Pony Bradshaw to Complete Album Trilogy with “Thus Spoke The Fool”

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photo: Carley DuMenil

Well, it’s finally happening. For years, distinguishing and attentive listeners have been proclaiming that Pony Bradshaw is the best songwriter nobody’s ever heard of, and that it was a stain on popular music that he was so relegated to the shadows and underground circles. But songs that great were not going to be kept down for long.

Pony Bradshaw isn’t selling out arenas or anything. But as he readies the third and final installment of his trilogy of recent albums, he’s seeing more wide recognition, surprising streaming numbers especially for his song “Van Gogh,” and opportunities to play some of independent country’s biggest festivals this summer, including the Jackalope Jamboree in Oregon, and Under The Big Sky in Montana.

On August 16th, Pony Bradshaw will once again put his fiercely literary song style forward through his latest release, Thus Spoke The Fool. It compliments his 2021 album Calico Jim (read review), and his 2023 album North Georgia Rounder (read review) in a trilogy delving into character study, storytelling, and the exploration of language. It was recorded in part in an old church just outside of Athens, Georgia.

“My hope is that [my music] brings these small and big ideas forward to share a new perspective,” says Bradshaw. “It’s something I think is important and worthwhile in this strange world. Place, and community, and sticking around seem important. History does, too. Telling the story of North Georgia seems important.”


Bradshaw starts this storytelling with the album’s debut track, “Ginseng Daddy,” which like many of Pony Bradshaw’s songs, is told in the first person by the song’s narrator. He also says that the song’s writing is inspired in part by the work of novelist Herman Melville (Moby Dick).

“I’m a shapeshifter,” Bradshaw says. “You can’t trust me. I’m Ginseng Daddy, and Calico Jim, and Holler Rose. Does that make me an unreliable narrator? I am all of them, but I’m none of them, too.”

All of Pony Bradshaw’s previous releases have been met with a relative level of obscurity, even as a very strong contingent of believers rose up to create a national narrative for Bradshaw’s regionally-inspired music. But Thus Spoke The Fool comes at a time when more people are paying attention, and seeking out the type of sincerity in music Pony Bradshaw embodies.

For those in-the-know with Pony Bradshaw, Thus Spoke The Fool will come very highly anticipated.

Thus Spoke The Fool is now available for pre-save and pre-order.

Track List:

1. Ginseng Daddy
2. ¡Viva Appalachia!
3. The Long Man
4. By Jeremiah’s Vision
5. Housebroke
6. Going to Water
7. Young Eudora
8. In the Cinnamon Glow
9. Hiwassee Lament
10. Rebel

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