Highlight Reel

In the year that sometimes get referred to as the Michael Jordan Year of the 2000's, 2023.

Photo by Pooneh Ghana

I know that we’re three weeks into 2024 and it may seem a bit regressive to write a “best of 2023” post but sometimes it takes a while to nurse and process the whiplash that is traveling for a year straight.

There’s this thing that all musicians talk about, where - if we don’t get sick while out on the road, then it’s only because our bodies, on some subconscious level, are holding on for dear life, until they know that they’ve returned the vessel back to shore where it’s safe to do so.

And somehow, magically, last year, across 22 different countries, and more than 100 days out on the road, I dodged any physical or mental meltdowns. I did this, full well knowing that the moment I returned home everything would likely give out.

And like clockwork, once I returned home, everything did indeed collapse. The last block of my Jenga tower was pulled and almost immediately upon arrival I threw out my back, injured my knee and got sick. On top of all that, a winter storm hit Kansas City and we’ve been locked inside in sub zero temps for almost two weeks. Despite the physical pain (which has now subsided), I have really enjoyed being back home cooking food, watching tv and spending time with Katie and our dog, Ernie, with nowhere to be. After all; there’s no place like home, to be sick.

But for what it’s worth, 2023 was one of the best years of my life. Perhaps I didn’t get sick because I was too busy have a good time. I covered a lot of ground with my band and am very fortunate and beyond grateful to have had some real dreams come true. To all of you who follow me on this thing or came out to a show or supported us in any which way last year and beyond, I truly cannot thank you enough.

Below is a list of my favorite places I visited in 2023 and what I did while I was there. I will refer to this list if anyone ever asks; “what did you do, and where did you go that made your 2023 so special?”.

So without further adieu, all things below. And if you have a strict “no more 2023 lists” rule, then just consume this as a list of things that I love, unanchored by time.

I have a lot of fun plans for 2024. Both on here, and in the real world, too. But for now…

XO

Fort Worth, Texas - Though I’ve had a million layovers at DFW and played Dallas consistently over the years, I’ve strangely never been to Forth Worth. Luckily, I went on tour with my friend Nathaniel Rateliff in November where we had a night off. I went on a run through downtown and later took myself out to dinner. After that I sat at this perfect bar by myself that I heard Leon Bridges frequented called Nickel City for a few hours, drinking mason jars of Coors. When I sat down the bartender put on a Babies deep cut - either that or it was an incredible coincidence. Anyways, every now and again I stumble into some new town and for whatever reason that town resonates with me immediately. Fort Worth was that town for me in 2023 and I can’t wait to go back. It felt cinematic in a way that only an American city off the beaten path can.

U.S. Center Chapel, Lebanon, KS - In March my mom and I took a road trip out to Lebanon, Kansas to visit the tiny chapel which sits at the very center of the lower continental 48 States. My mom had wanted to visit the chapel ever since seeing it in a Jeep commercial starring Bruce Springsteen. On our way out to Lebanon we stayed the night in Salina, Kansas where there just so happened to be a Woods Brothers concert. Not knowing anything about them we got some tickets and it ended up that the opener, Cris Jacobs, had recently worked with Brad Cook who produced my album Sundowner, and Cris’s manager, Kenny, who was out on the road with him is an old friend of mine who I had done a charity single for for his now defunct organization in Baltimore called Believe In Music. It was the kind of magic that only takes place when you have no expectations, throw caution to the wind, and go on a road trip with your mom and dog.

Vienna, Austria - I played Vienna for the first time in 2020 and was surprised by how well the show went. I hadn’t been there before and was taken with how much I loved the city. I can’t say why really, again it just gave me a certain buzz. This time, though, we had a day off and me and a few bandmates took it upon ourselves to retrace the steps of Ethan Hawk and Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise, one of my favorite films. Linklater must have really done his homework because everywhere we went was incredible. Namely Kleins Cafe, which is going down in the books as one of my top 5 favorite bars and cafes, ever.

Fayetteville, Arkansas - On a solo road trip earlier this year to go meet Katie in Alabama I decided to leave late in the day and stop somewhere along the way, within a four hour shot of Kansas City and decided to stop in Fayetteville. Oddly, I had never been before. As much as I’ve traveled I’m always surprised at the towns i’ve somehow skipped over in the past decade and a half. I got a hotel downtown, it was a Friday night and I did something I never ever do; I asked the good people of Instagram what was going on. I got a few recommendations but the majority rule was that I should go see the “best local band” at a nearby bar called The Phlegms. Not knowing what the hell I was walking into, I walked to the bar and watched the Phlegms and they fucking ruled. They had the magic that only a local band can posses - maybe they’re largely unheard of everywhere else, but in Fayetteville they were gods without any pretension or music industry noise surrounding them. Just good live music for good live music’s sake. I loved them and their performance so much that later in the year I flew out my best friend from LA, Justin Sullivan, to go see them with me in Bentonville, Arkansas. Another amazing city worth visiting and home of Crystal Bridges. Arkansas was a low key MVP of my 2023.

Geneva, Switzerland - Last summer we had two gigs in Switzerland. The first, In Geneva, had this perfect river running behind it. The river cut straight through Geneva and it seemed the whole city was cooling off in it. After a while we inquired with the shows promoter as to why everyone had similar looking floats with them - wondering if, perhaps, the city supplied them for safety, or something. Our promoter then told us that they are just popular waterproof bags that people keep their belongings in when they commute to or from work by way of the river. This absolutely blew our minds - that someone could float down a river as their daily commute. We later jumped in and it was some of the best water i’ve been in.

Carnegie Hall, New York City - I was invited to be a part of a solo piano performance at Carnegie Hall in New York at the beginning of last year amongst a bunch of other musicians. I had never been to Carnegie before and it was an absolute dream getting to sit at a baby grand and sing my songs in that hall. Phil Cook stole the show, for my money, and if you haven’t heard his solo piano work I highly recommend you do so.

Springfield, Missouri - Last summer I got the incredible offer to collaborate with one of my favorite photographers and Midwest hero Julie Blackmon. I wrote a whole piece about it here. Julie was kind enough to let me score her photo show at the Kemper Museum here in Kansas City and I met her out at her river house near Springfield to gather sounds and see where she regularly shoots. Her work is incredible if you’re not familiar with it. You can watch our conversation together here.

Gellert Thermal Baths, Budapest, Hungary - I used to be obsessed with spa culture on tour. Before I became a runner, it’s what I did to sweat and reset my tour brain. This mild obsession lead me to a lot of amazing bath houses all over the world but none of them can hold a flame to the Gellert Baths in Budapest which felt like being inside a Wes Anderson film. Not to mention the amazing crowd we played to, food we ate and bars we visited. Amazing city I can’t wait to return to.

Brooklyn, NY Half Marathon - I’ve been pretty adamant about doing things outside of music for the past couple of years. As much as I love music itself the competition and culture around it can really feel suffocating and as my career marches on I’ve made a point to try and do at least one thing a year where I will meet and interact with people outside of music. In the past this has been taking a creative writing course, tennis classes - and this year it was running a half marathon. I chose the Brooklyn half because when I lived in New York one of my favorite things was going out and cheering on the runners anytime there was a marathon. Being a part of that city spirit from the perspective of the runners through a rainy south Brooklyn was one of the best mornings of my life.

Cancun, Mexico Sky Blue Sky Festival

I couldn’t have written a better ending to my year than being at Sky Blue Sky. All of the friends were there, Katie was there, heroes were there, the Pacific Ocean was there. I got to see Lucinda Williams perform Fruits Of My Labor, I got to see Built To Spill for the first time, Nels Cline sat in with us during Harlem River, but my big life moment was getting to sing Jesus, Etc with Wilco who were kind enough to have me up. I was incredibly nervous - one of the most nervous I’ve ever been in my career, but in the end it was a real dream come true and I can’t thank them enough. Getting to finish out such a wild year with the big band in a destination location - like I said, I couldn’t have written a better ending.

Thank you Rusty for the vid

Hanoi, Vietnam

I don’t wanna bore you all with more writing on how life changing Hanoi was, so I won’t. Instead i’ll redirect you to my previous post about the intimate show we played there and how much I loved being there. It truly was - not only a highlight of the year - but of my time on this earth and I encourage all to go.

A few more things…

Ocean Vuong - 2023 is the year I became an Ocean Vuong enthusiast. I read his incredible novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, his book of poems Time Is A Mother, and listened to his On Being interview repeatedly. His break down and use of the American language is truly profound and it’s amazing to witness such a young master in their craft.

The Holdovers - With shades of some of my favorite movies, films like the Holdovers would be so incredibly easy to do wrong but everyone involved did such an amazing job and this movie really really got me crying.

Anatomy Of A Fall - Much like the Holdovers, this film would be incredibly easy to fuck up, but somehow, through the incredible acting, especially of the young Milo Machado Grader who literally gave the best child acting performance i’ve ever seen, they really blew me away.

Domino Sound in New Orleans was the best record store I visited in 2023 and I bought all the things.

Nick Flynns new book of poetry Low was one of my favorite reads of the year.

Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee - I was lucky enough to play this incredible festival and was blown away by its layout, line up and the city of Knoxville. I even got to sit in with hero Lonnie Holley as well as a bunch of other incredible musicians at a gallery pop up performance. If you’ve never been I highly suggest you go!

Lonnie Holley, speaking of, put out my favorite record of 2023 with Oh Me Oh My

Anna St. Louis new album In The Air came out on my Mare label and is an all timer.

Hurray For The Riff Raff announced a new album last year with the lead single Alibi and when it dropped I listened to it on repeat for a day straight. Alynda has long been one of my favorite songwriters and I can’t wait for their next record.

Nick Caves latest book Faith, Hope and Carnage.

Thundergong - I finally got to go (and perform) at my first Thundergong in Kansas City. If you live in the area I suggest you make it out one year as it’s for an amazing cause and lead by an amazing cast of characters.

Collaborating with The Salvation Choir when they reinterpreted my song This Is A Photograph. This was a high honor to work with such incredible musicians operating on such a high spiritual plane. If you’re not familiar with the Salvation Choir do yourself the favor.

Seeing Patti Smith perform, once again, in the rain - this time at the Beach Road Festival on Marthas Vineyard. I have lots more to say on that later, but for now, getting to see her for the third time was once again a huge blessing.

Harlem River turned ten and we threw a two night party in Los Angeles with some of my best friends at Permanent Records, the same record store I played my first ever solo show at in 2013 for the release of Harlem River.

and lastly, More Photographs, my companion piece to This Is A Photograph came out as did the vinyl for the film I scored in 2022, Montana Story.

What a year,

Onward,

xoxoxox