Old Crow Medicine Show frontman Ketch Secor releases his debut solo album Story The Crow Told Me on Equal Housing Records via Firebird Music. Recorded at his own Hartland Studios and co-written/produced with Jody Stevens (Luke Bryan, Jake Owens), the the album is a poignant reflection on a quarter century spent in Music City that features special guests Molly Tuttle, Marty Stuart, The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Jaren Johnston, and Old Crow alumni Critter Fuqua and Willie Watson.
With these 12 songs, Secor showcases the full range of his musical talents – playing nearly a dozen instruments across the album and co-writing every track. Skilled in reinterpreting the sounds of the past for today’s audience, he sets the past 25 years of his music-making life to a new soundtrack.
Also today, Secor released the official video for the album’s coda “What Nashville Was,” featuring Molly Tuttle, as well as a sample from Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash’s “Girl From The North Country.”
About the song, Secor explains: “I’m at a loss for what to tell you about this song. Isn’t it every kid’s dream to run the bases on the ball diamond of life, batting and fielding with their heroes? Maybe it’s as simple as that, I just wanted to sing one with Bob and Johnny, and so I jotted my name in ballpoint under theirs in gold. But this song is also about a city where dreams take flight or flounder, where brilliancy is rewarded or disregarded. And about the hope that anyone strumming at the foot of this ever-changing skyline will do so with a spirit deserving of a place as soulful as this one is. It was the Queen of England who crowned it Music City. Now it’s up to us to make sure it stays that way.”
The album has received acclaim from American Songwriter, Holler, Music Row, NPR Music, Relix and Rolling Stone, who debuted the video for the album’s first single “Dickerson Road” and proclaimed it “bristles with the same energy of its namesake.” This morning, Billboard published an extensive feature with Secor and premiered the video for “What Nashville Was.”
This week, Secor announced additional tour dates on his Story The Crow Told Me Tour that will make upcoming stops in Chicago, Annapolis, and Joe’s Pub in New York City on November 4. In addition to a full touring schedule for Old Crow Medicine Show throughout the rest of the year, he’ll also join the Railroad Revival Tour with Mumford & Sons and Friends in August as a member of the “house band” along with Celisse, Chris Thile, Leif Vollebekk, Lucius, Madison Cunningham, Nathaniel Rateliff and Trombone Shorty.
On Monday, it was announced that Secor will become the new host of Tennessee Crossroads, the long-running travel and culture series, during its 39th season beginning this September. The beloved series airs on public television stations in Tennessee and the Southeast and reaches viewers nationwide online. Secor will also lend his signature curiosity and warmth to Jaunts, the show’s digital companion taking viewers on quick discoveries across the region.
“I am thrilled and honored to take the reins of one of my state’s most watched and beloved programs, PBS’s Tennessee Crossroads,” he explains. “Continuing the legacy of founding host the late great Joe Elmore I’ll be exploring the places and people who make the volunteer state so vibrant (and so worth a visit!) Tennessee is my home, and, with its abundant cultural offerings and regional distinctions, has been my deepest well of inspiration as an artist. I’m honored to share with viewers my passion for and knowledge of our state and learn even more on this journey together. Let’s go!”