It was evident how much fun The Old Crow Medicine Show was having at Willie Nelson’s annual Luck Reunion in Spicewood, Texas, in March.
“You never know what will happen at events like that,” vocalist-multi-instrumentalist Ketch Secor said while calling from Knoxville.
Nelson was joined by Kermit the Frog for an unexpected duet at his ranch. “Where else are you going to see something like that?” Secor said.
Secor beamed throughout his band’s 10-song set.
“There is such great joy anytime we’re around Willie Nelson,” Secor said. “When you’re on a bill with Willie, you’re living the dream. You’re surrounded by wonderful musicians. It’s a privilege to perform with Willie. I met him 26 years ago and he’s like Yoda. He says a lot without saying a thing. Willie has had such an impact on me.”
Secor had the good fortune of meeting Nelson not long after forming his band, which combines folk, bluegrass, country and old time tunes, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in 1998 with his childhood friend, Chris “Critter” Fuqua.
The Old Crow Medicine Show, which will perform Wednesday, June 12, at the Fox Tucson Theatre, blazed a trail for old timey string bands after the turn of the century. The group’s spirited hillbilly tunes found an audience. Old Crow’s songs are catchy and well-constructed but what has helped the group reach another level is their live performance. Secor is a charismatic frontman, who is a born showman, that delivers entertaining banter from the stage.
“I believe performing is like being part of a party,” Secor said. “But I always felt late for the party. I play traditional music. I didn’t get to do drugs with (The Doors) Jim Morrison. I didn’t get to be part of the Bristol Sessions.”
Secor stands out among his peers since he knows his music and its history. The Bristol Sessions were considered the big bang of modern country music. The sessions were held in 1927 and marked the debuts of Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family.
“It would have been amazing to have been part of those sessions,” Secor said. “I would love to go back in time to experience that. It was kind of like in the movie (‘Field of Dreams’) when the players come out of the cornfield. You get to go back in the game that allows you to finally touch (baseball Hall of Famers) Dizzy Dean and Enos Slaughter.”
The lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan loves tossing baseball metaphors into the conversation. It’s no surprise that Secor is a traditionalist, who would like to see instant replay removed from Major League Baseball.
“I guess I feel the same way about baseball and music,” Secor said.
“I’m inspired so much by both.”
Secor has been inspired enough to craft 10 albums. The Old Crow Medicine Show is on a heater. “Remedy,” from 2014, won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. “We were blown away winning that Grammy,” Secor said. “Who would have guessed?”
“Volunteer”, released in 2018, is filled with solid songs and is sonically terrific thanks to producer Dave Cobb, who helped push the band to expand on its sound without abandoning the charm of its string music.
“I believe that if you hire a producer, you should listen to the producer,” Secor said. “When I produce someone, I hope they listen to me. We not only listened to Dave, we followed what he said to the letter of the law. He brings a real looseness to the recording process. What he made was a distillation of what The Old Crow Medicine Show is about.”
“Paint This Town,” from 2022, and 2023’s “Jubilee” were released within 16 months of each other. The former is a political album with some of the finest songs pondering mortality. “Jubilee” effectively focuses on love and loss.
“We wrote a bunch of tunes and just put them on those records,” Secor said. “We’ll play songs from those albums on this tour but I’m also already looking ahead.”
Old Crow has recorded fresh material that it will preview at the Fox Tucson Theatre. “We have a new song about the election that we debuted last week at MerleFest (in Wilkesboro, North Carolina),” Secor said. “The song could have been sung by (the late blues legend) Willie McTell.”
The good news for fans is that Secor is reuniting with the aforementioned Fuqua. The original member of the band announced on May 13 that he will return to the band after leaving the group in 2020.
“It stirs me to my very soul to share the good news that my oldest and dearest friend is coming back to join Old Crow onstage,” Secor said. “We started this band together as teenagers out of a shared love for traditional music, songwriting, rock ‘n’ roll and the road. All these years later and we’re still harmonizing, what a joy.”
This marks the second time Fuqua has rejoined the band after a hiatus.
“My relationship with the band is a bit like a Saturn 5 rocket,” Fuqua said. “For whatever reason, I need to leave sometimes. I achieve an escape vector from the gravitational pull of Old Crow, then I’m off into space, orbiting, floating in zero gravity in my capsule. But I always seem to come around again, shooting through the atmosphere, my pod landing in the ocean. The boys picked me up again. I’m so glad they did. I really missed them.”
Old Crow, which also includes vocalist/bassist Morgan Jahnig, guitarist Mike Harris, fiddler-accordionist PJ George, mandolinist Cory Younts and drummer Dante Pope, has had a revolving door with its players. However, it feels the same for Secor as it did when the band formed at the end of the last century. “Much is very similar for me and the band and that’s a good thing,” Secor said. “We came through the fire unscathed. Our voices are renewed. I feel like it’s still raw and honest as it was when I was 19 years old and I was singing with a lot of love and fire in our hearts with respect and gratitude.”
Old Crow Medicine Show
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12
WHERE: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $43.45
INFO: 520-547-3040, foxtucson.com
