Kenny Wayne Shepherd performs at Brown County Music Center ahead of his latest album
Multi-platinum Grammy-nominated Kenny Wayne Shepherd plans to release Volume 2 of his album "Dirt on My Diamonds" on Sept. 20. Before that, however, fans can catch him July 27 at the Brown County Music Center. Tickets are going quickly.
Volume 1 of "Dirt on My Diamonds" came out last November. Classic Rock said, “There’s no denying the impact when he lets the blues off the leash."
Shepherd, a Louisiana-born musician, reserved a second round of songs, created during Volume 1's writing sessions in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. This newer record diverges from Volume 1 yet hangs on to similar undertones.
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band chose Muscle Shoals because of its being the recording space that has hosted artists including Little Richard and Aretha Franklin.
"Line of people who would love to take my place"
Shepherd's work style brooks no slouching. "We get paid to play. It's our job so we take our responsibly seriously," he said on the phone. "It takes tenacity and determination to see things through. I don't take these opportunities for granted. There's a never-ending line of people who would love to take my place."
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Ever aware of who comes to see him, he deliberates about "what will take the listener on a musical journey."
"In the beginning I didn't really know who my audience was. I think fans respect the artist when they're not just trying to conform to what might be popular at the time."
And as do most musicians, Shepherd hopes people will listen to the entire albums, not just one or two songs.
Banter, a show's conversational segments, comes easily to him, but he's attentive to the caveats. "I try not to veer off into politics too much, because I'm here to entertain. Why run the risk of alienating 50% of your audience? Maybe the only people who can comfortably walk that line are comedians."
A concern, he said, is the current trend of listeners finding music on places such as Spotify, YouTube and iTunes. "Early on, they'd hear a song on the radio and then go out and buy the album. Now, you have to stream a song an astronomical amount of times (to make money). And even then, you don't make that much. Back in the day, if your song got played on the radio, you would get a decent paycheck."
It begins with blues
"Blues is the core. That's square one. That's where we start. Then I take it in different directions, using all the genres I grew up listening to, and make it something fresh."
Shepherd said the best way to develop an artist's talent is "get out on the road and play music every night." He remembers having traveled with his radio-disk-jockey father and hauling musical equipment in a U-Haul.
One day footage of the still-teenage guitarist Shepherd evoking wow's at a local festival reached Giant Records founder Irving Azoff. Shepherd would soon sign a contract for a multi-album agreement with that Warner Brothers subsidiary.
In 2020, Shepherd released the single "Blue on Black," from the band's first live-concert video. For 42 weeks it lingered on the U.S. Billboard Rock Charts, earning Rock Track of the Year. It has more than 25 million streams.
Twice in the past 10 years, Shepherd has made albums with his blues-rock supergroup, The Rides, which he cofounded with Stephen Stills and Barry Goldberg. Shepherd’s solo career, however, is his focus.
Revving up his "most cool" hobby — cars
"I'm a huge car guy," he said. Not only does he tear down and restore cars, he races—on racetracks.
"Before I had a guitar in my hands I had (Mattel's) Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars." At regional NASCAR and other races, he's even had the opportunity to utter this revered sentence (begun in the late 1940s in Indianapolis): "Gentlemen, start your engines!" He also raced on a private racetrack in Spain. His dream is the combination of his two career passions: playing concerts (as he has) at major race events. "That's the most cool thing."
Reserving new material for later — for the first time in his career — has been tough. Shepherd said keeping these latest, Volume 2, songs a secret has tortured him. Now he's ready to spill.
"The Brown County Music Center is a great venue," he said. "We've played there before and we had a packed house."
If you go (selling quickly)
WHAT: Kenny Wayne Shepherd
WHEN: 8 p.m. July 27
WHERE: Brown County Music Center, 200 Maple Leaf Blvd., Nashville
TICKETS: Starting at $63 at https://tinyurl.com/637fezef or at at www.browncountymusiccenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com and at the venue box office, boxoffice@browncountymusiccenter.com or 812-988-5323, ext. 1.