursory and mandatory calls and texts had been made, I turned to the music.  I alway have.  Through every triumph, struggle, setback, comeback and mundane moment, the music has never left.  The bond with certain artists and songs has only grown stronger. I buried my grandpa to the sounds of Cory Morrow.  I eulogized my dad with Adam Hood.  My kids were born to the sounds of the Beatles. I’ve yet to meet an open stretch of wide open highway without the Allman Brothers.  Pantera and Master P take me back to the Friday night lights of my youth. I can’t hear Pat Green without being transported to college. Dawes is a like a warm, fuzzy blanket I clung to during the most trying time in my life. Dwight Yoakum buckles me in to the front seat of my grandma’s maroon Cadillac.  Josh Weathers will always be synonymous with my beautiful wife and our wedding. 

New music is still the most intoxicating part of this life.  It drives this website, scene and community. But, it’s the old stuff that serves you best and shows up when you need it most. 

Old songs are like old friends, always there when you need them.

When that bad news washed over me the other day, something sent me straight into the musical arms of Tom Petty.  “Wildflowers” right into “Room at the Top”.  Through tears, I was soothed.  The Heartbreakers had eased my heartache, or at least made sense of it.  And that’s what music does better than any other medium. There’s a three minute therapy session at the ready on the other side of pushing play.  

I have a playlist I created during a dark time that I titled “Rain”.  It started off on a rainy day when I was trying to fit all the non-Gary Allan songs about rain that I could think of onto this list.  Soon, it became a catch-all for sad, soothing songs.  The type that break your heart again and again, or for those of us that have a self-loathing bone maybe transport you to a hurtful time or memory.  There’s power in these songs for me.  Anytime I’m down or processing something difficult, I turn to this playlist.  I haven’t updated it in probably five years or more, but it’s stayed the same.  It’s reliable.  Comforting.  

Sad songs make me happy.  And they help life make sense.  Elton John was right, they really do say so much.

MINOR CHORDS:

-It’s finally football season and almost officially fall, but it was 100 degrees today.  Unbelievable.

-I tried to avoid House of Dragon, but they’ve pulled me back in.  Ugh.

-Cobra Kai.  Man, what a ride that show is.  Cheesy and like a bad CW teen drama but with karate.  Nostalgia is a mystifying mistress though and I’m along for the ride.  I also like to pretend the Jaden Smith film didn’t happen.

-Few things are as fun as the small town, smoke filled bingo hall.  Always transported back to the 80s and 90s.  And oftentimes, the beer prices match.

-Ran the gauntlet of Choctaw to Rangers to Cowboys the other day.  Don’t recommend.

-We have a Galleywinter TikTok.  Still trying to figure out what exactly we want to do with it.  Any of you out there interested in cranking content on any of our avenues, hit me up.

-This month’s recommended album is:  Adam Hood – Bad Days Better.  It’s a supreme effort that showcases Hood at the best he’s ever sounded on a studio project.  He’s comfortable in his skin and it has a resolute, joyful undertone that permeates each lyric and melody.  

-Also–shoutout to Koe Wetzel for his Hell Paso and Courtney Patton on her new record which will be receiving a full review in these pages very soon.

-”Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.” – Mark Twain

Bri Bagwell has carried the torch as the preeminent female Texas Music performer for the last decade.  If there’s a festival bill, you can bet she’s on it.  Far too often she has been the only female on those bills.  Undeterred, Bagwell has always taken advantage of her opportunities.  She and her Banned have won over fans from across Texas, Oklahoma, the country and even Europe.  Bagwell has been featured on TV shows and Texas radios for a decade.  She’s proven to be fearless, driven, humorous, relatable and multi-faceted.  Her career has been built on the strength of her live show and her writing and records, while solid, have never exactly matched the intensity and quality of the live product.  Bagwell has been open about this and has challenged herself to create songs that connect with people.  The way she’s done that is by writing the most personal, vulnerable, open and honest songs of her career.

With the release of Corazon y Cabeza, Bagwell is staking her songwriting claim.  Bagwell has been a prolific songwriter the past few years and had dozens of songs to whittle down to 11 tracks with producer Rachel Loy (William Clark Green, Adam Hood). Lead track “Trenches” is a testament to fighting through the hard times with your significant other.  Sure, you’re there for me when times are good…but where are you when times are tough?  If you’re the right one, you’re right next to me in the ditch.  “‘Til I Can Let Go Of You”, is the type of getting over someone song that used to be common on 90’s country radio.  It evokes the best work of artists such as Lorrie Morgan, Patty Loveless and Pam Tillis.  It’s good to hear Bagwell bringing that type of adult, serious life content back to the fold. 

The serious stuff is balanced out by the upbeat rapid fire lyrics of lead single “Free Man” and “Table Manners”. Not to mention the clever lyric play on words in “Cowboy Cold” that will make you press repeat. Those songs will make for good pieces of the standard energy in a Bri Bagwell live show.  Yet, throughout the album, it’s the understated and pressing content in songs like “Happy New Year” that reveal the guard-down, openness that Bagwell took into these songs and this project. Album closer “Old Together” is a fresh spin on lyrical territory that has been tackled many times before.  Think of it as a female’s answer to Jason Isbell’s “If We Were Vampires”.

Bri Bagwell has worked hard to get to this point of her career.  And this album is a showcase of what music does best when it is personal and from the heart.  If there’s any musical justice, this album will grow Bagwell’s audience and find all the ears, hearts and souls that really need to hear what she has to say.  Because, it’s likely something you’ve felt before or wanted to say.  The heart and the head indeed.

Six albums into a career can pigeonhole an artist.  Throw in a few live offerings and you think you have a pretty good understanding of what a songwriter is and is trying to convey with their music.  Wade Bowen is no different.  He’s a brand unto himself.  Solid.  Heartworn. Country.  With a rocking live show.  It’s been that way going back to his West 84 roots.  He’s always taken the stone cold country overarching approach in the studio and married his Zeppelin meets Keen live show to go along with it. I believe it was my The Co-Write podcast cohorts who made the analogy that Wade is like the really dependable leadoff hitter on a baseball team.  He’s not going to go Babe Ruth on you, but he’s going to consistently get on base, steal bases and score runs.  In other words, “Saturday Night” hit #39 on the chart back in 2011 and is a song that Wade will play for the rest of his life.  Meanwhile, many of the songs that landed ahead of it that week on the charts have been forgotten to history.  It’s not always the flashiest, but it stays with you the longest.  What Wade Bowen does matters.

That’s because Wade Bowen has built a career to last.  Its foundation is his impeccable songwriting and emotive singing voice that just keeps getting stronger year to year after some vocal cord issues a few years back.  Bowen has seen the highs of the music industry and sunk to some lows.  He’s seen it all and dealt with it and come out sharper. When it came time to head back into a post-Covid studio, he trusted that he and he alone was the only one that could deliver the results he wanted with this latest record.  He’s worked with a cadre of powerhouse producers over the years including Lloyd Maines on the Hold My Beer records, and Keith Gattis on his last studio project, so he knew the sound and vibe he was looking for.  Bowen took the lessons of the past twenty years and took them to the producer’s chair. It was a musical truth staring him in the face amid the secrets of the industry. He unlocked his truth and steered his own vision.

Bowen had a wealth of songs to choose from for this album and had a hand in writing or co-writing them alongside some of the heaviest hitters in the industry.  Co-writers include Lori McKenna, Drew Kennedy, Eric Paslay, Heather Morgan and Randy Montana.  Bowen took those songs, assembled an A-team of studio musicians and set about making a country music statement.  The incomparable Vince Gill even turns up on backing vocals and guitar.  The title of the album is Somewhere Between the Secret and the Truth, but there is no secret and all truth in the heart of these songs.

This collection follows 2021’s superb EP Where Phones Don’t Work and continues with the same vibe, structure and sound.  These are songs about real life. The triumphs, the struggles and the in between times that make up most of all of it.  Lead single “Everything Has Your Memory” is a classic Wade Bowen song from lyric structure to the melody and guitar riff.  It fits seamlessly into his setlists and feels like the type of song you’ve already heard for years.

It’s classic country about not being able to outrun an ex’s memory in a small town, and it’s pulled off in an expert manner.   “The Secret To This Town” is another smalltown anthem that we don’t get enough of anymore.  It’s a character study of the American heartland that would feel trite in less capable hands, but Bowen paints the picture so well you feel like it’s happening right in front of you.

The big tentpole of the album is the Gill collaboration on “A Guitar, A Singer, and a Song”.  It’s a McKenna co-write that is simply about what the title of the song says.  It’s the tale of all the songwriters you love that toil up and down the highway with busted strings and a little bit of money because they’re chasing and believe in the power of the song. The pace picks up on “She’s Driving Me Crazy” and “Say Goodbye” who are 4/4 blasts of Petty-esque emotional country-tinged rock n’ roll.

This is the album that if somebody knew nothing about Wade Bowen, it could be played and it would explain it all.  The influences, the sounds, the heart, the power, the appeal…the songwriter. It’s all there.  It took 20 years and him taking the production reigns himself, but Bowen has delivered his opus. 

From their forthcoming new album The Highway and The Boulevard, produced by Josh Serrato (William Clark Green), check out the new single from Shaker Hymns titled ”Weight of the World”. Principal songwriter, guitarist and singer Nyles Robakiewicz presents a raw, intense blast of guitar riffs and melodies layered with an impressive range of vocals distilling lyrics that are fueled with post Covid angst. The sonics are somewhere between Aerosmith and Whiskey Myers, and supremely Texan.

Relationships are the bedrock foundation of anything. And that is most definitely the key with regard to Galleywinter. So, let me tell you a little story or two.

Way back in the day, in the very early internet era, some friends and I were crowded around my bulky PC connected to the net via dial-up. We were seeking information on this new guy we were hearing about from our friends in Dallas named Bleu Edmondson. He was blowing their minds. Well, while we were online we decided to see what Pat Green was up to and plan our next roadtrip adventure to see him play. If I recall correctly, we were using Lycos or Yahoo and the Pat Green search led us to this rudimentary website (they all were back then) titled Tore Up From the Floor Up. Very quickly I realized that the person running this website was some sort of Pat Green pied piper. He called himself Hogleg. Essentially, he was posting a Jack Kerouac-esque road diary of his trips around Texas supporting Pat Green. There were a cast of characters with nicknames like Woodrow and Tank. There were photos of Hogleg onstage with Pat. Who is this guy we thought? The comments section of the Tore Up site was filled with people checking in from across the state of Texas and beyond. Making plans to meet up. I commented too.

Before too long, and inspired by the burgeoning online community building around him, Pat Green and Greg Henry added a forum section to the official PG website. That’s when things exploded. Chad Raney launched LoneStarMusic, some competitors launched Texas Music Express and now not only could you talk about the music you love, you could order the cd’s and merch and have it delivered to your door. Heady stuff for the year 2000. In every corner of the online Texas Music community you would find this Hogleg character. I’d come to learn his name was Jon Paul Long and that folks also called him JP. He was building websites for various acts. Designing logos. And all the while organizing the dopest parties and gatherings at shows from Amarillo to Corpus. Dozens of people were meeting up based on some message board comments. Again, heady stuff for the year 2000.

And that’s how things continued until August 2002. People chatted in the Pat Green forums about anything. Music mainly. But also, sports, politics, jokes, movies, life. Earlier that summer, Pat obtained some new management and they saw dollar signs in the forum community. They wanted to charge money for people to have access to chat. In what would be an ongoing theme of bad business but good karma, JP called bullshit and refused to participate. He teamed up with the aforementioned Ryan “Tank” Hargrave and a new partner Brian “Doc” Monnone and they decided to open a competing, free community. Pat’s new official one would be called The Dancehall. JP christened his new community Galleywinter. Thus, a movement and lifestyle that has lasted over 20 years was born.

The Dancehall died. Galleywinter is still here. There’s a reason for that.

It was about the relationships. JP couldn’t betray those who followed him. He felt like charging people for conversations was wrong. The Galleywinter community boomed. From 2003-2006, the site was logging thousands of visits per day. Marriages, children, divorces, band formations, band break-ups, venue openings, venue closings. It was all chronicled in the forums of the website. Throughout this time, I was a steady contributor. I had a desk job and would often complete my workload in just over an hour and have seven more to kill. I’d surf off to Galleywinter and chat the day away. Sharing opinions on music from Texas and beyond, I was quickly (rightfully or wrongfully) recognized as some sort of expert with an ear to the ground for new talent like Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen and Stoney LaRue while maintaining an appreciation for the old guard like Rusty Wier, Jerry Jeff and Ray Wylie.

The online neighborhood was begging to have a meet up. So, one was scheduled at George’s. The year was 2002. Django Walker played on the patio. Pat Green bought the bar a round. The host was Hogleg. They called it Greenfest and decided to make it an annual gathering point for likeminded music fans that chatted online all the time to interact in person. A forebearer to the modern TweetUps, Facebook group meet-ups and reunions of all kinds.

The web community continued to evolve. JP’s personal relationships shifted and he became less and less engaged and motivated to participate in his creation. I tried to fill the void. And while I could generate and crank tons of content, I could never create and generate the vibe quite like Hogleg. Nobody could. This man built relationships built off passion for music. He helped launch careers, families, venues, festivals. He’d demure and say he didn’t do any of that. But, he did. I was there and saw it. Many of you reading this were too.

Soon enough the rise of social media crushed the vitality of the message board forums around here as conversations moved to MySpace and then Facebook, Twitter and Instagram where they remain. We recently launched a Galleywinter TikTok. The mediums change, the vision doesn’t.

The years have traveled down the road as they do and the relationships have changed. An early rallying cry adopted from a Pat Green lyric was “I’m still here!” And the fact remains that Galleywinter is still here. Greenfest to River Jam. Pat Green to Parker McCollum. We’ve seen it all. We’ve had front row seats to the past 20+ years of greater Texas Music. It’s been fun. And we’re not done.

The other thing that is still here is Jon Paul “Hogleg” Long.

Relationships helped us build the Galleywinter brand. For the fans by the fans. That was JP’s creed. And it has never left. Community among fans. Harmony with the bands. Partnerships with festivals and venues. It’s all built on the fan to fan ethos. We could have and should have sold out a long time ago, but never did. At some point, the grind of it all ate JP up. And the Frankenstein he created swallowed him. He had to step away from music for several years. And with good reason. The music biz is a terrible place most of the time. And Hogleg’s been involved at every angle of it.

Relationships eventually brought him back though. Some friends of his started a band and needed some help with it. They knew who to call. Sun Valley Station is a band on the rise as Hogleg uses the knowledge and relationships of the past 20 years to guide them in the direction. He knows what fans want. Still. And when we began to plan River Jam 2022 and I found out that Hogleg was back in the game, there was no question on who one of our bands would be. Relationships. Hogleg took a dedicated music snob fan and handed him the keys to this magnificent community 18 years ago. I’m still here. You are too. So is the music. And luckily, so is Jon Paul “Hogleg” Long.

Come see us this weekend at one, two or all three of the River Jam shows. This all spawned from an idea that JP had over twenty years ago. An event tucked on the patio of a Waco bar. It’s all about relationships after all.

Sun Valley Station/Shaker Hymns at Billy’s Ice – Sat July 9
TICKETS

Throughout the years, this website has prided itself on supporting music we loved, in all its various forms  Primarily roots music made or based in Texas/Oklahoma, but we’ve never shied away from hip-hop, metal, pop or whatever rows our boat.  For 20 years we’ve been chasing the dragons that make us feel that tingly feeling you first felt when you fell in love with your first song.  I’ve detailed in this space over two decades multiple times I felt that feeling.  

And there is still nothing better than discovering a cool new artist or a new song from an artist you love.  Hearing it for the first time.  Blasting it on repeat until you know the hook by heart.  It’s euphoric.  It’s what has kept us going all this time.  The first time I heard Elvis or the Beatles stirred something in me as a kid.  But it was the first time I heard Robert Earl Keen sing about his white trash Christmas and the first time I heard Pat Green sing about dreaming from the worn out wooden planks of a dancehall.  Those touched my soul and launched a movement.  I was not alone.  

By proxy those songs launched this website and community.  Dozens of careers and an entire industry launched in their wake.  That wake has brought me to hearing Cody Canada sing about wrongly rolled joints, Creager espouse the dangers of Everclear consumption, Randy Rogers kissing his lady in the dark, Wade Bowen wondering if he’d ever make it home, Koe Wetzel looking for a Taco Bell and Parker bemusing how it’s been a hell of a year.

The names and times change, but the feeling a good song places on your soul never does.  It can be an artist you’ve heard a million times or someone you’ve never heard before knocking you on your rear end with their power, emotion and cleverness.  Melodies. Lyrics. Stories.   

I’ve never had a drink or a substance or a meal that makes me feel the way a good song does.  And that feeling is one of the best things we can feel as a human being.  We’re not the average music fans down here in Texas or in this community.  We’re obsessive.  Music snobs even.  Proudly.  I’ll hear a new song by a new artist and, in lieu of old fashioned liner notes, go down the Google and YouTube wormholes soaking up all bits of knowledge about them that is available.  And I know I’m not alone.  Many of the artists we all love are the same way.

Most recently, I’ve had that experience with 49 Winchester.  A band from a tiny town in Virginia that has been knocking around for quite some time, but is finding a national following with the release of their most recent album.  I can’t get enough of their music.  I’ve only been able to see them live once.  At Mile 0 Fest 2022 in bone crushing windchills.  It was less than optimum.  But their spirit in the face of weather related adversity made me a fan for life.  And that’s the kind of story that doesn’t happen to the average music fan.

Each year at River Jam, especially on the Sunday acoustic portion, there are multiple songs and artists that stop me dead in my tracks. They figuratively knock me out. Lightning bolts in the veins. Goosebumps on the arms. Hearing a new song that is amazing is the best drug there is.

I’m not saying I’m special or advanced as a music fan.  I just care more than most.  I used to not understand why others weren’t as passionate about it all as I am.  Eventually, I learned that everybody’s got their something, mine just happens to be music.  Well, that and the Dallas Cowboys.  

I’m thankful for the songs, artists and scenes that cultivate, appreciate and support music.  I’m proud to be part of the larger community of people that feel the same way about music as I do.

Keep listening.  Keep chasing.  

MINOR CHORDS:

– Come see us at River Jam next weekend.  We’ve got some music for you.  New.  Familiar.  Loud. Acoustic.  It’s the place to be.

Fri July 8 – Adam Hood/Jade Marie Patek at Cheatham Street. TICKETS!

Sat July 9 – Shaker Hymns/Sun Valley station at Billy’s Ice. TICKETS!

Sun July 10 – 18 amazing songwriters at Lone Star Float House. Sponsored by Mile 0 Fest.

-Went a little back to basics on this year’s River Jam.  In year’s past I would make a media blitz of radio, podcasts etc.  This year, we’re going old school.  Social media. Articles on the website and word of mouth.  Come celebrate with us.

-With the chaos of the world recently, music has been a saving grace for me.  I hope it’s done the same for you.

-I saw the Elvis movie and thought it was fantastic.  The kid that plays Elvis was awesome.  Tom Hanks was a bit much and they did a nice job of hitting the broad strokes with creative liberties.

-Cody Canada released his remixed version of Soul Gravy today.  You should check that out.

-The Rangers aren’t as bad as I thought they would be, but I look forward to the day when they’re great again.

-It’s almost football season.  I know because I’m starting to see Dave Campbell’s out in the wild.

-This month’s recommended album: 49 Winchester – Fortune Favors the Bold.  As mentioned above, these dudes grabbed my attention at Mile 0, but have exploded into my consciousness upon the release of their album back in May. The songwriting is powerful.  The musicianship is aces.  The emotion brims with every lyric and vocal delivery. This band is poised for a massive blow-up.  They will be selling out larger venues in the next couple years.  Bank on it.

-”Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.” – Mark Twain

Sometimes the best medicine for a sick world is comfort food, and we’re about to be fed chicken fried steak, homemade biscuits and a big bowl of Soul Gravy. That’s right, The Departed’s refresh of the Cross Canadian Ragweed catalog has commenced, and batting lead-off is 2004’s Soul Gravy.

Why the re-release? It’s the familiar story of record company sleight of hand, assuming ownership of music from naïve artists getting their first big deal. In the case of Cross Canadian Ragweed, the bulk of their catalog was released under the Universal South label – Cross Canadian Ragweed (a.k.a.“Purple”), Soul Gravy, Garage, Mission California, and Happiness and All the Other Things. The label owns the music, not the artists, and if the band breaks up or leaves the label, the music stays with the corporate bigwigs.

Cody Canada got hit with this reality head on. After the dust of the Ragweed breakup had settled, he began selling what remaining Ragweed merch was left in storage. Along with the shirts, hats, and belt buckles, he thought the fans would dig getting their hands on the 6 disc set, Box of Weed, which Universal had put out as a money grab, without the band’s knowledge. Upon calling the label to request a shipment, he was told he would have to buy his own music back in order to turn them around to sell at his shows. That was it, no CDs, no rights to print any vinyl, nothing. So, Cody looked down the road paved by acts like Def Leppard and Taylor Swift and decided in order to take control back, The Departed would have to re-record the entire Universal catalog.

So here we are, with the 2022 version of Soul Gravy, recorded at the Canada’s newly opened studio in their hometown of New Braunfels.

So why start with Gravy? Cody has always been vocal about his dislike for the guitar tones and other anomalies on the original record. He and lifelong pal, producer Mike McClure, never saw eye to eye on the way the first record was done. Cody told us,

“Working with McClure is always such a pleasure, but he is a very hardheaded person… and so am I.  So when we got to the studio, we were so busy. It was the year we had done 250 shows, so when we rolled in, we were just worn out. Mike said we were just going to use the Pod because it was going to be quicker and easier…”

The “Pod”, made by Line6 was one of the first digital modeling amps/multi-fx pedals where you could essentially patch in pre-canned settings to mimic whatever tone you were trying to achieve.

He continued, “He thought nobody would know the difference, but I knew the difference. I felt like I didn’t really have a choice. I did, but it was just easier to say ‘ok’.”

But Canada’s reasons for starting with Soul Gravy, wasn’t just about that. “I loved the songs, I thought everything really worked together, but I just wanted to take time to make it. When we did the original version, we were only in the studio for four days, because we had to get back on the road. Now with this version, I get to have my kids involved, I get to do it my way.”

(Note: When we got the sneak peek of the record, the tracks were given to us in alphabetical order so it’s how I listened to the record the first time. Obviously, that’s not the case with the release, but keep it in mind when reading below)

The thing you definitely notice the first time through Soul Gravy are the guitars. They feel bigger in the mix and less homogeneous in tone. You hear from the get-go on the track “Again,” where Randy Rogers, who co-wrote the song with Canada, drops in for a cameo.

For the first few minutes, you nod along to all those familiar tunes, and it sounds like The Departed playing Cross Canadian Ragweed, which is an obvious, if not dumb, statement. It all changes once you hit the 2022 version of “Hammer Down.” It literally transforms the whole record, even when you go back and listen to the preceding tracks.

In an instant your ass is strapped to a rocket with the kickass pedal engaged…and you’re off. Crank it, suddenly it feels like a Cross Canadian Ragweed record. The goosebumps come back, “Cold Hearted Woman”, “Leave Me Alone” “Lonely Girl” only further cement the feeling, the universe is right.

Lee Ann Womack kills it again on “Sick and Tired,” you’re gonna like it.

The Ray Wylie Hubbard cover of “Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll” starts out pretty sketch, with two of the worst Cockney British accents you‘ve ever heard coming from Cody and Plato. Don’t quit your day job boys

As for the actual song, the vibe upgrade is intense, brought to you in large part by RWH himself, who gives a haunting vocal performance that makes you feel like you’re on a train ride to hell. It’s time to rock ‘n’ roll, time to hoochie coo.

Finally, there is “Stranglehold,” the Easter egg track off the 2004 record that blew our socks off back in the day. Canada’s vocal performance rivaled the Ted Nugent original in piss and vinegar, perfectly capturing the rock ‘n’ roll ethos that was Cross Canadian Ragweed at its peak. This time around The Departed throw a curve, with female vocalist and School of Rock protégé, Elle Gorman taking the reins. Gorman trades in the screaming, opting for more a sly and seductive approach. The guitars still cut deep, while the smooth vocals dress the wounds. It works.   

Going through Soul Gravy a half dozen times, the only critique I have is that there are a couple of places on the record where the vocal timing feels a bit awkward, mostly with “Alabama.” That song has been studio cut three times, and I think the version on the 2004 Soul Gravy is still my favorite. It’s probably because that’s the version that’s been engrained in our consciousness for so long that straying from it just makes my brain skip. It’s a common risk you take when you re-cut signature tunes.  

Overall, you’re in for a fun ride with the 2022 incarnation of Soul Gravy. The batteries are recharged and with the various upgrades, the songs are alive and kicking rather than hung out for nostalgia’s sake. Crank it over your holiday, enjoy the good times, Garage is likely next and at some point we’ve been told we will finally get a studio version of “Mexican Sky.” It’s gonna be fun.

Cody Canada & The Departed | (thedepartedmusic.com)