Today, Charley Crockett releases ‘Hard Luck & Circumstances,’ another new song from his upcoming album $10 Cowboy (out April 26th via Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers). For $10 Cowboy, Crockett wrote freely, over a two-month period, as he wound his way across the United States on the back of a tour bus. The resulting songs—raw, personal, vivid portraits of a country in transition—ended up being connected.
“This material is written at truck stops, it’s written at casinos, it’s written in the alleys behind the venues, it’s written in my truck parked up on South Congress in Austin,” explains Charley Crockett. “A ramblin’ man like me, a genuine transient, is in a pretty damn good position to have something to say about America.”
On ‘Hard Luck & Circumstances,’ Crockett gives expression to a trait deeply embedded in the American psyche—resilience. In the country’s founding mythology, and in most popular art, the plucky underdog battles and triumphs over long odds. In country music, and on Crockett’s $10 Cowboy, victory rarely comes; resilience is in the struggle itself, and the defiance it forges.
$10 Cowboy was recorded at Arlyn Studios in Austin, TX, produced by Crockett and his long-time collaborator Billy Horton. It was recorded live to tape, with anywhere from 6-12 musicians on each track, giving the songs the feel of a live performance. It’s a sound Crockett has been after for years. “The reason I cut it on tape is, when you get the right folks in the room, great players rise to the occasion. When that red light is on and the tape is rolling, you get the magic of a performance.”
Already an accomplished songwriter, Charley continues to evolve and grow and deepen. A lifelong student of Bob Dylan, he explores a style favoured by Dylan throughout $10 Cowboy, songs with no lyrical hook, just a turn of phrase.
No, Crockett didn’t set out to write a themed record. Or, through his studied eye, to find America. But with $10 Cowboy, he might have done both.
A regular on British shores, in recent years Crockett has headlined Shepherds Bush Empire, Jazz Cafe, as well as playing End Of The Road Festival in 2023. Charley will return to the capital in May, playing what will be three electric nights at London‘s Hoxton Hall on May 6th, 7th & 8th. For further ticket info head HERE.
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