Photo Credit: Hayden Shiebler

A riot, a book of poetry, and a song. That’s just one piece of this back-and-forth exchange with singer-songwriter Willie Watson. We dug into Southern vibes, voice memos, and more, including his self-titled debut. ‘Willie Watson’ is due out on September 13th, and with that a tour that will see Willie on the road from the time the leaves turn to when the snow starts to fall. 

Kendra: Once upon a time you met someone named Ruby Love in an apple orchard, had a magical night of music, but never saw them again. Have you built them up in your head as more of a mystical figure than a real person all these years later? 

Willie Watson: No, I can’t say that I have. It just happened and then disappeared. I didn’t think about it too much as a younger person. Only later on in my life, more recently, have I begun to reflect on that more and realize its impact. That impact is what is so revelatory, and affirming a belief in God. I had no idea what a higher power was doing, and that all along through all of my struggles I just could have let go and had faith, and know that I can fit into this world without making it so hard on myself. 

Kendra: I said once upon a time because that was a few decades ago now and since then you’ve always found yourself in music whether it be as part of Old Crow Medicine Show or playing on soundtracks. However, this self-titled album that drops on September 13th is your official solo debut. After many years, I’d imagine you had quite a few songs and song ideas jotted down here and there. Did you go back to any of that, or did you want to create in your current state of mind? 

Willie Watson: Yes, it was a long time ago and I put myself in music. It’s always what I wanted to do. I didn’t ever try to step away from it; it was never my intention. Yes, absolutely I have a lot of ideas…a lot of audio sketches, a lot of audio ideas in my voice memos on my phone; too many. I record them every day, all day. Most of the time I don’t even sift through them. If there’s something that stands out then I don’t even need to record it. I just remember it. It’s like recording is like writing down song lyrics for the sake of remembering them. Once you write the whole thing down, you never really have to think of them again. 

So, of course, I have song ideas I’ve been kicking around for decades. There’s one, this little melody in this guitar riff that I have that’s been sitting there since I got kicked out of Old Crow. It’s just always been way too sad to bring it out of the box. 

Kendra: The album was recorded out in LA, a place you don’t vibe all that well with. I too did not gel well with it for the 16 years I called it home post-college. I think it’s because we both come from more modest places on the map that do lean more….I’ll say, genuine. Would you agree it’s a great place for an artist to work but possibly not for a human to exist? 

Willie Watson: It all depends on what you’re looking for. This town is great for a lot of people, just not me. 

Kendra: So like President Biden, you too were moved by the Charlottesville Riots. He started his campaign for president, and you picked up a book of poetry. Was the poem by Sterling A. Brown, the one that’d eventually lead to your song, “Slim & the Devil,” the first page you turned to that night – or was it the first that made you stop and think?

Willie Watson: It was the first page I turned to. I picked the book up off my shelf and opened it right to the middle and it landed right on “Slim Greer in Hell.” 

It certainly wasn’t the first thing that made me stop and think. As someone who has been steeped in Southern culture and the music that comes from the South and everything that comes along with it, I love the South. I love the southern states and their culture and the past; the folk traditions, the simple living, farming, making your own clothes, and poor people culture. But there’s a lot that comes with that in the South that truly only does exist in the South. It’s not like that in the north and I’m kinda calling that out and it’s a little dangerous for me. Who do you think most of my fans are? Southerners. My top markets are in the southern states, and there I am going and singing how Dixie is compared to hell. Everyone seems to be kind of missing that.  

Kendra: And the song itself ties in with the idea that we are always hustling life to get more out of it, while sort of ignoring that it will all eventually end. Do you think that holds up one of the most honest mirrors to society – we’re just ignoring the inevitable of time?

Willie Watson: It’s about sin, it’s not about hustling life. It’s about excess and desire and sin and evil. So I don’t know about that…hustling life to get more out of it, ignoring what will eventually end…

Kendra: Let’s talk about the tour. You’ll be out a very long time this fall, even stopping in Charlottesville towards the end on December 8th. You’d mentioned that night with Ruby Love was the first time you’d cried while playing a song. Do you think because of the history with “Slim & The Devil,” that playing that show in Charlottesville will be an emotional one? 

Willie Watson: That song has been around for over five years now, and I’ve played it in Charlottesville every time I’ve been there, which is probably four or five, and they don’t really care. It didn’t really seem to affect them. For some reason, it felt like I maybe didn’t have the right to talk about it, and that song didn’t relate to anything to them. It was just my interpretation or my experience with it. I hope now it will have more of an impact since it’s been recorded and released in a format that people can pay attention to. 

Kendra: Time for a side note – With it being prime Back 2 School time this month, I’d love to know what song from your past immediately transports you back to getting ready for class in the morning? 

Willie Watson: I hated school, and I dropped out of high school as soon as I could. As soon as I turned 16 I quit, I walked out and never went back. I didn’t have a good experience with schooling so you know, I was never really happy to go there it was a prison sentence, and it was torture. 

Kendra: Lastly, with your self-titled debut, ‘Willie Watson’ out on September 13th and tour dates already on the books, what else can fans expect as we finish out 2024?

Willie Watson: We’re on the road from September to December, so it’s just the shows, this tour. I guess I gotta come up with new, creative ways to post things on Instagram. I’d also love to get some new live footage of our concerts, so I guess we’re just touring. This tour ends in December, but I’m looking forward to what happens in 2025.