The world is a much better place with the Turnpike Troubadours making music again.
The nearly six year drought that transpired following the release of A Long Way From Your Heart in 2017 came to an end with Mean Old Sun in 2023, their first single post-hiatus. But given what they went through during that gap, new music from the greatest band of all time will never be taken for granted.
Though it has only been a week since a billboard advertising the album sprouted up unassumingly on the side of a highway in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the epicenter of the Red Dirt scene, the news traveled quickly and the anticipation of new music hit fans everywhere like a freight train when it became a reality. And now that their sixth album is here in its entirety, it’s safe to say Turnpike still reigns supreme as the best band in the land.
Titled The Price of Admission, the 11 track follow up to A Cat in the Rain continues the band’s collaboration with producer Shooter Jennings, and finds the crew in a new headspace, enjoying the moment while still reckoning with an admittedly troubled past. With an array of subject matter at hand and their signature country sound on full display, overarching themes of embracing the present and grappling with temptation tie the project together in a manner that only a master lyricist like Evan Felker is capable.
There is no band, or songwriter perhaps, that does a better job of transporting the listener to a specific place and time, painting a picture with vivid imagery and an almost maniacal attention to detail, than the Turnpike Troubadours and chief lyricist Felker. With descriptive lyricism that eloquently sets their home state of Oklahoma as the backdrop for the stories and interactions that transpire within each track, Felker and an all-star cast of co-writers make the listener feel like as if they are an old friend and a local who has shared in their experiences, both good and bad.
The majority of the album seems to be written from the perspective of different characters within the band’s world, and while there is little that is straightforward about the whirlwind the band has been on over the past several years, anecdotes of Felker’s life seem to be sprinkled throughout frequently enough to make it personal and introspective, yet allegorical and up for interpretation in nature. It wouldn’t be a Turnpike Troubadours album, though, if the themes and deeper meanings were left out on a pedestal for the listener to digest with ease. Instead, as is the case with almost all of Felker’s work to date, The Price of Admission requires a great deal of thought and reading between the lines to grasp its magnitude.
So, without further ado, check it out for yourself here:
The Price of Admission Tracklist
“On The Red River” (Evan Felker and Ketch Secor)
Co-penned by Felker and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor, the album’s lead track will send shivers down your spine from the first note. A heartfelt ode to the band’s home state that seemingly intertwines Felker’s past propensity for the bottle with the passing of someone, or something, special to him, “On The Red River” is a cleverly written ballad that gives us the album’s title and sets the tone for the album right off the bat.
“We learned that pain was the price of admission
And you’re never done paying it down”
“Search For A Light” (Felker and John Fullbright)
Rekindling a dynamic songwriting partnership with a former Turnpike member and long time collaborator, “Search For A Light” brings John Fullbright back into the picture for a self-aware love song that is paradoxically hopeful and heartbreaking.
“Find me in the darkness past the bridges I left broken
A heart that’s cut wide open like a child that’s gone astray
Forgive me of my nonsense, I’m still out chasing shadows
And searching for a light I never thought would go away”
“Forgiving You” (Felker)
“Learning in kind, the voice in my mind ain’t never been mine all along
Forgiving you is a thing I can do, no matter what you have done wrong
I relate to it all as the whipporwill calls
Lovesick and open about it
Lonesome for home that I left long ago”
“Be Here” (Felker)
“My books and clothes and soul, I’m packed
My roommate tells me ’bout Iraq
Patched him up when he came back
I guess I’ve had it easy”
“Heaven Passing Through” (Felker)
Another solo write, this track portrays a full circle moment for Felker. Reminiscing on the days of old when he possessed a childlike curiosity for the world, as the vices that eventually took hold of him were new and exciting, the narrator presumably became jaded by it all and lost that uninhibited luster for life. But with a clear mind that has allowed Felker to embrace his role a family man as a father of two, a moment observing constellations with his daughter represents the reignition of that once lost fervor for life.
“Now we stare up and I say constellations that I know
You repeat ’em back, but you don’t care, you’re only three years old
It’s nice to see the world the same as someone
It feels so good to be up late, pretending that I’m young
Come back from the dark somehow, finally living in the here and now
No sign of a thundercloud following you
Don’t take it personal, the world don’t turn around you
Hold on to the moment like it’s heaven passing through”
“The Devil Plies His Trade (Sn 6 Ep 3)” (Felker and Kyle Nix)
A hard driving, fiddle laden tune that puts Nix’s talent as well as the whole band’s sound on full display, this track follows a soul-stirring conversation with the devil, as he does what he does best and preys on the vulnerable and feeble-minded.
“Looks like you’ve fallen on some hard times, friend, well don’t you find it odd
That good folks just like you and me feel cast aside by God
While the Gulf Coast drowns in the wind and rain, California catches fire
And it’s no fault of your nor mine, nor a rightful angel’s choir”
“A Lie Agreed Upon” (Felker)
“I’m tired of living in a tragedy
I’m tired of feeling empty
I didn’t have an exit plan
Of the wreck behind me
Now I’ve shown up, hat in hand”
“Ruby Ann” (R.C. Edwards and Lance Raork)
The duo of Turnpike bassist R.C. Edwards and Tahlequah friend Lance Roark that brought us “Chipping Mill” on the previous record is back at it again with another catchy and cleverly written tune. Narrating a complicated relationship with a lady named Ruby Ann, the band introduces yet another character into the Turnpike world.
“Ruby Ann, ain’t you a daisy in the sunlight of the spring?
Ruby Ann, you are a beckoning that keeps on calling me
Ruby Ann, to you I promise, I promise you my life
I’ll love you ’til the morning if you hold me through the night”
“What Was Advertised” (Felker)
“Did you dig yourself a hole, with your lack of self control?
Well if that ain’t rock and roll, I’ve never seen it”
“Leaving Town (Woody Guthrie Festival)” (Felker and Dave Simonett)
If you trace the music back far enough, one could make the case that Woody Guthrie pioneered the Red Dirt scene long before people cared enough about it to give it a name. His influence is everywhere within the scene, so it only makes sense that Turnpike would include an ode to the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma on the album, laden with Oklahoma imagery and memories.
In a collaboration that few could have seen coming, Felker teamed up with Trampled By Turtles’ Dave Simonett to pen this track.
“Here I am now, I’m torn and tattered
All mixed up in the local crowd
Well, I remember when all that mattered
Was getting older and leaving town”
“Nothing You Can Do” (Nix)
When the band went on its hiatus, several members pursued separate musical endeavors, and this song may sound familiar if you were following along during that time. Nix started his band The 38’s during this stretch, and he really showed off his songwriting prowess with the band’s debut album Lightning on the Mountain and Other Short Stories in 2020. More recently, though, they released a second record called After the Flood, Vol. 1 in 2023, and “Nothing You Can Do” made it’s way on there with fellow Oklahoman Ken Pomeroy taking the lead on vocals.
Unsurprisingly, the track fits perfectly within the ethos of this album and the whole story of the Turnpike Troubadours. A haunting tune that seemingly deals with the helplessness and loneliness that can come with giving into temptation, a feeling that likely hits home with the band given their well documented bouts with substance abuse and other issues over the years, “Nothing You Can Do” in this context feels like a reflective attempt at address the past as Turnpike continues this chapter of their post-hiatus career.
“In the old town square he stands alone
As they’re sweeping up the streets of cobblestone
While the accordion plays a soft mournful tune
There’s nothing you can do”
In addition to the aforementioned members of the band – Felker, Nix, and Edwards – the Turnpike Troubadours also features Ryan Engleman slinging guitar, Gabe Pearson on drums, and Hank Early on steel. Together, these guys make up the best band in the business, and if you’re not convinced by this album, seeing them live in concert will surely do the trick.
Luckily for you, Turnpike is playing shows at their highest rate since returning from hiatus. This album’s release coincides with their co-headlining run of shows alongside fellow Red Dirt royalty Cross Canadian Ragweed, who is making an emphatic return to the stage for the first time in 15 years, and with shows all across the country on the docket in the next few months, there are plenty of opportunities to catch Turnpike live.
Turnpike Troubadours Tour Dates:
April 10—Stillwater, OK—Boone Pickens Stadium – The Boys From Oklahoma*
(SOLD OUT)
April 11—Stillwater, OK—Boone Pickens Stadium – The Boys From Oklahoma*
(SOLD OUT)
April 12—Stillwater, OK—Boone Pickens Stadium – The Boys From Oklahoma*
(SOLD OUT)
April 13—Stillwater, OK—Boone Pickens Stadium – The Boys From Oklahoma*
(SOLD OUT)
May 8—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre
May 9—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre
June 20—Dublin, Ireland—Phoenix Park+
June 21—Dublin, Ireland—Phoenix Park+
June 22—Dublin, Ireland—Phoenix Park+
June 25—Manchester, U.K.—New Century
June 26—Birmingham, U.K.—O2 Institute
June 27—London, U.K—Islington Assembly
June 29—London, U.K—BST Hyde Park+
July 10-13—Milwaukee, WI—Harley Davidson Homecoming
July 11—Waite Park, MN—The Ledge Amphitheater
July 25—Alpharetta, GA—Ameris Bank Amphitheatre (Outlaw Music Festival)
July 26—Charlotte, NC—PNC Music Pavilion (Outlaw Music Festival)
July 27—Raleigh, NC—Coastal Credit Union Music Park (Outlaw Music Festival)
July 29—Virginia Beach, VA—Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater (Outlaw Music Festival)
August 3—Portland, ME—Back Cove
August 8—Darien Center, NY—Darien Lake Amphitheater (Outlaw Music Festival)
August 9—Hershey Park, PA—Hersheypark Stadium (Outlaw Music Festival)
August 10—Syracuse, NY—Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater (Outlaw Music Festival)
August 15—San Francisco, CA—Golden Gate Park
August 17—Springfield, IL—Illinois State Fair
August 23—Waco, TX—McLane Stadium – The Boys From Oklahoma*
September 4-6—Madison, IN—Unbroken Circle Music Festival
September 20—Durant, OK—The Grand Theater – Choctaw Casino & Resort
October 11—Birmingham, AL—Iron Hills Country
October 12—Birmingham, AL—Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark
*co-headline with Cross Canadian Ragweed
+with Zach Bryan
