April 2026 Edition

Howdy Friend, 

Hello from my desk in Nashville where, outside my window, the bluebirds sing by the lemonade springs, the barns are full of hay, and the cigarette trees are always in bloom. I love this town, especially in spring time. That song “The Big Rock Candy Mountain” (written in the 20’s by an actual hobo/union organizer named Harry “Haywire Mac” McClintock) could have been about Nashville for all I know. I came here at age 19, dreamy-eyed with a fiddle and a dream and never projected a more Oz-like splendor upon any town before or since. Speaking of unions, our brand new album ‘Union Made’ has just been announced! And just like old Haywire Mac, the songs I wrote for it stitch together an American tapestry from the many experiences I’ve collected through nearly 3 decades of loyal service to America’s favorite string band, Old Crow. “Oh the places you’ll go…” says the old Dr. Seuss story, and believe me I’ve been down more than my fair share of American miles. I loved making this record! Morgan produced it and really nailed the sound, a classic Old Crow blend of traditional, Country, and Americana tones. I’m calling it my “love letter to America on her 250th birthday”, and it sure feels all-encompassing.

From tunes about historical events like Lewis and Clark’s journey and the Monitor and Merrimack’s Chesapeake battle, to songs that seek an American dream more within reach of her citizenry, the tunes on ‘Union Made’ take a little bit from each star, each stripe, all 50 states, and every bit of 250 years. I hope you like it! I’ve always been patriotic at heart, even though I’ve been to a lot of protests through the years. Like Woody Guthrie, I believe this land was made for you and me, and I am someone fascinated, propelled, and irrevocably altered by the legacy of this land. I always reveled in the stories of pioneers, of sachems, of poets, of dreamers, runaways and stowaways, hustlers and gamblers, cowboys, American Indians, all their stories reveal one of America’s truest character forms: the hero. Many of Old Crow’s songs are populated with such stock, whether it’s singing traditional songs like the steel-driving man John Henry, or with heroes-of-our-making, like the real life character in our song “Levi”, or the two brothers in “Carry Me Back,” or the jailbird who breaks free in “Brushy Mountain”, or hell, even the kid in “Wagon Wheel” who thumbs a ride from New England all the way to Johnson City, TN.  

Recently, I met a big hero of mine, a woman from the beautiful Sonoran Desert of Arizona, a public servant by the name of Gabby Giffords. Gabby survived a mass-shooting and assassination attempt and, through her fearless determination, reemerged, though battered and bruised, as a leader of America’s bipartisan gun reform movement. She is a survivor, and a hero to the countless men, women, and children whose lives have been shattered by violence across our land in recent times. 

She has made her life a testament to the power of not giving in to hatred and cruelty, but instead rising above it,  leading others to do the same. We’re talking a modern day Harriet Tubman here! Gabby is simply an amazing American giving it her all every single day. I hope you’ll take a moment to learn more about the ways Old Crow Medicine Show has stuck our necks out too, taking a stand against gun violence since the tragic Covenant School shooting here in Nashville. Next month, our film Louder Than Guns will premier in select theaters coast to coast. We’re proud to announce it will also be broadcast on nearly every PBS channel in the nation too, so please check your local listings to find out how you can watch this spirited documentary, a blueprint for civil discourse amidst a national epidemic which all Americans - left, right, & center- would sure love to put in the rearview. 

Well, friend. Here’s to new music. Here’s to celebrating our nation’s semi-quincentennial. Here’s to being a hero in your community. Whether it’s mentoring, volunteering, or just being a really good friend to someone in need, America needs all of us pitching in right now. Thanks for preordering our new album, Union Made! And as always, we invite you to see what we’re cooking up and dishing out on the highways and byways of these star spangled 50 states where we’ve been privileged to make a living singing, sawing, strumming, and making a joyful noise all these years. Come out to the show and sing along!  

God bless you and God bless America.

 
Your Pal Always, 
Ketch