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10th June 2024Turnpike Troubadours had seemingly lost much of their cult following when they decided to go on an indefinite hiatus, yet frontman Evan Felker came back into focus, reconciled with his wife and found new purpose working cattle on a Texas ranch owned by one of his friends.
Their sixth album, A Cat in the Rain, produced by Shooter Jennings, illustrates this newfound clarity by confronting personal demons head on while offering hope.
Frontman Evan Felker
Evan Felker has found solace after an indefinite hiatus from music. As frontman for Turnpike Troubadours (a gritty country-folk-bluegrass-cajun-Red Dirt rock group featuring bassist RC Edwards, lead guitarist Ryan Engleman, fiddle player Kyle Nix, drummer Gabriel Pearson and multi-instrumentalist Hank Early), Evan has found peace by letting go and moving forward in life without holding onto certain things too tightly.
On A Cat in the Rain, their first album in six years, Felker’s lyrics–from “Every Girl” to “7 & 7,” depicting boundless infatuation and an unhealthy romance–are more emotionally powerful and lyrically precise than ever. Sobriety has joined their repertoire as an inherent theme; no need to force it onto listeners!
Bassist RC Edwards
Turnpike Troubadours demonstrate their prowess as one of the premier independent and red dirt country music acts with “Brought Me.” Multi-instrumentalist Hank Early nails the accordion parts that made this tune an all-time Turnpike favorite while fiddle player Kyle Nix adds rich overtones to an otherwise straightforward melody.
This band knows how to craft an unforgettable tale. Their emotive narratives bring life and texture to seemingly ordinary moments from blue-collar existence; their latest album stands as testament of their perseverance.
Lead Guitarist Ryan Engleman
Turnpike Troubadours first gained recognition through their work in Oklahoma’s rural honky-tonks before venturing out onto the road and becoming known beyond Texoma. As they expanded, so too did their membership demands – placing increased stress and strain on members as they saw their popularity increase exponentially.
Turnpike’s music is defined by vocalist Felker’s emotive and captivating performances, and his songwriting shines through in classic tracks like “Good Lord Lorrie.” A tour staple, this tune tells of a couple fleeing their disapproving parents only to end up living paycheck-to-paycheck lives that leave them empty inside.
Since Reckless Kelly went on hiatus in 2021, Engleman, Nix and Pearson have kept busy with side projects as well as occasional performances with Reckless Kelly.
Fiddler Kyle Nix
Nix has been an integral member of the band from its inception. A fiddle legend himself, he now serves as singer/songwriter on Lightning on the Mountain and Other Short Stories project.
“Good Lord Lorrie,” an audience favorite and concert mainstay, tells of an exiled couple fleeing disapproving parents and seeking refuge in whiskey-induced intoxication; however, in the end Lorrie walks off in a whiskey-induced stupor; an emotive ballad from Turnpike that captures both love and regret – something they are renowned for doing so beautifully.
Drummer Gabriel Pearson
Gabriel Pearson discovered Omega Studios online and enrolled in their comprehensive Recording Industry program, meeting all his vocational objectives while earning several certifications such as audio engineering, studio recording and music production.
The band‘s lyrics are deeply narrative and draw heavily upon their Oklahoma roots, often depicting rural poverty, hell-raising, and fierce love. This approach, coupled with their strict tour limit of 40 dates a year, proved an asset when they entered FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals Alabama with producer Shooter Jennings in 2022 to record A Cat in the Rain.
Multi-Instrumentalist Hank Early
Turnpike Troubadours fill an arena from front row to rafters with sound as soon as they take the stage. Bassist RC Edwards, lead guitarist Ryan Engleman, fiddler Kyle Nix and drummer Gabriel Pearson make up the back end of this band; but it is Evan Felker who takes center stage.
On “Mean Old Sun,” Felker provides an arresting instrumental melody and emotive songwriting to paint an imagined tale of someone leaving behind their life after an episode with alcoholism. Production by Grammy-winner Shooter Jennings gives the track its signature country sound; accordions wail alongside searing pedal steel as singer laments recent romantic disappointment.
