Unspoken Tradition's "Weary Town" Tops Bluegrass Radio Chart
Unspoken Tradition's latest single, "Weary Town" --- a song that tackles the feelings of alienation and loss on a communal, rather than personal, level --- has topped this month's Bluegrass Today radio chart.
Written by North Carolina artist John Cloyd Miller (Zoe & Cloyd), long known for his ability to make new material sound like it emerged from an earlier time, "Weary Town" is reflective of Unspoken Tradition's own small North Carolina town, as described by singer and guitar player Audie McGinnis:
"Our hometown was a great place to grow up. It thrived for decades because of a trucking company founded by some of its citizens. Many locals found work there; it was almost analogous to a mining town. That trucking company was bought by a larger corporation that ultimately closed the terminal, and the town became a shell of its former self in a matter of a few years. It hurts in a way only bittersweet nostalgia can to know that the town where I made so many memories exists in name only."
With McGinnis' opening vocals emerging from a solemn acoustic guitar strum and bowed bass, the forlorn feel of the prelude sets an introspective, melancholy tone that shapes the track's moody, expansive arrangement and delivery. Breaking with traditional bluegrass arrangement approaches, the single forgoes instrumental solos in favor of bowed bass, unison passages, tempo and feel changes, and intricately layered instrumental sequences that create a dynamic listening experience, reflecting the lyric's somber invocation of a sense of place, a sense of loss and a search for a path forward.
"When John sent us this one," McGinnis concludes, "it just ripped at my heart, because it makes the struggle and loss of a fading town so real. 'What's it gonna take for us to hold on?' Iris Dement couldn't have written a better love letter to a fading town!"
"Weary Town" is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
