“At Home in the Big Lonesome” is a late 2017 release by the perpetual troubadour, Drew Kennedy. If you haven’t heard of him before, I wouldn’t be too surprised, especially if you don’t venture much outside of what mainstream media presents as “country” music.
Image courtesy of Drew Kennedy Music (http://www.drewkennedymusic.com/)
When I discovered Kennedy, which was a big accident, I was just planning to catch Josh Grider playing an acoustic set at Auslander Restaurant in Fredericksburg, TX and have a cold beer with my brother while we were home for winter break. We got to the biergarten and paid for our brews but the place was packed, which wasn’t unusual, so we grabbed a couple seats on the wooden bleachers at the south end of the patio right next to the stage.
Image courtesy of Auslander Restaurant and Biergarter (http://theauslanderfredericksburg.com/)
No sooner than we sat down, this tall old boy with a different kind of sound was singing a song about Cincinnati and he had our attention. Grider was there with him and introduce his compadre as Drew Kennedy. The two songwriters alternated songs and sang along with each other for the rest of the night. I was hooked. That must have been 7 or so year ago, before my musical tastes were as diverse as they currently are, but I’ve been keeping up with DK’s songs and catching live shows whenever I get the chance.
“At Home in the Big Lonesome” is pretty diverse in terms of musical styles covered throughout. The tracks still all have the quintessential Drew Kennedy lyricism and clear notes that I’ve grown accustomed to, but a few songs venture out to blur the lines between his typical acoustic-Americana style and other genres. A couple of tracks have a little bit of a blue grass-y feel to them, thanks to fluid banjo picking and harmonica play.
There’s a few of the classic DK-style tracks, like “Open Road” (seen above), that paint a gorgeous story with the help of some subtle steel guitar and authentic lyrics set anywhere from West Texas all the way to the Big Apple. Speaking of gorgeous – the music video for “Open Road”, which looks to have mostly been shot in the Big Bend region, looks incredible. There’s even a song with a bit of a contemporary jazz feel to it, which kinda reminds me of the music my dad would play through the stereo on Sunday mornings when I was a kid.
Favorite 3 tracks (in no particular order):
Walnut Street
Open Road
Cream and Sugar
There’s rarely a weekend when you won’t find Kennedy playing a dancehall or barroom somewhere in Texas or New Mexico, so make sure to head on over to his tour dates page to find out where you can catch him in action next. I strongly recommend you pick up a copy of this album and share it with your amigos. You won’t be disappointed.
Questions or comments about the the “At Home in the Big Lonesome”, Drew Kennedy, or Texas music in general? Social media will get you a damn-near immediate response, so contact us on twitter or instagram @westboundsoul or leave a comment below.
