Stop What You’re Doing & Listen to Logan Ledger’s Debut Songs
On September 8th, 2018, Saving Country Music warned you to remember the name Logan Ledger. As a songwriter and performer who’d been kicking around east Nashville for a couple of years, garnering incredible word-of-mouth buzz even before releasing a lick of recorded music, he was already on the radar and a ripe candidate for being one of the next fast-rising up-and-comers in independent traditional country music. Then when it was announced that Logan had signed to Rounder Records and was working with legendary producer T Bone Burnett, everything became that much more serious.
Now some seven months later, we’re finally getting the first taste of what Logan Ledger is all about, and if anything, the hype hasn’t done it justice. In a 2-song release of the tunes “Starlight” and “Imagining Raindrops” ahead of a full LP scheduled for October, Logan Ledger dazzles with a voice that sounds like cross between Dwight Yoakam and George Jones, brought to life through authentic, tasteful, and timeless country music magic. If you’re a fan of classic country, or its contemporary practitioners such as Zephaniah OHora and Joshua Hedley, stick your nose squarely into these tracks, take a healthy sniff, and be sated.
“On a compositional level, I chose to be very minimal on this one, to say as much as I could without using a whole lot of words,” Ledger says about the first track called “Starlight.” “This was always one of my favorite aspects of some the great country songwriters from the golden era. Willie Nelson, Hank Cochran, Floyd Tillman … they all used a kind of hillbilly haiku approach in their writing. Less really is more.”
Logan Ledger says of the second song “Imagining Raindrops,” “I looked out my window and thought it was raining, only to find on closer inspection that the sun was shining in all its glory. It is a song about the unseen world: the hidden realms that lie behind the veneer concocted by our physical senses—a meditation on the subjective nature of experience disguised as simple country heartbreak.”
Originally from the Bay Area of California, Logan Ledger started playing old time and bluegrass music at the age of 12. Once he discovered the songs of Hank Williams and George Jones, it was all over—he’d found his passion in life. After attending college, Logan relocated to Nashville where he’s been seen playing shows at places such as The 5 Spot, The Basement, and the infamous Honky Tonk Tuesday Nights at the American Legion Post for the last couple of years, making people take notice, and putting his name on the tip of people’s tongues of who could be the “next one.”
T Bone Burnett found out about Ledger when bassist Dennis Crouch sent him a recording of a song called “Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me” that Logan had recorded. He speaks of Logan as his last great project in a career where he’s amassed over a dozen Grammy awards. “[Logan] had, and has, a voice filled with history,” T Bone Burnett says. “I could hear echoes of one great singer after another in his tone. He sang without artifice. As we have been working together over the last couple of years, I have begun to discover the wide territory he is able to cover.”
Recording of Logan Ledger’s debut album commenced in 2018 at the House of Blues studio in Nashville, and comprised an incredible list of players under T Bone Burnett’s instruction, including Russ Pahl who has worked with Tyler Childers and Kacey Musgraves, the legendary Marc Ribot, Dennis Crouch, and drummer Jay Bellerose. For those versed in music lore, they’ll recognize this as the same basic lineup behind Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s Raising Sand record that won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2009.
“I’ve always believed that in order to create something new with purpose, one must be steeped in the past and work from within the tradition,” Logan Ledger says. “It has been a real privilege to work with T Bone on this record. We share a musical vision for the twenty-first century born from the deep well of American music. It has also been a joy to play alongside my gurus (both musical and otherwise) Dennis Crouch, Russ Pahl, and Jay Bellerose.”
The only catch here is that Logan Ledger’s self-titled debut will not be out until October 4th, 2019, so we’ll have to attempt to tide ourselves over on these two debut tracks in the meantime. However Logan will be showcasing at SXSW this upcoming week in a series of shows for those who want to catch him live.
Rest well classic country music fans. The future is in good hands.
Logan Ledger at SXSW:
March 12 – Continental Club (Official Showcase), 11:00 PM
March 13 – BMI Day Party at YETI, 220 South Congress, 1:30 PM
March 13 – Rounder/Fantasy Party at Lucy’s, 2218 College Avenue, 3:00 PM
March 13 – WMOT Broadcast at El Mercado, 1302 South 1st Street, 5:00 PM
March 14 – Luck Reunion Luck, TX, 11:30 AM
Logan Ledger Track List:
- Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me
- Starlight
- Invisible Blue
- I Don’t Dream Anymore
- Nobody Knows
- “(I’m Gonna Get Over This) Some Day”
- Electric Fantasy
- Tell Me A Lie
- Skip A Rope
- The Lights of San Francisco
- Imagining Raindrops
March 11, 2019 @ 8:59 am
Listened to both songs. I approve of this guy! Just when I thought I had enough 2019 projects to be excited about…
March 11, 2019 @ 9:01 am
That’s absolutely superb stuff.Great voice, great songs all country too.All the top record people in Nashville should be tied down and made to listen to this guy continuously for 24 hours so that they can hear what real country music sounds like.
March 11, 2019 @ 9:14 am
Good stuff, reminds me of Cliff Westfall’s criminally underrated release from last year.
March 11, 2019 @ 9:55 am
You’re right. I’ve been wearing that Cliff Westfall record out. I’ll be getting this one for sure.
March 11, 2019 @ 9:17 am
I get a little Ricky Van Shelton from Imagining Raindrops. Good stuff!
March 11, 2019 @ 9:25 am
Holy shit Trigger, thanks man. This guy is fantastic.
March 11, 2019 @ 9:44 am
Trigger you nailed the comment about his voice sounding like a combination of Dwight Yoakam and George Jones. That’s as spot on as when I read somewhere that Randy travis sounded like a combination of Merle Haggard and George Jones. As for the music I didn’t like the vocal effects/scratchy noise. That’s just me though, hope you guys enjoy.
March 11, 2019 @ 9:50 am
I’m in. Nice find, Trig. His vocals are a little hooded and need to be louder in the mix. Very promising.
March 11, 2019 @ 9:51 am
I got a bit of a Tony Villanueva vibe….and I like it.
March 11, 2019 @ 10:11 am
Marc,
Good call on the Tony V comparison. I agree particularly on the Starlight song. He drags his syllables out for a couple beats on certain words as an effect. Tony too utilized this technique and he was in my estimation, one of the finer honky tonk singers of the late 90s. Sadly, The Derailers soldier on without him.
I’ve seen Logan live in Nashville and if you love classic country, he’s the guy. Fun to hear some original material. Never thought of T-bone as a honky tonk producer, but it will be interesting to hear the finished record. I’m probably gonna love it and I’m certain the comment boards will no doubt be full of folks who say he’s too throwback, fake, hipster and the like. Whatever. He’s sincere about making great music and if his end product is great, that’s all that matters. I’m aboard this train!
March 12, 2019 @ 9:26 am
I thought the same thing. Can’t give much higher praise than that era of the Derailers.
March 11, 2019 @ 10:00 am
I’m hearing a cross between Buck Owens and Rhett Miller. The guitars also sound great.
March 11, 2019 @ 10:26 am
I wish I felt more hopeful about the zephaniah oharas , the moe pitneys , and the logan legers in terms of any significant impactful success . sadly , though , I don’t . and its simply because the already – established and proven great COUNTRY vocalists like joe nichols , ronnie dunn , alan jackson , gene watson , even the late daryl singletarry and countless others are all but completely ignored but pretty-much everyone but the younger artists they’ve obviously influenced .
that’s not to say we shouldn’t be happy and encouraged that these folks are making more honest , traditional-sounding COUNTRY music than almost all the main-streamers and certainly have the chops to do that . but I’m not really hearing the uniqueness or inherent heart and emotion in the vocals and lyrics necessary to connect and resonate with us …and in particular with young listeners perhaps unfamiliar with the way george jones , lefty ,jamey johnson and so many other greats could.
I ‘m obviously in the minority here when it comes to LL and reluctant to be critical about Burnett ….but the first song is , for me , about 2 minutes too long . I ‘m not engaged enough by the simplicity in the lyric and the sparse trio arrangement to hang in for over 5 minutes .Its honky-tonk friendly , I suppose ….but I’m just bored . if you want me to hang in I’m gonna need some interesting instrumentation ….or a fat doob !
the second tune addresses the issue of length AND arrangement . its shorter , to the point lyrically and employs , to great effect , a steel guitar . THIS song whets my appetite for more music from LL . I’ll take his vocal styling over just about any mainstreamer right now ….but I think I’ll still be reaching for my Joe Nichols , Merle and Ronnie Dunn CDs before LL’s .
March 11, 2019 @ 10:39 am
You’re right about the first song. I heard that middle instrumental section and thought, “wait, was there supposed to be a guitar solo over that?”
Interesting chord change in that section. I’m sure there are guitar players out there who are dying to put down a take.
March 11, 2019 @ 11:13 am
I was at a show last night featuring the acoustic bluegrass band frank solivan and dirty kitchen.
in a nutshell…INCREDIBLE musicians and singers who exploited and disrespected the 100 or so paying fans by jamming out time and time again over over-done rock classics and less-than-engaging originals . I mean ….these guys were playing for themselves with almost complete disregard at times for a VERY tolerant audience -COMPLETE disregard in a very unprofessional sense which had us wondering aloud how they manage to not only get gigs but to sell product if THIS represented the kind of experience a listener would be subjected to on record . Again ….the most disappointing aspect was that these were world class players displaying NO professionalism when it came to entertaining and engaging an audience .
this is my fear with the first track by LL above . if he is setting a precedent whereby he is pleasing himself in performance to a far greater extent than he’s connecting with or pleasing an audience , he’s destined , particularly in these ADD times , for failure .
i’m surprised that his producer and/or label might condone that approach in attempting to launch LL in this congested musical climate .
again …..I like LL …but I’m curious about other music . with frank solivan and dirty kitchen , however , they were successful in wearing out their welcome to the point where I’m not interested in exploring their material OR attending another show . 15 and 20 minute jams on roy orbison’s ‘ pretty woman ‘ are NOT why I drive an hour to see a ‘ bluegrass ‘ show and I know that at least half of the attendees agree with me
March 11, 2019 @ 11:24 am
Yes, I agree the guitar solo in the first song is too long. Perhaps it will get chopped for the album, and was left long here just to create some texture.
As far as the prospects for Zephaniah OHora or Logan Ledger, I’m a bit more optimistic. I think Zephaniah’s 2nd album is really going to bolster his cause. As for Logan, I think with the team behind this guy, every resource and every opportunity will be afforded to him. Think what you want about T Bone Burnett, the man has launched careers and opened doors, and Rounder Records has a ton of clout. Don’t be surprised if Logan really hits it big.
March 11, 2019 @ 12:21 pm
Albert, I do agree the first song is too long. The guitar solo is pointless. It’s Ribot playing a few jazz like chords in an arpeggiated manner over and over again. It’s cool for about a minute, then it’s as you say, boring. Needs some telecaster twang and sparkle and definitely could benefit from some steel or fiddle. The great honky tonk bands are never trios, they are always 4 or 5 piece. Hopefully this album isn’t another minimalist Cobb type of thing. I know it’s TBONE but maybe he likes the minimal instrument trend too. Hope not.
As to the idea that younger , more pop centric listeners can’t get into this, well I’m a bit selfish, I could care less about that crowd. The masses are eating up what others in their generation tell them is cool. ie: edm, hip-hop and the like. For the rest of us, who love Bakersfield, love Texas Outlaw and can also appreciate the golden age of country music, this is good stuff. You can support it and enjoy it on its own artistic merit, or you can be a get off my lawn guy and proclaim “country music’s dead, never coming back” and refuse to listen to any new or younger artists. I guess I’m still listening to the classics a lot, but also looking for a good live show and if one of these young bloods can do it, then I’m aboard.
March 11, 2019 @ 3:21 pm
WTH, that’s Ribot? Are you kidding me? Sounds like he just punted. That’s not a solo, that’s a backing track.
March 11, 2019 @ 3:29 pm
I was thinking it was T Bone.
March 11, 2019 @ 3:35 pm
Yeah, I assume it’s Ribot. He was mentioned as a player on this and he’s TBONE ‘s go to axe man. Yep it’s pretty much a non-solo, I was being kind in calling it one. For me, I think it needs a twangin’ bangin” low string telecaster ripper solo or maybe even a baritone guitar solo followed by some hot fiddling or some fun steel shreddin. T-bone if you are reading this, it’s a fine demo, but please give us some pizazz to the album cut.
March 11, 2019 @ 3:53 pm
You know, leaving it as is suggest an idea: what if artists put out versions of their tunes with a solo section left blank, and then post them to places where guitarists (or fiddle players, or steel players) around the world can post their takes? Run it as a contest, then invite the winner on stage.
It might be a way of inspiring youngsters to take up guitar. Or fiddle, and things of that nature.
March 11, 2019 @ 10:39 am
Good shit.
March 11, 2019 @ 10:44 am
Sounds a lot like Buck Owens.
March 11, 2019 @ 10:44 am
love his sound! very much looking forward to the release of his record. I marked it on my phone calendar!
March 11, 2019 @ 10:52 am
“hillbilly haiku” – yes. This is one of the ingredients that is missing in a lot of newer writing. Promising artist. Agree with Corncaster about the mix.
March 11, 2019 @ 11:05 am
he slipped in a 7th / flat five chord at the start of the tune!
“New with purpose, steeped in the past”
He’s accomplished that. Really like this music.
March 11, 2019 @ 12:04 pm
Sounds more like just an A chord with an added D# since the E is ringing, too.
March 11, 2019 @ 3:41 pm
Could call it F#sus4 to A5#11. You’d be hard pressed to find that second chord in country music, but it works here. There are add9’s all over country music these days, and yet the music seems to stay in the family. This is real evolution, not the retrograde pop drug nonsense the industry is peddling.
March 11, 2019 @ 5:34 pm
Yea, and i would, except it’s more of a riff, than a chord, ya know? Whatever it is, it’s cool.
March 11, 2019 @ 2:55 pm
Did T-Bone channel the ghost of Chet Atkins? Sounds like Willie before he went back to Texas. I know there’s no string section, but it almost feels like there is. So dreamy I almost fell asleep. Not feeling any energy in this at all. I don’t think Hank done it this way…
Talented vocalist. Guess I like my music with a rough edge or two.
March 11, 2019 @ 3:52 pm
This is so good. Miles ahead of Joshua Hedley in my opinion. I love everything about it.
March 11, 2019 @ 4:26 pm
In the sense that this guy is making more throwback country I think it’s good. However, I feel it’s missing that slight contemporary twist to it that adds a little extra originality to it. I have a way easier time sensing that in a player such as Luke Bell, on Sturgill’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, and of course in what Tyler Childers is doing. I wasn’t a huge fan of Joshua Hedley’s record for the same reason. If I want to listen to throwback music I’ll put on some George Jones. Ledger’s music is kind of disappointing in my opinion.
March 11, 2019 @ 5:22 pm
Speaking of Luke Bell, did he get abducted by aliens?!? Trigger, can you do an update on him?
March 11, 2019 @ 7:37 pm
I have been working on a Luke Bell update for over a year. I’m game if and when he is.
April 19, 2019 @ 12:51 pm
I know Luke personally. He fell off the deep end at the end of 2016. Moved out of Nashville and was staying in Boone. He came back at the end of 2018. Not the same guy. Haven’t seen him in a couple of months. He may be gone again.
April 19, 2019 @ 1:07 pm
That’s too bad, hope he’s alright regardless of what he’s up to. That album is one of the best of the last decade IMO and would be a shame if he didn’t put anything else out. Bummed I never got a chance to see him live as he canceled a couple days before the show in late 2016 here in Minneapolis.
March 12, 2019 @ 1:36 pm
Agreed. Need to wait for the album though.
Try the Dee White album out (Southern Gentleman).. 20 year old kid that is doing some real interesting things. And he can flat out croon!
March 11, 2019 @ 6:21 pm
His name doesn’t get cited any where near as often as Jones, Haggard, or Williams in terms of vocal influences , but the first classic echo I heard in Logan Ledger’s voice was Faron Young. Who was the last artist you could say that about? Even sonically he straddles that same fine line Young walked so confidently between hard country and crooning. I heard the thrill of possibility in those two songs. What higher praise is there than to say I want to hear more of his music?
March 16, 2019 @ 7:24 pm
I agree that Ledger has traces of Faron Young. Faron is one of my favorites.
I don’t love Ledger’s songs, honestly.
March 11, 2019 @ 8:36 pm
Since everyone is chiming in with their “sounds like,” Imaging Raindrops took be back to early Mavericks.
March 12, 2019 @ 8:17 am
Logan has been quietly buzzing in Nashville the past few years on the country circuit and with the Tbone and Rounder Records pairing, he’ll likely blow up. He’s also a frequent collaborator and cowriter with Kristina Murray, who’s latest album from last year was criminally underrated and there’s even a co-write with Ledger on that record, ‘Tell Me’ shouldn’t be overlooked. I hope they write more and continue singing together as they sound great singing together in live shows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBZiXu-iqgA
March 13, 2019 @ 1:33 am
OMG! That first cut gave me shivers pleasure. No fussing around here. No, sir!
March 13, 2019 @ 7:52 pm
To me, “Starlight” sounded a bit like two styles intermingled and showcasing themselves at different parts – really quite intriguing actually! The guitar tones in both tunes (particularly the second) feel nice and live with good depth – again, sounding nice to my ears. Definitely worth seeking out more of Mr Ledger’s material.
Incidentally, I also would welcome any update on what Luke Bell is up to these days.
April 19, 2019 @ 12:53 pm
I know Luke personally. He fell off the deep end in late 2016. Moved out of Nashville to Boone. Came back at the end of 2018. Not the same guy. Haven’t seen him in a couple of months. He may be gone again.
March 19, 2019 @ 10:31 am
Starlight sounds like it is from the 70s or 80s. Just how I like it! I look forward to listening to this guy more.
March 23, 2019 @ 11:39 am
this is a real surprise, a stylist with a great voice