LET'S GO!!! The Turnpike Troubadours Just Dropped A New Single And Are Releasing A New Album This August For The First Time In 6 Years
Allen J. Schaben. Getty Images.I've been very on the record saying I don't dig country music too much personally. And when I say "country music", what I mean is radio/pop country. Eric Church, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, etc. just don't do it for me really. If they do it for you, cool. Bombs away. Not for me, even if a country concert or fest is fun as fuck.
Yes, I am going to Luke Combs tomorrow. Why in the fuck not?
Because I'm a walking contradiction, I'll also say that I fucking love the Turnpike Troubadors. LOVE them. I stumbled upon them sometime back in 2018 after their last album release A Long Way From Your Heart:
Featured on Barstool
I've been addicted ever since. To me, they're so much better than the commercially popular acts. That's not to say that they're not superstars on a warpath of success too, because they are, even if they're perhaps a rung below the guys I listed above on the "commercial" success latter.
I hate that this paragraphs sounds like I'm shit talking them, because I'm not.
They're one of those acts that just supersedes genre and they march by the beat of their own drum. If you don't like them, you don't like music, and if you don't like music, you're a weirdo. It's really that simple to me.
Anyways, they finally started touring again after a few year long self-imposed hiatus back in late 2021. They even headlined Thursday night at the Windy City Smokeout last summer and were fucking incredible:
Shoutout to frontman Evan Felkner for facing his alcohol problems head on and shout out to the entire band for getting back together to do what they do best: providing the world with amazing music.
Getting back on stage for the masses was only step though.
Step 2? That's making NEW music, and that's what they're wrapping up as we speak. Yesterday they dropped a new single titled, "Mean Old Sun":
Needless to say, it's amazing. Quintessential Turnpike Troubs, but what I love about this single release is that you KNOW it's meant to give us a little taste of what will be a masterpiece of an album. I mean… that's obvious. That's what all singles are meant to do. But often times artists release what they know will be the most commercially marketable single prior to dropping an album. Kinda like a starting pitcher warming up before the inning hitting 94 on the black without trying prior to touching triple digits for 14 pitches while making 3 straight hitters look dumb.
I'd bet $1,000,000 that Mean Old Sun, while great, is the tip of the ice berg of what will be some of, if not their BEST work yet. We're talking hard shit, slow shit, melodic shit, RED DIRT COUNTRY SHIT. Goddamnit I'm drooling right now
They're the absolute best on earth at what they do and I cannot wait until the full album drops in August. Tomorrow Luke Combs plays at Soldier Field. See everyone there, even if I think he's completely "eh". It's officially concert and festival season in the best summer city on earth, Chicago, IL
We'll talk about it next week on Barstool Backstage: