With his new album $10 Cowboy, out April 26th via Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers, Charley Crockett didn’t set out to make a themed record. He had released a concept album in 2022, the critically acclaimed The Man From Waco, propelling Crockett to new heights and establishing him as one of the leaders of a sparkling revival of traditional country and folk music. For the follow up album, 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 after all.
“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 Crockett. “A ramblin’ man like me, a genuine transient, is in a pretty damn good position to have something to say about America.”
The album begins with the title track, which Crockett and his ace band the Blue Drifters will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight, a personal song that also offers a provocative idea about America. “A $10 Cowboy is a country singer who made himself on a street corner in America,” Crockett says. “But the cowboy way, the cowboy mindset, that applies to anyone who doesn’t feel free, who feels fenced in and bound to something.”
“Being out on the road gives you a first-hand experience of how different kinds of Americans see themselves as going through some kind of great struggle,” Crockett says. “The roughneck working the oil and gas fields in West Texas. The single mother raising kids by herself. The young man working a street corner because he thinks it’s his only option. I would be dishonest if I said I couldn’t see the thread. Each of ‘em feel invisible. I am struck by the battles they are fighting internally, and the ways they have been entrapped by what America says they are.”
$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.”
It’s exactly what he achieved with $10 Cowboy. Regular bandmates Kullen Fox, Nathan Fleming, and Mario Valdez are joined by some of the genre’s most talented players—Rich Brotherton, Kevin Smith, Dave LeRoy Biller, Jason Lee Moeller, T. Jarrod Bonta and others, including a string quartet. Lauren Cervantes and Angela Miller sing on the album. While the musicianship and accompaniment are exquisite, they are also subtle, placed joyously, yet judiciously across the album.
Crockett will tour extensively in 2024 in support of $10 Cowboy. His latest headline tour of Australia begins later this week, and today he announces the first round of his 2024 North American tour dates. Crockett has also confirmed 2024 appearances at Stagecoach, Moon Crush Festival, Buckeye Country Superfest, FloydFest, Two Step Inn, and Avetts at the Beach in Riviera Maya, Mexico with the Avett Brothers and other guests, among other summer festivals.
Charley Crockett 2024 Tour Dates
Jan 23 – Marquis Park City – Park City, UT
Jan 27 – Tamworth Town Hall – Tamworth, AU
Jan 28 – Bar on the Hill – Newcastle, AU
Jan 30 – The Kings Theatre – Sunshine Coast, AU
Jan 31 – The Green Room Byron – Tyagarah, AU
Feb 1 – Eatons Hill Hotel – Eatons Hill, AU
Feb 2 – Anita’s Theatre Thirroul – Thirroul, AU
Feb 4 – Enmore Theatre – Sydney, AU
Feb 6 – Canberra Theatre Centre – Canberra, AU
Feb 8 – The Gov – Adelaide, AU
Feb 9 – Ballarat Civic Hall – Ballarat Central, AU
Feb 10 – Coal Creek Community Park & Museum – Korumburra, AU
Feb 12 – Forum Theatre – Melbourne, AU
Feb 13 – Forum Theatre – Melbourne, AU
Feb 14 – Astor Theatre – Perth, AU
Feb 22 – San Antonio Stock & Rodeo – San Antonio, TX
Mar 1 – Extra Innings Festival – Tempe, AZ
Mar 7 – Wynwood Marketplace – Miami, FL
Apr 5 – Grind City Fest – Memphis, TN
Apr 11 – Avett Brothers at the Beach @ Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya – Riviera Maya, MX
Apr 19 – Moon Crush Festival – Miramar Beach, FL
Apr 20 – Crawfish Music Festival – Biloxi, MS
Apr 21 – Two Step Inn Festival – Georgetown, TX
Apr 27 – Stagecoach Festival – Indio, CA
May 20 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC
May 21 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC
May 23 – Grey Eagle Event Centre – Calgary, AB
May 25 – River Cree Resort &Casino – Enoch, AB
May 27 – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
May 29 – Massey Hall – Toronto, ON
May 30 – MTELUS – Montreal, QC
May 31 – Higher Ground – South Burlington, VT
Jun 1 – State Theater – Portland, ME
Jun 3 – Empire Live – Albany, NY
Jun 5 – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom – Hampton, NH
Jun 6 – Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY
Jun 7 – XFINITY Theatre – Hartford, CT*
June 8 – Xfinity Center – Mansfield, MA*
Jun 14 – KettleHouse Amphitheater – Bonner, MT
Jun 15 – Scout + Gather – Columbia Fall, MT
Jun 17 – The Newberry – Great Falls, MT
Jun 18 – The Old Saloon – Emigrant, MT
Jun 19 – The Lincoln – Cheyenne, WY
Jun 20 – Telluride Bluegrass – Telluride, CO
Jun 22 – Buckeye Country Superfest – Columbus, OH
Jun 23 – Buckeye Country Superfest – Columbus, OH
Jun 28 – Jackalope Jamboree – Pendleton, OR
Jul 20 – Brooklyn Paramount – Brooklyn, NY
Jul 28 – FloydFest – Check, VA
Aug 3 – Hinterland Music Festival – St. Charles, IA
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