Kyle Nix of the Turnpike Troubadours Has Something Cooking

photo: Brad Coolidge

Turnpike Troubadours fans continue to be totally not okay with the indefinite hiatus the band is currently in the midst of at the moment, aside from hoping for healing for all parties and trying to be patient for however long that takes. Unfortunately there is no new word on if or when a reunification is coming, but one silver lining to the situation is that a few of Turnpike’s members are staying busy, and helping to keep the side effects of Turnpike withdrawals to a minimum.

Bassist and songwriter RC Edwards has been busy with his side project RC and the Ambers, which has been playing numerous shows around Oklahoma during the hiatus. Lead guitar player Ryan Engleman continues to play with Texas-based Reckless Kelly after the departure of long-time Reckless Kelly guitarist David Abeyta in February. Fans have been raving about Ryan in Reckless Kelly fill in duty, saying he’s helped light a fire under the band who recently promised to have two new albums and 20 new songs heading our way in May of 2020.

Lead singer and songwriter Evan Felker also has been making noise lately, even though it’s from a song that was recorded before the hiatus. “Whiskey In Your Water with Carrie Rodriguez was just released as part of Bruce Robison’s The Next Waltz project. It was written and recorded in April of 2019, and includes the Next Waltz house band behind him.

But one major Turnpike member we’ve yet to hear from is fiddler Kyle Nix. As folks who follow Turnpike closely will tell you, when turmoil started to roil the band, Nix really stepped up to try and hold things together as best he could from the fiddle position. Like many of the Turnpike Troubadours members, he’s though of very highly of by fans and fellow musicians alike.

Through the hiatus Kyle Nix has been guesting with other artists, including with RC and the Ambers, as well as Texas songwriter Jason Eady. But he also has something else brewing. In July, Nix posted a photo of an acoustic guitar with the simple caption, “Writing & more writing #countrymusic.” Then last week he posted a photo of an electric Telecaster with the caption, “I’m workin’ hard on a record, man. And today it’s gettin’ pretty dern spaghetti western #tremelo #countrymusic #enniomorricone #turnpiketroubadours.”

As long-time Turnpike Troubadours fans know, Kyle Nix isn’t just a fiddle player. He regularly has been seen on stage playing bass when Evan Felker takes a stage break, and RC Edwards sings a tune or two.

Do we have a Kyle Nix solo record in the offing, or perhaps a project he’s working on with someone else? Whatever it is, Turnpike Troubadours fans are here for it. Of course what they really want to hear is news that the band is getting back together. But whether eventually they do or not, the individual members of the Turnpike Troubadours have already burrowed deep into the hearts of many country music fans, and will receive undivided attention for whatever they do into the foreseeable future.

Stay tuned.

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