(photo credit Bobby Cochran)
Listen to “The Man From Waco” here
Lead single “I’m Just A Clown” is #1 at Americana radio this week, debuts at #38 on Billboard/BDS Triple A National Airplay chart in the US
Watch the video for “I’m Just A Clown” here
Charley Crockett will release his masterful new album The Man From Waco on September 9th via Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers, and he has shared the title track as the second single from the album.
“The Man From Waco” WAV/MP3: https://thirtytigers.box.com/s/otlvwm4krtss3dtvvsdrfwqsv92zbxai
A true rising star, Crockett’s burgeoning career has seen him amass 206.6 million career streams worldwide to date, 98 million of those in the past year, alongside huge leaps in his Spotify followers, YouTube subscribers and engagement on socials. His UK tour in October has already sold out, which mirrors much of his recent US tour, and he’s currently part of Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival, with Chris Stapleton, The Avett Brothers, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Billy Strings, Brothers Osborne, Steve Earle, Allison Russell and others.
In the US, the man Variety commented has “become one of the most beloved figures among country’s hippest fan subset” has attracted the attention of prime TV shows like Austin City Limits and CBS Saturday Sessions with more to come later in the year and graced Spotify and CMT billboards in NYC’s Times Square. In the UK, Crockett has been featured in national newspapers The Guardian and The Independent and reviewed in Uncut and Country Music People magazines, amongst many others. Radio support has come from many quarters, BBC Radio 2, Absolute Radio Country, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Ulster, BBC East, UK Country Radio and Celtic Music Radio.
The Man from Waco takes its title from the slow-burning murder ballad showcasing Crockett’s captivating baritone. With its brooding rhythms and darkly hypnotic guitar riffs, “The Man from Waco” first came to Crockett as he and his band rode through the titular Central Texas city late one night on tour.
“We were driving over the Brazos River and started talking about James Hand, who passed away in the pandemic,” Crockett recalls, referring to the Waco-born country singer who inspired his 2021 tribute album 10 for Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand. “One of the guys was playing accordion and I started singing a melody.”
“At first, we were having fun with it,” Crockett explained to PEOPLE Magazine. “We weren’t making fun of James or anything, but we weren’t taking the song seriously. But sometimes, it’s those songs that you’re not taking seriously that end up being the ones that stick and begin to take on a whole other meaning.”
“I’m Just A Clown,” the strutting, country-soul lead single from The Man From Waco that NPR Music says “feels like a step forward for the prolific Crockett, and one that might help him cross over to a larger audience,” continues to climb at both Triple A and Americana radio in the US. The song hit #1 on the Americana radio singles chart this week, and debuts on the Billboard/BDS Triple A National Airplay chart at #38 and moves up to #24 on the Billboard/BDS Triple A Indicator chart. Crockett is also the current cover star of Spotify’s “Roots Rising” playlist, with “I’m Just A Clown” currently in the playlist’s number one slot.
Produced by Bruce Robison (Crockett’s manager and an acclaimed artist/songwriter in his own right), The Man from Waco took shape from a series of fast-and-loose sessions at Robison’s studio in Lockhart, Texas. Recorded live to tape, The Man from Waco marks the first time Crockett’s longtime band The Blue Drifters have joined him in the studio from start to finish. Thanks to their relentless touring over the years, Crockett and his bandmates have developed a potent and palpable chemistry, infusing every track with equal parts razor-sharp precision and unbridled energy. “Most of these songs were cut in a few takes,” Crockett says. “There was a looseness that led to a lot of inspired performances that felt good right away.” Also featuring The Greyhounds’ Anthony Farrell (a multi-instrumentalist whom Crockett calls “the record’s secret weapon”), The Man from Waco ultimately bears a lush and timeless sound that endlessly spotlights the singular character of his songwriting.
Crockett will headline the Hopscotch Festival on September 8th (alongside additional festival headliners Courtney Barnett, Perfume Genius and Kim Gordon), and then will open for Willie Nelson at Central Park SummerStage on September 20th. Four days later he will make his Farm Aid debut at the 2022 edition in Raleigh, NC. Crockett will join a Farm Aid 2022 line-up that includes Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Allison Russell, Brittney Spencer and Particle Kid. Crockett also has a full slate of headlining shows mixed with appearances on the roving Outlaw Music Festival, as well as festival appearances at Bourbon & Beyond, Moon River Festival and Darius Rucker’s inaugural Riverfront Revival Festival. Crockett will head overseas for a European and sold-out UK headlining tour that begins October 28th in Dublin, Ireland.
Charley Crockett 2022 Tour Dates
August 18 – Missouri State Fair – Sedalia, MO
August 20 – RiversEdge Ampitheater – Hamilton, OH
August 22 – Slowdown – Omaha, NE
August 24 – Buddy Holly Center – Lubbock, TX
August 25 – The Paramount Theatre of Abilene – Abilene, TX
August 26 – North Texas State Fair and Rodeo – Denton, TX
August 27 – Whitewater Amp – New Braunfels, TX
Aug 28 – Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center – Midland, TX
September 3 – University Of Texas – Austin, TX
September 4 – Central Texas State Fair – Belton, TX
September 6 – The Strand Theatre – Shreveport, LA
September 8 – Hopscotch Festival – Raleigh, NC
September 9 – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre – Alpharetta, GA^
September 10 – PNC Music Pavilion – Charlotte, NC^
September 11 – Moon River Festival – Chattanooga, TN
September 13 – Saturn – Birmingham, AL
September 16 – Bourbon & Beyond Festival – Louisville, KY
September 20 – Central Park SummerStage – New York, NY*
September 24 – Farm Aid 2022 – Raleigh, NC
September 29 – Historic Ashland Armory – Ashland, OR
September 30-Oct 2 – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival – San Francisco, CA
October 2 – Arlington Theatre – Santa Barbara, CA
October 8 – Devils Backbone Hoopla – Roseland, VA
October 9 – Riverfront Revival Festival – Charleston, SC
October 28 – Workman’s – Dublin, IRE
October 30 – Oran Mor – Glasgow, UK
October 31 – Deaf Institute – Manchester, UK
November 1 – Jazz Café – London, UK
November 3 – Yuca – Cologne, DE
November 4 – Quasimodo – Berlin, DE
November 5 – Take Root Festival – Groningen, NL
December 30 – Choctaw Grand Theater – Durant, OK
^Outlaw Music Festival
* supporting Willie Nelson