New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Whitey
Morgan and the 78's new track, "What Am I Supposed to Do," premieres today atBillboard, who proclaims, "[Morgan] comes from growing up in the blue-collar environs of Flint, Mich., and being raised around some of the hardest-hitting country and rock imaginable. And that muscle is all over the Americana veteran's new album..." Watch/sharehere. The song is the second track unveiled from the band's anticipated new album, Hard Times and White Lines, which will be released October 26 on Whitey
Morgan Music viaThirty Tigers and is now available for pre-order.
The album features ten songs including the lead single, "Honky Tonk Hell," which Rolling Stone Country describes as, "a gruff, gritty tune," furthering, "For a purist like Whitey Morgan, country music is just as much tear-in-your-beer balladry as boot-scootin' boogie." Listen/share here.
In support of the release, the band is on an extensive fall tour, which recently included Morgan's debut headline performance at Nashville's legendary Ryman Auditorium last month. Additionally, a hometown show at Detroit's The Fillmore is set for November 3. See below for full tour details.
Once again self-produced by Morgan, Hard Times and White Lines was recorded in the Neve Room at famed Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas. Featured on the record are collaborations with acclaimed songwriters
Travis Meadows and Ward Davis plus a cover of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid." Alongside Morgan, the 78's consist of
Brett Robinson (pedal steel guitar), Joey Spina (guitar), Alex Lyon (bass) and Eric
Savage (drums).
Of the recording,
Morgan shares, "It's not like my vision happened overnight. I've been chipping away at it forever. It's slowly evolving and it's going in a little bit different direction. It's not so straightforward anymore. This record definitely has a wider path, it's broader, but it still sounds like a Whitey
Morgan record." With grandparents from Tennessee and Kentucky and hometown roots in Flint, Michigan, Morgan's family geography has factored into his approach to music. Reflecting on his recent move to a small parcel of land near Yosemite in rural California with his wife and son, he says, "I've been drinking a little bit less and I got my kid at home now. I've been enjoying playing music so much more the last couple years."
In a career spanning 15 years,
Morgan has released five studio albums and a live recording from his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Additionally, he has toured relentlessly averaging over 125 shows annually. Rolling Stone has described him as a, "Waylon Jennings acoloyte...modern-day outlaw [with a] hard-hitting, blue-collar brand of music" while NPR
Music hailed, "Staying close to the sound and subject matter of classic outlaw artists like
Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and
David Allan Coe,
Morgan is poised to lead this hard-worn brand of country to the next generation." His most recent LP, Sonic Ranch (2015), was released to critical acclaim and praised by
Detroit Free Press as, "a bold, well-crafted album that doesn't forsake the gritty undercurrent running through Morgan's stuff."
HARD TIMES AND WHITE LINES TRACK LIST
1. Honky Tonk Hell
2. Bourbon and the Blues
3. Around Here
4. What Am I Supposed to Do
5. Just Got Paid
6. Hard to Get High
7. Carryin' On
8. Fiddler's Inn
9. Tired of the Rain
10. Wild and Reckless
WHITEY MORGAN AND THE 78'S TOUR DATES:
September 8-North Fork, CA-Whitey's 2nd Annual Birthday BBQ Bash!
October 12-Columbia, MO-The Blue Note
October 13-Chicago, IL-Thalia Hall
October 19-Athens, GA-Georgia Theatre
October 20-Macon, GA-Hargray Capitol Theatre
October 21-Pensacola, FL-Vinyl
Music Hall
October 25-Charleston, SC-Pour House
October 26-Asheville, NC-The
Orange Peel
October 27-Charlotte, NC-Neighborhood Theatre
October 28-Raleigh, NC-Lincoln Theatre
November 2-Grand Rapids, MI-The Intersection
November 3-Detroit, MI-The Fillmore
November 7-Cleveland, OH-Beachland Ballroom
November 8-Indianapolis, IN-The Vogue
November 9-Des Moines, IA-Wooly's
November 10-Springfield, MO-The Complex
November 30-San Francisco, CA-Great American
Music Hall
December 6-Seattle, WA-Neumos
December 7-Eugene, OR-Hifi
Music Hall.
