Kelsey Waldon Details New Album “White Noise/White Lines”
Kelsey Waldon ain’t clowning around ladies and gentlemen. She’s here to make classic country and high waistlines cool again, and has been slaving away at this effort for going on seven years now. Heretofore, Kelsey Waldon’s labors have been mostly relegated to the independent country realm and people who know what real Picante sauce is supposed to taste like. But now that she’s become the first signee to John Prine’s Oh Boy Records in fifteen years, she’s ready now to take this shit international.
Waldon will release her third album called White Noise/White Lines on October 4th, and has just released a new song to go along with the album announcement called “Anyhow” (listen below). Produced by Kelsey with Dan Knobler, this album damn well better be on your wish for fall releases or you might as well out yourself as a Florida Georgia Line fan now.
“It’s hard for me to put into words what it truly means to me to be signed to Oh Boy Records,” Waldon said after the signing. “To have someone like John, who I have looked up to my whole life, who I have set my songwriting standards after and my general music making standards after, to have someone like him endorse my music and care enough about it to make sure it reaches a wider audience…that means everything.”
Kelsey Walson is originally from Ballard County, Kentucky, and the tiny, unicorporated area known as Monkey’s Eyebrow where the Ohio River looms in the distance ready to flood all creation at a moment’s notice. A descendant of tobacco farmers to cattle raisers, Kelsey’s story is closely tied to the land, just like her music, and she’s a proud member of the country music insurgency taking root in the Bluegrass State.
“Farming and planting tobacco were some of the first jobs I had growing up,” Kelsey says, but getting her hands on a guitar at age 13 did her in good for pursuing music. “I finally felt like I was a part of something when I started playing and writing music. It was something that finally made everything make sense, and it was a very essential and healthy thing for me during my younger years, and still is.”
Waldon set out for Nashville when she was old enough, at first not intending to attend college. But she eventually ended up at Belmont, studying music and the business behind it, and becoming the first of her family to graduate from higher education. While working full time, she started playing around town, landing bigger and bigger gigs, including playing at the legendary Station Inn, and eventually ending up on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
“I’ve spent a huge majority of my life studying my favorite records, my favorite songs, and my most-favorite singers,” Waldon says. “You never stop learning or gaining from it. I’m still doing it all the time… all the while still writing my own story and hopefully becoming an entity in my own right.”
White Noise/White Lines is now available for pre-order.
White Noise/White Lines track listing:
- “Anyhow”
- “White Noise, White Lines”
- “Kentucky (Interlude)”
- “Kentucky, 1988”
- “Lived and Let Go”
- “Black Patch”
- “Run (Interlude)”
- “Run Away”
- “Sunday’s Children”
- “Very Old Barton”
- “My Epitaph”
Kevin Davis
July 9, 2019 @ 7:25 pm
Kelsey Waldon, Erin Enderlin, Michaela Anne, Karen Jonas — these are the women I want to hear on country radio. Not Carrie Underwood’s “Southbound” or whatever Maren Morris is doing.
Black Boots
July 10, 2019 @ 4:46 am
I’d like to hear both. I enjoy dessert after a good meal.
Phil Oxford
July 9, 2019 @ 9:25 pm
So excited for this. September 27 & October 4 is gonna be a hell of a week for roots music!
LG
July 10, 2019 @ 2:34 am
I liked her last two quite a bit. Looks like we might have a third winner in a row.
Daniele
July 10, 2019 @ 3:16 am
Another gem from Kentucky!! Really looking out for this album, very easily in my AOTY list.
Jack Williams
July 10, 2019 @ 5:25 am
Great news. I know I’ve been jonesing for new music from her.
OlaR
July 10, 2019 @ 5:54 am
She sounds a little breathless on “Anyhow”.
In The Pipeline:
Opry member Crystal Gayle will release a new album (after a 16 year break) in September (09/06). Name of the album: You Don’t Know Me.
The album features a duet with her sisters Loretta Lynn & Peggy Sue Wright.
Texas country star Kevin Fowler will release his new album in August (08/23) with the name
Barstool Stories. Chris Stapleton co-wrote a song for the album & Cody Johnson is featured too.
Out Of The Pipe…Out Of Nowhere:
Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen – Hold My Beer & Watch This (Live album with full band) was released (07/04) without any pre-release buzz.
Let’s not forget…well…sort of…Parmalee released a new single: “Be Alright”.
A new Kenny Chesney single is on the way: “Tip Of My Tongue” (co-written by Ed Sheeran & Ross Copperman).
Drew Baldridge drops his new single too: “Middle Of Nowhere Kids”.
Meh, Meh & Meh:
Blanco Brown with “The Git Up” leads Billboards Hot Country Song chart.
Robert's Country Blog
July 10, 2019 @ 11:36 am
Kristy Cox released a new song from her next album, “No Headlights.”
618creekrat
July 10, 2019 @ 1:34 pm
Thanks for the heads up on Randy & Wade’s project. Like their others, it’s good.
Cackalack
July 10, 2019 @ 6:00 am
I am excited for this.
Melissa W
July 10, 2019 @ 8:05 am
Never heard of her. From the video above I loved her sound and voice. Will definitely stream her album when released. Thanks, Trigger
Racer53
July 10, 2019 @ 9:15 am
I’ve been looking forward to new music from Kelsey for a while now. It made my day when I saw this! Anyone that hasn’t before, needs to check out her first 2 albums
618creekrat
July 10, 2019 @ 11:10 am
To me, her first two albums sound a bit like if Nikki Lane decided to go straight country, with a steel guitar foundation – not a bad recipe at all. This cut strikes me as being more in a Tyler Childers direction, which is also very promising. Am anticipating buying it when it’s released.
Kevin Smith
July 11, 2019 @ 9:00 am
Man, do I love this! This gal is more country than so many out there. There’s a twang, a grit, and an authenticity going on that evokes Loretta, Iris Dement, and maybe a little Lacy J Dalton. A female Dwight perhaps. She deserves to be heard but we all know there’s no chance country radio would even consider her. I hate to even think this but I will say it, I fear that she , being tied into Prine’s label will end up in Americana and possibly get lost or overlooked. Those who tolerate my insane ramblings here know I’ve struggled to get the Americana thing for a while. These days it seems like the most political artists in that realm, get the most attention, or at least those that the powers that be wish to reward, while many others never get their due.
This gal seemingly is all about playing authentic country music. I would hope The Oprey discovers her and she gets a chance on the bigger stages. Creek rat above , compared her to Nikki Lane. Nikki is sort of going it alone, building her base by relentlessly touring, and being a very shrewd self marketer, which only comes with a tenacious drive and work ethic. Nikki , I think has figured out how to make a living with this, in part due to her side hustle, the vintage store. It does seem like Kelsey is making connections , so hopefully she gets some exposure and ultimately finds a way to also make this work as a career. Shes unique, gifted and has a lot to bring to real country music, IMO.