Album Review – Joshua Hedley’s “All Hat”
Western Swing (#511) on the Country DDS.
Why Western Swing has never enjoyed a popular resurgence like other subgenres and eras in country music is a lingering question. Perhaps it just doesn’t have the same elasticity of bluegrass, or the nostalgic appeal of ’90s country. But Joshua Hedley has never been one to follow trends. If anything, he sets them. Many point to Hedley’s 2022 album Neon Blue as the opening salvo to reigniting interest in ’90s country before it became a craze. Some guy named Zach Top even contributed a few songs to it.
Western Swing might be a harder cause to champion, and even harder to perform with its jazz chords and complex instrumentation. But all the more reason for Joshua Hedley to tackle it, and expose audiences to its bygone beauty. Known to many as Mr. Jukebox, The Singin’ Professor of Country & Western, and The Mayor of Lower Broadway for holding court at Robert’s Western World on Lower Broadway for many years, if anyone’s down for doing Western Swing right, it would be Hedley.
Soliciting Western Swing legend Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel as producer, Joshua Hedley pens a love letter to Western Swing, and sings its virtues. This isn’t a close approximation of the Western Swing discipline, or a synthesis of it mixed with modern sensibilities. All Hat is a strict reenactment of what you might have experienced in a prewar dancehall in Texas, or at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa when the titans of Western Swing walked the earth, only Hedley graces the sound with fresh new songs.
Not to discount Mr. Hedley’s lyrical work or vocal performances—which he makes sure to fashion in the Golden Era of Western Swing’s reign—but All Hat first and foremost is an instrumental tour de force, showcasing sumptuous performances from a starkly diverse chorus of instruments. And we’re not just talking fiddle and steel guitar (Hedley’s a fiddle player himself, along with acoustic guitar). The piano, the period accordion, and especially the clarinet (or as Ray Benson caws, “That ol’ licorice stick!”) turn in some incredibly tasty runs.
If nothing else, All Hat might be the instrumental album of 2025 to beat. Josh and Ray really pulled out all the stops to convey their passion for this form of country. There’s even an instrumental track called “Hedliner Polka” that helps highlight the German and Czech influence that crept into Western Swing from the immigrants in Central Texas. This was music made by communities congregating together, dancing and playing whatever instruments they had. This album captures that diversity of sound and the community aspect that other Western Swing projects whiff on.
You’re not going to be wooed by Joshua Hedley’s songwriting here, aside from maybe its adherence to the period looking to be evoked. And it’s fair to say this is a period piece, not an innovative or strikingly original project, even if the songs are new. That’s not the point though. The goal is to make sure these musical dialects don’t erode away from the sands of time. Western Swing done right inherently sounds dated. The challenge is to make that sound feel timeless.
“Authenticity in country music is a myth. You don’t have to buy a ranch and pretend to be a cowboy to play country music,” Joshua Hedley said ahead of the release of this album. But this somewhat misunderstands what authenticity is in country music. Yes, you don’t have to have been born on a ranch, or be from Bakersfield to sing country music. Being “authentic” in country music is being yourself and pursuing your sincere passions no matter who you are, which is exactly what Joshua Hedley does on All Hat.
Like Hedley sings in the title track “I ain’t milked a cow, I ain’t pushed a cart. But one things for certain, I look the part.” That self-awareness is what makes him more authentic that 90% of the performers in Nashville. “You can do it just cause you love it,” Hedley says about country music—or in this case, Western Swing. And that love comes through in this album.
8/10
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October 24, 2025 @ 8:20 am
Merle Haggard’s A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World helped raise the profile of Western Swing for a while way back in 1970 by keeping it real and authentic,Merle even re learned the fiddle. I doubt this will have the same impact but it certainly deserves to,as you say the instrumentation is spot on.Maybe it will inspire other artists to give it a go like they all did with the Bluegrass bandwagon.Maybe it needs the Coen Brothers to do a movie set in Texas with a Western Swing soundtrack !
October 24, 2025 @ 10:08 am
Listening now. This is pure swing
October 24, 2025 @ 11:13 am
Love hearing another younger artist pay homage to Western Swing as Brennen Leigh did a couple years back. Good songs, good music,and a fun listen.
Trigger, I was thinking (as I was driving listening to this album) and of course hearing Ray Benson as part of it, besides the King Bob Wills and Milton Brown, would you say Ray Benson will be remembered as one of the top all time greats in Western Swing? I know Merle Haggard’s tribute album renewed interested, Hank Thompson did some, and the Time Jumpers honor it, but Ray through Asleep At The Wheel has truly been THE Western Swing group for over 50 years. He has played on so many other Eestern Swing songs with other artists. Kinda like Marty Stuart’s contributions to preserving the history of Country Music, who else has done more for this genre? A small pond but he is (literally) the big fish!!