KENTUCKY (2/8/12)—A powerful collection of solo works, years of collaborative efforts with an array of talented performers, a range of official accolades/awards, and a talent for capturing raw, yet widely relatable American styles has earned Kentucky native and singer-songwriter Darrell Scott a wealth of respect from the music world’s core. However, if you’ve yet to hear Darrell Scott’s diverse musical works, you’ll have a chance to catch him live at Madisonville’s Glema Mahr Center for the Arts at 7:30pm this upcoming Thursday, February 16th.

To find out more about Darrell and his new album, Long Ride Home, SurfKY News spoke with the personable musician about his ties to Kentucky, his respect for a variety of styles, and his overall experience with music itself.

In addition to touring with Robert Plant’s Band of Joy in more recent times, Darrell has been involved with a variety of genre-spanning albums for nearly two decades, which include several solo/collaborative projects. While his love and respect for several styles remains constant, it was during our interview with the seasoned musician that he stated the specific "goal" of his seventh studio album, Long Ride Home, which debuted this past New Year’s Eve.

“I just wanted to make a classic country record, like the kind of country I grew up on—pre-video and pre-mechanical bull. That’s really all I wanted to do with the album,” says Darrell. “I wanted to make it sound like it was about 40 or 50 years ago.”

And while the new album definitely exhibits a powerfully focused mixture of old-school, blue-collared, bourbon-swilling, twang-drenched ballads, the listener to can also distinguish a strong tie to Kentucky roots and family history within the lyrics.

“I think the subject matter of family shows up a lot because I have spent a lot of time thinking about that a lot over the years,” says Darrell. “Being a son, or being a brother, or being a father goes along with everybody’s life. It’s something that’s very ongoing in my life.”

With a lineage that stretches across the past century of Kentucky history, Darrell says that his family, as well as the musical mentality innate to Kentucky, will always shape his outlook.

“For over 100 years, our family has been in Kentucky. Our roots go deep,” says Darrell. “A lot of Kentucky folks have music as part of their upbringing, you know? Whether it’s through church or whether it’s through radio—during my parents’ era it was the Grand Ole Opry on the radio and church on Sunday morning—so music comes through the families, too. It certainly came through mine. Probably my most influential family member in terms of music was my dad [Wayne Scott]. He was a singer and a songwriter. He was never famous, but the influence was just always there. I would definitely say that he was my most influential family member as far as music goes.”

Though Wayne Scott passed away late last year, Darrell recorded much of his music in the studio and actually plans to release a second complete album of his original music in the very near future. Updates on the Wayne Scott project will be released through Darrell’s official site: www.DarrellScott.com.

As mentioned, Darrell has also been both influeneced by and a standout performer of many varying musical styles, including everything from folk and gospel, to blues and rock.

When asked where that potent, but pliable mash-up of musical flavors comes from, Darrell replied that, “It was a little of everything. I grew up in country music, but I’ve had my ears open to all sorts of other music. To me, my style is very 'American,' and I don’t mean that in a flag-waving way, I just mean that as a common cultural experience. Really, what I tap on is just American music. Whether it was from country music, or church, or pop, or rock radio, or singer-songwriters, it is ultimately just derivative of all the things I have listened to. I’m so diverse because the American palette is so diverse. If I hear something that influences me, I just bring it into my collection of things to tap on.”

Regarding a need to keep the “roots” of American music alive and at the forefront of songwriting, Darrell noted that, “It’s important to expand upon the roots, too, but you really need to know them before you can expand on them with any authority. I’ve been a student of all that—of folk, of bluegrass, of country, of pop, of singing-songwriting, of church music...of all kinds of stuff.”

After undergoing lengthy tours and performing in front of massive crowds all over the country, Darrell says that it’s nice to start playing shows for smaller towns on his native soil again. In fact, he says that it’s something he’s wanted to do for a while.

“I love Kentucky. It’s my roots. I’ve wanted to play more in Kentucky for years,” says Darrell. “I just have an idea that people would like my music here, because I’m from Kentucky too and I write about Kentucky in my songs sometimes. I feel like playing in Kentucky is always going to be a hit. I’ve been working to book shows in Kentucky for years and it finally seems to be working out. I’ve seen Kentucky more in the last year than I have in the last ten years combined, and that’s good news to me. I always felt that Kentucky folks would know what I was up to musically and would understand what I was saying in my lyrics.”

Though Darrell has played many venues across Kentucky in recent times, the upcoming Glema Mahr Center for the Arts concert on Thrusday, February 16th, will be his first performance in Madisonville, KY. With this in mind, we urge our community to give Darrell a hardy welcome! 

To find out more information on Darrell Scott or to purchase any of his albums/songs, including the new studio release, Long Ride Home, check out his official website at www.DarrellScott.com. In addition, Darrell’s music is also available through standard online sources and in select record shops.

To find out more information on Darrell’s upcoming “coffee house series" performance at Madisonville’s Glema Mahr Center for the Arts, click here.

In closing, we at SurfKY News would like to thank Darrell Scott for taking the time to speak with us. We look forward to seeing the show!

Luke Short
SurfKY News

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