Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band reveals new song 'Gravity'

The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band have unveiled their brand new song Gravity, taken from their upcoming album The Traveler, which is out on 31st May via Provogue/Mascot Label Group.

The two years since ‘Lay It On Down’ have passed in a blur. Shepherd’s most recent studio album earned praise from respected media outlets for its “guitar rampages and thoughtful song craft”. Although, for the bandleader, the true measure of its success was the reaction on the ground. “For me, true success is about a fan saying how much a song affected them, or watching them sing along in the front row. And I think Lay It On Down did all of those things.”If that quarter-century journey has taught Shepherd anything, it’s that there’s no such thing as mission accomplished. In 2019, with the choruses from ‘Lay It On Down’ still on our lips, the bandleader teases us with a tantalising twin-comeback, with ‘The Traveler’ set for release in May and plans afoot for a third spin with his all-star side-project, The Rides, alongside Stephen Stills and Barry Goldberg. “When you feel inspired, the best thing is to keep tapping into that,” he reasons. “If you step away, it’s hard to get it going again. I’ve been prolific lately and I want to keep that going.”

World-class guitar playing has always been his calling card, but in his forties, Shepherd knows when to blaze and when to breathe. “There’s some restraint on ‘The Traveler’,” he considers. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to lean towards the approach of less is more. I play for the song now, versus what gets me more ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. There are some real moments on here, especially the solo in ‘I Want You’. That’s a really extended song, just for the sake of playing some great guitar. ‘Turn To Stone’ is a guitar anthem as well. It just builds and builds, and it’s the vehicle for the guitar solo to shine. For rhythm playing, one of the coolest songs is ‘Woman Like You’, it’s that straight-up Les Paul sound, but the guitar part just has some really interesting timing and becomes the signature riff for the song, weaving in-between the vocal.”

As for the voice, it’s never sounded stronger, fusing heartfelt delivery with some of the most sharply observed lyrics of Shepherd’s career. Currently, Shepherd shares more vocal responsibilities with his long time singer, Noah Hunt, than on past releases, allowing the band more versatility in both the studio and in their live show. “I still don’t sound like Muddy Waters,” he smiles. “But I’ve definitely grown as a vocalist. I owe a lot of the credit to Stephen Stills for pushing me in The Rides to sing more. As the album unfolds, the lyrics continue to dodge the blues cliches. ‘Gravity’ is about a very complicated relationship. You could conclude that someone dies at the end of the song, but there are so many ways to interpret it.”

He may move amongst legends, but the modest Shepherd brushes off any suggestion that he belongs in the same breath as the blues greats he collaborated with on 2007’s platinum-selling and Grammy-nominated documentary, ‘10 Days Out: Blues From The Backroads’. Yet he’ll accept that with the old guard fading, there’s a responsibility to carry the torch. “The inescapable reality is that I’m getting older, and the generation of blues artists that went before, well, y’know, nobody lives forever. If I live long enough, I’m gonna wind up in the category of the older statesmen of the blues. For anyone in that position, I think it’s our duty to pass it on. It’s not all about me and my music, the goal is a broader one of keeping the genre alive and relevant.”

For Shepherd, that means travelling on. “Being on the move is just a part of who I am and what I do,” concludes the bandleader, his eyes on the horizon. “Now that the album’s finished, it’ll soon be time to hit the road again. I don’t have any intention of sitting idly. I just want to keep moving and keep creating and keep doing what I love – for as long as I possibly can...”

European Shows

Tickets available from: kennywayneshepherd.net/tour

• 29 Jun – Verti Music Hall, Berlin, GERMANY
• 30 Jun – Loket Castle, Loket CZECH REPUBLIC
• 01 Jul – RuhrCongress, Bochun, GERMANY
• 03 Jul – Stadtpark Open Air Bühne, Hamburg, GERMANY
• 05 Jul – Musiktheater REX, Bensheim, GERMANY
• 07 Jul – Chiari Blues Festival, Chiari, ITALY
• 09 Jul – Tollwood festival, München, GERMANY
• 10 Jul – Kaufleuten Klub, Zürich, SWITZERLAND
• 13 Jul – North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS
• 17 Jul – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK
• 18 Jul – Leadmill, Sheffield, UK
• 19 Jul – City Hall, Salisbury, UK
• 16 Aug – Keeling the Blues Alive Mediterranean, Barcelona SPAIN

Tracklisting

1. Woman Like You

2. Long Time Running

3. I Want You

4. Tailwind

5. Gravity

6. We All Alright

7. Take It On Home

8. Mr. Soul

9. Better With Time

10. Turn To Stone