photo credit: Michael Mesfoto
Whitey Morgan and the 78’s will continue their extensive headline tour this spring and summer with shows at Richmond’s The National, Boston’s Paradise Rock Club, Philadelphia’s Underground Arts, Baltimore’s Rams Head Live!, Kansas City’s Uptown Theater and New York’s Gramercy Theatre among many others. See below for complete details.
These performances celebrate the release of Morgan’s new album, Hard Times and White Lines, which is out now on Whitey Morgan Musicvia Thirty Tigers. Stream/purchase here. Hard Times and White Lines continues to receive widespread critical acclaim…
“As far as I’ve been concerned since I hit upon them a few years back, Whitey Morgan and the 78’s are a bright spot in a modern country landscape…As his profile has risen, he’s kept his nose to the grindstone, cranking out old time country music with a heavy debt to the rabble-rousers of old—your Waylons, your Willies, your Kristoffersons, and of course, your Merles. In other words, the good shit.” –Noisey
“[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…” –Billboard
“For a purist like Whitey Morgan, country music is just as much tear-in-your-beer balladry as boot-scootin’ boogie.” –Rolling Stone
“In terms of songwriting precision and quality of recorded performance, Whitey Morgan has established himself as one of the primary talents in outlaw country…He pays homage to the genre’s icons while never failing to embody the spirit of outsider-ism.” –No Depression
“[‘Just Got Paid’ is] ear-grabbing and guitar heavy…a distinct spin on the guitar-fueled original. And with Morgan’s whiskey-soaked vocals and standout musical accompaniment, it’s a cover that’s bound to get the boots tapping along.” –Taste of Country
“Morgan and his band prove once again that they are among the very best among the small legion of those carrying the outlaw country banner these days.” –Glide Magazine
“Hard Times and White Lines is soaked with gorgeous pedal steel, honky-tonk licks and Morgan’s dark and dense baritone growl. On opener ‘Honky Tonk Hell’, Morgan offers a grim glimpse that wails as much as it kicks. It’s void of light and sees Morgan throwing brimstone onto the fire.” –Wide Open Country
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. 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 acolyte…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
March 7 /// Jackson, MS /// Duling Hall
March 8 /// Little Rock, AR /// Revolution Music Room
March 9 /// Memphis, TN /// Minglewood Hall
March 10 /// Huntsville, AL /// Sidetracks Music Hall
March 14 /// Johnson City, TN /// Capone’s
March 15 /// Louisville, KY /// Headliners Music Hall
March 16 /// Toledo, OH /// Civic Music Hall
March 17 /// Fort Wayne, IN /// Clyde Theatre
March 20 /// Greensboro, NC /// The Blind Tiger
March 21 /// Morgantown, WV /// Mainstage Morgantown
March 22 /// Richmond, VA /// The National
March 23 /// Baltimore, MD /// Rams Head Live!
March 28 /// Buffalo, NY /// Buffalo Iron Works
March 29 /// Syracuse, NY /// Westcott Theater
March 30 /// Boston, MA /// Paradise Rock Club
April 4 /// Philadelphia, PA /// Underground Arts
April 5 /// New York, NY /// Gramercy Theatre
April 6 /// Pittsburgh, PA /// Stage AE
April 19 /// Kansas City, MO /// Uptown Theater
April 20 /// Englewood, CO /// Gothic Theatre
April 26 /// Phoenix, AZ /// The Van Buren
April 27 /// Las Vegas, NV /// Stoney’s Rockin’ Country
April 28 /// Indio, CA /// Stagecoach Festival
May 3 /// Sacramento, CA /// Aces Of Spaces
June 8 /// Hubbard, IA /// J&T Logistics Inc
July 13 /// Whitefish, MT /// Under The Big Sky Festival
photo credit: Michael Mesfoto