“Hunt Dog Hunt” is the project’s debut single
Kristian Bush is doing a deep dive into his Appalachian roots with new single “Hunt Dog Hunt” out November 5th. The track is the debut single from his second solo album, Troubadour, due November 19th. The 16 song collection is the soundtrack to Bush’s beloved country music musical of the same name that debuted in Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre to rave reviews.
“A lot of times when people see my name next to a song, people expect joy,” Bush states. “‘Hunt Dog Hunt’ is exactly that.”
Half of the Grammy-winning country duo Sugarland, Bush grew up in East Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains swathed in primitive mountain music and inescapable bluegrass tradition. He marries his heritage with his finely tuned song-crafting skills on Troubadour. The album begins with traditional 1930’s bluegrass and progresses through the decades to land on a timeless Americana dynamic. The album’s lead single “Hunt Dog Hunt” is a jaunty throwback southern bop that celebrates the string band sound and old-time storytelling.
To respect the time period the songs reflect, Bush assembled a group of players familiar with the style and recorded the album live in one room in his Atlanta studio. They gathered in a circle and honed the unique 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 shares. “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.”
Bush wrote or co-wrote every song on the album.
“One way or another, where you grew up is what’s in your bones,” Bush said. “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.”
Bush made his solo debut in 2015 with Southern Gravity, home to his Top 20 hit “Trailer Hitch.”
Last year, he reunited with Billy Pilgrim partner Andrew Hyra after discovering a lone copy of In The Time Machine, after cleaning out his home. Twenty years ago, they had recorded a third album that was thought to be lost after the master tapes burned in a fire at the studio near Decatur, GA. The duo joined us last year on The Music Universe Podcast where Bush also shared that he produced Sugarland’s long-awaited forthcoming album that has been in the label’s hands for nearly two years.
