Nashville's "Hometown Kid" Gabe Lee Announces New Album Out October 28
Two years ago, Gabe Lee, a Nashville native released "Honky Tonk Hell," a can't-miss — yet arguably under-appreciated — album that takes listeners to a confluence of country tradition, heartland rock energy and folk storytelling. And one of our 2020 best picks.
Lee's craft is a reminder that growing up in music city can bring a slew of positive and strong influences. In a full of country music covers and wild nights, Lee's warm tone, eye opening perspective and humble lyrics propel heights taller than the Batman building.
Nashville's hometown kid announced today that his highly anticipated new album perfectly titled The Hometown Kid, this album is set to dive even deeper into the mind of the creative. "This album is about departing and returning to your hometown," Lee explains. "More specifically, it's about the discovery, searching, and maturing that comes not only with being gone, but with returning to the place you come from." Lee said in a press release.
Lee recorded The Hometown Kid during his busiest year as a touring musician, finding time between shows to enter Farmland Studio — where he also created his two previous albums — with a band of country pickers and heartland rockers. Together, they laced his songs with electric guitar, upright piano, pedal steel, and fiddle. Most of the songs were tracked live, with Lee — his voice in sharp shape, fine-tuned by a schedule of rapid-fire gigs — delivering the most compelling performances of his career. After several days of recording, he'd inevitably hit the road again, bidding another temporary goodbye to Nashville. No wonder The Hometown Kid is so nuanced with its depiction of the comings and goings of a wandering soul — it was created amidst a backdrop of goodbyes, arrivals, late-night drives, early-morning wake-up calls, and life-affirming shows.
We have a feeling that this album and the lead single "Rusty" will affirm that Lee's talent goes beyond the honky tonk vibes of Nashville, but deeper into our inner selves and help country music fans relate to music and life at an even deeper level. This album is set to give listeners "snapshots" of his life growing up in music city and is sure once again to raise the bar.
Lee will hit the road next month for a run of shows with Margo Cilker, then return to Nashville for AmericanaFest. More tour dates to be announced soon, full list can be found here.