This week, we bring back an old friend of the show, Fort Worth-based trickster singer/multi-instrumentalist Robert Ellis. We last spoke in 2018 while we were were both criss-crossing the Netherlands. Then he was in full character as the Texas Piano Man, jumping across the stage between keyboards and guitars with cheeky ear worms like “Topo Chico” and searing Harry Neilsen-esque ballads like “Fucking Crazy,” whipping appreciative crowds into a frenzy. After a long pandemic hiatus, he’s back without his lion tamer white tux, stripping things way back to bring us an achingly intimate trance-lullaby of a new record called 'Yesterday’s News.' With no jaunty piano to speak of, the new LP uses his tender nylon string guitar and voice as the main storytellers (with upright bass and assorted hand percussion lifting up the songs saturated in delicious tape hiss), diving into the delirium and beauty of being a dad, a husband and an artist who maybe has finally let go of his ravenous ambitions to find a sort of uneasy peace. As a fellow sleep-deprived songwriter dad myself, the quiet rage and bleary-eyed hope in “Close Your Eyes,” about the long nights spent with a newborn, hit very close to home. Ditto the opener “Gene,” which could be seen as both a moonlit conversation with his young son, but also a fantasy talk with his younger self who maybe didn’t have enough encouragement to just be his oddball self and live his truth. How does he put himself to sleep these days, you ask? He listens to old 'X-Files' episodes… in audio form. While many things have changed since our first episode with Robert (he now owns and runs a bar-music-venue-studio and is touring much less) his mischievous streak remains (you’ll hear his cackle of laugh pop the mic many times) making us wonder if the lovely title track to 'Yesterday’s News' is both a clear signal of defeat (the relentless capitalist album cycle push is so last century!) and a quiet reminder that Ellis still has so many sharp stories to tell. And this time, you’ll have to lean in close to hear them. He will be making some appearances at listening rooms and jazz clubs this summer, and I for one am really looking forward to seeing and hearing this new side of Robert’s shapeshifting songwriting in person. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-show-on-the-road-with-z-lupetin1106/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, we dive into the revelatory first solo record from rising Louisiana-born roots-soul singer-songwriter Durand Jones. 'Wait Til I Get Over' is years in the making. While nearly giving up on his dream to be a singer several times, Jones was diligently collecting songs about his upbringing living in his father’s trailer in the tiny Mississippi River town of Hillaryville, his grandmother giving him the confidence to sing (and also dragging him to church), escaping broken relationships and infidelity, his yearning for a connection to a higher power, and how betting on the music and himself was a jubilant radical act that just may be finally paying off. The lush strings and almost Broadway-ready power of his voice on the opener “Gerri Marie” harken back to a time when artists like Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin were creating cutting edge pop and soul music that could at once get you to hit the streets to protest injustice and woo your new love with total abandon. Most folks may know Jones as one of the co-lead singers with falsetto-master (and drummer) Adam Frazer of the Bloomington, IN-based throwback "sweet soul” group Durand Jones & The Indications, a project he began out of graduate school (he also plays the saxophone) at The University of Indiana. Starting with their hard-hitting 2018 self-titled record and the follow ups 'American Love Call' (2019) and 'Private Space' (2021), they became a coveted national act and AAA radio favorite, with this writer seeing their biggest show yet, last summer at the Hollywood Bowl in LA. You would be forgiven if you thought the club-ready romantic earworm “Witchoo” dropped in 1971 not in the height of the pandemic - but the unrestrained Chaka Khan-esque vibes are hard to deny. As I told Jones, that tune got me through a very hard time. While Jones admits he likes to play a certain version of himself on stage - flamboyant outfits and soaring vocal runs are what keep audiences coming back - at home, he’s a much more introspective character who is a big fan of journaling. It’s the quieter, more vulnerable sides of his story (being queer in the Deep South for one,) and the complicated figures like “Sadie" (not her real name) that he renders in full cinematic detail that point to a powerful solo career ahead if he wants it. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-show-on-the-road-with-z-lupetin1106/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, we call into Nashville to speak to one of the preeminent and most prolific singer-songwriters of our time, Courtney Marie Andrews. Born in Arizona, Andrews first started singing at Phoenix-area karaoke bars with her mom before setting out to see the country in Greyhound busses as a teenager, finding a place in bands like Jimmy Eat World with her signature high-aching voice and talent on guitar and piano. Writing in fiery spurts (she mentions on the taping that thirty new songs emerged just last month), Andrews has put out eight records and counting, beginning with 2008’s 'Urban Myths' and culminating in 2022’s lush and cautiously hopeful 'Loose Future.' “These Are The Good Old Days” finds her trying to be present in a world of relentless distraction and hidden pain – and while the chord changes and harmonies harken back to 1950s girl group vibes, there is always a searching, aching energy roiling underneath. If you feel like you missed out seeing touchstone genre-defying singers like Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris in their 1970s roots-pop primes, fear not: it can be argued that Andrews is leading the newest wave of honey-voiced performers who just happen to be writing the most honest, heart-stopping work in the expanding Americana universe. Many first heard her with the acclaimed, gorgeously direct 'Honest Life' in 2016 which helped develop her following, especially in Europe, and the mournful and cathartic 'Old Flowers' which earned her a 2020 Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. We all go through painful breakups and have to learn how to process the fallout. But what Andrews can do with the thorny moments most of us would want to forget, may be her superpower. “I’m not used to feeling good,” Courtney Marie Andrews sings with a weary smile on “Change My Mind” towards the finale of 'Loose Future.' And yet, as she penned many of these timeless tunes in a small cabin on Cape Cod during the height of the lockdowns, sometimes realizing that you can be happy after all is that big first step that can get your future to start opening up. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-show-on-the-road-with-z-lupetin1106/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, we feature a talk with genre-leaping singer-songwriter Devon Gilfillian who is back with a remarkable new LP, 'Love You Anyway.' Shapeshifting between danceable southern soul, hip-hop, silky R&B, and AM gold rock n roll, the record isn’t afraid to confront the thorny politics of voting rights and wrongful incarceration while still celebrating a newly revolutionary Black joy. Raised in Philadelphia and now based in Nashville, Gilfillian was so inspired by socially-conscious soul icons like Marvin Gaye that he used his time in the darkness of 2020 to release two albums: first the fiery 'Black Hole Rainbow' which became a critical hit, and then a new take on 'What’s Going On,' which raised funds for low-income communities of color, and provided resources and education around the democratic process. Taking a cue from the lush production of 1970’s Stax and Motown, the new LP leads with the joyous “All I Really Wanna Do,” inviting us onto a cosmic journey of discovery and continues with the playful, sultry "Brown Sugar Queen," a Prince x Anderson Paak super-sized jam that features rising Swedish pop star Janice. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-show-on-the-road-with-z-lupetin1106/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy