Kristian Bush Honors Southern Roots With New Album ‘Troubadour’

/by

Kristian Bush is diving into his Appalachian roots with his new album Troubadour, due out Nov. 19. The throwback lead single from the project, “Hunt Dog Hunt,” is set for release Nov. 5.

The 16-song collection is the soundtrack to Bush’s country music musical of the same name, which debuted at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre earlier this year. Bush is featured as a co-writer on all of the project’s tracks.

Half of the Grammy-winning country duo Sugarland, Bush grew up in East Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains surrounded by mountain music and rich bluegrass. Troubadour fittingly begins with traditional 1930’s bluegrass, progressing through the decades reflecting an Americana dynamic.

Bush assembled a group of players and recorded the album live in one room in his Atlanta studio. The group honed the blend of harmonies until they mimicked what Bush remembered hearing in church as a child.

“It’s a very spooky thing when we get it right,” Bush explains. “You don’t know where one note ends and the other begins. They all start to move together, and they’re making a color that only people from the mountains make.”

He continues, “One way or another, where you grew up is what’s in your bones. As many wonderful, crazy opportunities as I get in my life to go play music, you have to know where you’re from because otherwise, you’ll have no idea where you’re going. This record is me.”

Lorie Hollabaugh
Latest posts by Lorie Hollabaugh (see all)