Arlo McKinley Gets John Prine’s Approval Ahead of New Album
It was in 2014 when an outfit called Arlo McKinley and the Lonesome Sound seemed to appear out of nowhere, emanating from the Cincinnati area, and catching everyone off guard with the earnest and weighty songwriting of their self-titled debut album. But just as quickly as they appeared, they seemed to disappear without much explanation.
Now six years later, and again seemingly out of nowhere, it’s been announced that Arlo McKinley was the very final artist John Prine himself approved to be signed to Prine’s Oh Boy Records, and is readying a debut solo record called Die Midwestern slated for release on August 14th. Knowing what Arlo is capable of and with the quality of the first single “Walking Shoes” (listen below), it’s certainly an album to get on your radar.
Now 40-years-old, MicKinley kind of gave up on music for a while, and almost missed a big opportunity. Tyler Childers happens to be a fan as well, and wanted to have Arlo open some shows for him. But they couldn’t get Arlo on the line because he refused to answer an unknown phone number. Finally, he picked up. “I’m a little wiser in my ways and a 20 something me would’ve found a way to destroy the one dream that has stuck with me my entire life,” Arlo says.
One thing led to another, and all of a sudden John Prine was listening to Arlo McKinley’s songs. “John was reserved in his praise for songwriters. I played him a couple of Arlo’s songs and he heard ‘Bag Of Pills’ and said, ‘that’s a good song’ which for him, was very high praise.” John Prine’s son Jody says. “He loved Arlo’s voice, this big guy with a sweet, soulful, gospel voice. He loved the dichotomy of the hard life lived, presented through such beautiful songs and John was very excited about the promise of the album’s release.”
John Prine also took the time to see Arlo McKinley perform live. “The feeling of knowing that a hero of mine took time out of his day to come see me perform is such an accomplishment in itself to me that if it all ended the next day and I found out music just wasn’t in the cards for me, I would’ve still considered everything I have done as a success,” Arlo says.
Die Midwestern was recorded at Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, and was produced by Matt Ross-Spang. An all-star Memphis band came together for the recording sessions that included Ken Coomer, David Smith, Will Sexton, Rick Steff, Jessie Munson and Reba Russell.
Die Midwestern is now available for pre-order.
TRACK LIST:
- We Were Alright
- Die Midwestern
- She’s Always Around
- Bag of Pills
- The Hurtin’s Done
- Suicidal Saturday Night
- Once Again
- Whatever You Want
- Gone For Good
- Walking Shoes
Jacob
June 17, 2020 @ 6:45 pm
Arlo sings some of my favorite sad country songs. The songwriting on his debut album was outstanding and I expect nothing less from his second offering.
Jebba
June 17, 2020 @ 7:40 pm
Damn, I love me some Arlo! Being from the Cincinnati area, I’ve seen him countless times. Such a sweet, soft-spoken guy doing what he loves. He is certainly the new king of melancholy. I’ve been waiting for this release for a while now and I’m so excited that its coming.
Crum
June 17, 2020 @ 7:47 pm
Best music news I’ve gotten in a while. Loved Arlo’s debut, and it feels like I’ve been waiting for this album for 2-3 years now. Glad it’s finally getting released!
mouths of babes
June 18, 2020 @ 4:15 am
Here in Lexington, we have been waiting for the release of Die Midwestern for the last 3 years. He recorded an EP 2 years ago, but it never saw proper release, just file sharing with the obsessive fans. Anyway, thanks for this update! I saw it in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep til I shared it with the 5 other huge Arlo fans I know.
hoptowntiger94
June 18, 2020 @ 4:22 am
Yes! Not much comes good out of Ohio music wise, but Arlo stands up against and above the deepest, rooted country from the south.
Capn
June 18, 2020 @ 5:56 am
Love it when artists include a piano. Gives the sound such a good, organic feel. Wish more did so. That fiddle is tremendous as well.
Nick
June 18, 2020 @ 6:24 am
Glad to see him get some attention. I never u fees told how he managed to go so unnoticed with his vocal and lyrical abilities. Congrats, Arlo!
Adam Gump
June 18, 2020 @ 7:26 am
damn, I love Arlo’s singling. So superb, especially if you like the slower, sad songs that gets the emotions running. Hell, just his voice gets my emotions running. His release before this song was “Ghost of my best friend” and it was wonderful, I listen to Arlo daily.
John Prine being a fan sends a strong message about Arlo’s skills. This song, “Walking Shoes” has the slower sound but is also upbeat if that makes sense. oh, his voice….this guy should be a star. compare this to today’s country radio and one would think that Arlo is in a completely different genre of music…or….today’s country is just that terrible
thanks for covering Arlo, been listening to him for a couple of years now thanks to your writing.
Daniele
June 18, 2020 @ 10:47 am
I love his sound! Isn’t he somehow linked to the other Ohio’s country pride Jeremy Pinnell?
Travis
June 18, 2020 @ 1:58 pm
They played together under the name “The Great Depression”. A friend gave me a CD back in 2007(?) with their songs, 12 of the best/saddest songs you’ve ever heard. I still listen to it weekly, it is so good. I just found this on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMv82WU1Y64
mouths of babes
June 18, 2020 @ 4:23 pm
I saw the Great Depression open up for Lucero and Limbeck in Cincy sometime in 05 or 06. I’m now realizing that it was a drunk Arlo that was heckling Limbeck from the side of the stage and messing with some of their gear. This caused Patrick to change some lyrics to things like “drunk guys at the side of the stage don’t bother me”. Which, of course, delighted the hell out of all of us Limbeck fans. Then Lucero came on and some guy got a beer bottle broken on his head and knocked over 2 merch tables, then like 9 cops showed up….oh, the good old days.
Travis
June 18, 2020 @ 5:02 pm
Sounds like fun! I’ve been to a few wild Lucero shows…
I was supposed to see the Great Depression open up for Rocky Votolato here in Austin in 2007 or 2008. The guy’s van broke down and they missed the show, and I never got the chance to see them again. Total bummer. Rocky was great though! Hopefully Arlo will come to Texas in the near future.
mouths of babes
June 19, 2020 @ 5:14 am
At the time all I knew about The Great Depression was that they were a local band that scored the opening slot for the show. Thinking about that show got me thinking about Limbeck and I found this on YouTube from 3 months ago. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HMDAgrcIZYk&list=PLg2vb9mlEequIHs2kx2eNgINKAVNZJxJ2&index=2
Maybe they were planning some mini-reunion tour? One can only hope.
Daniele
June 19, 2020 @ 6:06 am
Thank you Travis and all the others, i’ll check them out. Ilove Jeremy’s and Arlo’s sound.
Ted staples
June 18, 2020 @ 7:37 pm
Wow, he’s really good 😊
The Kirkland Brand WTF Guy
June 18, 2020 @ 8:53 pm
So did anyone bother to leave a voicemail? The lead single is good, damn good. I’m looking forward to the full length.
Charlie
June 19, 2020 @ 10:19 am
My thoughts exactly! Anybody calling my ass out of the blue better know they’ll need to leave a VM if they ever want to talk to me.
This is good stuff though. Glad to hear about Arlo McKinley!
Ruth
June 19, 2020 @ 9:26 am
I feel like I just got an amazing gift from John Prine. I never would have known who Arlo McKinley was if I hadn’t read that Arlo was last person JP signed to Oh Boy Records. Arlo McKinley’s songs are so beautiful and cut to the truth of matters. Wonderful. JP hit the nail on the head with this one. LOVE what I’ve heard. ❤️
Charlie
June 19, 2020 @ 10:16 am
Now sign The Tillers!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W0a0QI-ksk
Toddxolsen
June 25, 2020 @ 8:26 pm
Pretty sure he didn’t go anywhere. He’s been playing shows and festivals pretty heavy for the last however many years.