Carol's Pub
4659 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL
Thu
September 15, 2022
9:00 pm
CDT
Carol's Pub
Grayson Jenkins
$5.00
Candor and vulnerability cascade out of Grayson Jenkins’ songs on waves of circling guitar strums and sparkling choruses. Like fellow Kentuckian Sturgill Simpson, Jenkins tells stories with a shrewd sincerity, a hopeful resignation, and a canny insight into the ways of the world. Like Eric Church, Jenkins’ resonant baritone vocals echo powerfully enough to fill large halls, and like Keith Whitley, Jenkins sings with a tenderness that cradles his lyrics and delivers them to our hearts.
With a shrewd sincerity, a hopeful resignation, and a canny insight into the ways of the world, Grayson Jenkins is sharing his stories in the form of a ten-track album called Turning Tides. The full-length album finds Jenkins delivering candor and vulnerability with his signature resonant baritone; powerful enough to fill large halls but still tender enough to cradle his lyrics and deliver them straight into listeners’ hearts. The songs on Turning Tides all tell captivating stories of love and loss, heartbreak and hope. For Jenkins, a proud Kentuckian by birth, and now by choice, the arc of the album follows transitions in his own life—moving into music full-time, emerging into a post-pandemic phase of life, leaving behind one relationship and starting another—and offers perspectives on the changes we all experience in our lives as we move from sadness to joy, from self-denial to self-discovery, from darkness to light.
Rounding out the recordings is an all-star cast of Kentucky musicians, including Jesse Wells (Tyler Childers), who co-produced the album with Jenkins and played electric guitar, fiddle, and mandolin. With the help of Wells, Jenkins recruited Miles Miller (Sturgill Simpson) for drums and Kenny Miles (Wayne Graham) for bass to round out the core recording group. Fans can listen to the entirety of Turning Tides right now at this link.
The Bluegrass Situation caught up with Jenkins about album single “Mockingbird,” and how the tune came about. Jenkins discussed gathering an all star band for his new album, songwriting, and musical influences in a session with Virginia’s public radio, WVTF. Kentucky’s WFPK shared the video for title-track, “Turning Tides,” and asked more about the video, the song, the album, and what’s next for Jenkins. Country In The UK hosted Jenkins for one of their signature “Essential 8” interviews.
The Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, native’s musical versatility—playing everything from country and bluegrass to rock ‘n’ roll—has helped him create a diverse fan base, and he’s built his career on his own, self-funding his projects and doing whatever he’s needed to do to keep his music life rolling. He grew up listening to Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Jr., and later Sturgill Simpson, Eric Church, and Turnpike Troubadours.
With a shrewd sincerity, a hopeful resignation, and a canny insight into the ways of the world, Grayson Jenkins is sharing his stories in the form of a ten-track album called Turning Tides. The full-length album finds Jenkins delivering candor and vulnerability with his signature resonant baritone; powerful enough to fill large halls but still tender enough to cradle his lyrics and deliver them straight into listeners’ hearts. The songs on Turning Tides all tell captivating stories of love and loss, heartbreak and hope. For Jenkins, a proud Kentuckian by birth, and now by choice, the arc of the album follows transitions in his own life—moving into music full-time, emerging into a post-pandemic phase of life, leaving behind one relationship and starting another—and offers perspectives on the changes we all experience in our lives as we move from sadness to joy, from self-denial to self-discovery, from darkness to light.
Rounding out the recordings is an all-star cast of Kentucky musicians, including Jesse Wells (Tyler Childers), who co-produced the album with Jenkins and played electric guitar, fiddle, and mandolin. With the help of Wells, Jenkins recruited Miles Miller (Sturgill Simpson) for drums and Kenny Miles (Wayne Graham) for bass to round out the core recording group. Fans can listen to the entirety of Turning Tides right now at this link.
The Bluegrass Situation caught up with Jenkins about album single “Mockingbird,” and how the tune came about. Jenkins discussed gathering an all star band for his new album, songwriting, and musical influences in a session with Virginia’s public radio, WVTF. Kentucky’s WFPK shared the video for title-track, “Turning Tides,” and asked more about the video, the song, the album, and what’s next for Jenkins. Country In The UK hosted Jenkins for one of their signature “Essential 8” interviews.
The Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, native’s musical versatility—playing everything from country and bluegrass to rock ‘n’ roll—has helped him create a diverse fan base, and he’s built his career on his own, self-funding his projects and doing whatever he’s needed to do to keep his music life rolling. He grew up listening to Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Jr., and later Sturgill Simpson, Eric Church, and Turnpike Troubadours.