Travis Tritt Set To Premier “Travis Tritt: Homegrown”
It’s been some 12 years since Travis Tritt released a proper studio album, but he’s been tiding fans over in the interim with releases from his dynamic live performances that have been keeping fans quite satiated. The latest is a new live video performance with his full band called Travis Tritt: Homegrown, which was filmed at the Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Georgia in 2018. It is set to premier on AXS TV on Sunday, June 2nd at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Including performances of some of Travis Tritt’s best-known hits such as “Put Some Drive In Your Country,” “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,” “Whisky On Ice,” “Country Club,” “Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares),” “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” it also includes plenty of stage banter and stories that his live shows are known for, including an homage to Waylon Jennings and a rendition of “Lonesome, On’ry And Mean.” At the moment, the show is only set to be viewed on AXS-TV, but don’t be surprised if it is released digitally or to DVD similar to other specials, and if the audio from the concert is made available in album form.
Travis Tritt is also set to participate in an interview with Dan Rather on June 4th from the Country Music Hall of Fame where he talks in depth about his legendary career, including how he was labeled an “Outlaw.” “I looked different than all the rest of the guys,” Tritt says (see clip below). “They were clean cut… They starched and pressed their blue jeans… Meanwhile I was wearin’ a lotta leather. I had hair down to here… and I was very heavily influenced by Blues as a kid. When I tried to bring that extra stuff in… I got a lot of push back from the Nashville establishment.”
Travis Tritt also famously refused to wear a hat on stage, resulting in his “No Hats” tour with Marty Stuart at the time. “I was tryin’ to set myself apart,” Tritt says. “Second reason, and the more practical, was I had all this hair back then… I was not tryin’ to make any kind of statements against cowboy hats.”
With two Grammy Awards, four CMAs, five #1 singles, and 19 Top 10’s, Travis Tritt helped put the drive into country, both sonically and commercially as one of the primary members of the “Class of ’89.” Though his recorded output has slowed recently, he continues to be a strong live draw and tours often.
P.S., sorry the below clips are so thin. Take it up with AXS. The can be expanded to full screen in the bottom right corner after pushing play.
Charles Murphy
June 1, 2019 @ 9:40 am
Hopefully he’s paying his band in a timely manner now.
NPC
June 1, 2019 @ 11:16 am
Would you mind elaborating? This is the first I’ve heard of this…
wayne
June 1, 2019 @ 7:32 pm
Typical. Make an accusation without verification. Probably got it from “sources.” Probably went to the same school as MSNBC journalists, etc. Fine journalism there Charles.
Adam Americana
June 2, 2019 @ 1:25 pm
I think you mean Fox News.
wayne
June 2, 2019 @ 7:14 pm
Still waiting on verification and substantiation from the comment.
Seth of Lampasas
June 1, 2019 @ 11:43 am
First off, I LOVE Travis Tritt, his songs, and his live performance. The man is a pro. I saw him at the Arena Theater in H-town, and even tho the crowd was sparse and sleepy, he rocked the house.
But, idk why Travis feels like he has the capital to knock on the current state of country. You can draw a direct line from some of his output to the crap being promoted today. For better or worse, Chris Stapleton is the face of mainstream country (I think thats a sum positive, but many would disagree, understandably) AND Chris is a direct heir to the Tritt legacy. Travis said so himself during his performance, before launching into a badass rendition of Nobody To Blame. And Trig, I understand why it’s to Travis’ advantage to ignore 2013’s The Calm After…, but there is no arguing the fact that that record was not only shite, but it was also NOT COUNTRY. So, idk how you’re figuring he hasn’t put out a proper studio album in 12 years… What am I missing in regards to that? Was it a cover album or something? I mean, the artwork from that album is what he has plastered on his tour bus…
Lee Ann Womack, Travis Tritt, and others of their ilk who like to knock on the current state of country are telling it like it is, but I can’t help but think that their criticism has more to do with their desire to remain relevant, especially considering the compromises they made to become superstars, at times.
I ripped on Willie recently for that Brantley Gilbert pot song recently, but at least he doesn’t carry on with this holier than thou attitude that a lot of the legacy and Americana acts have devolved to lately.
And I love you Travis, but your outlaw shtick has gotten more transparent and corny as the years have gone by. How much hair you have on your body and a little bluesy influence does not an outlaw make. That shit is tired. (See: Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Daniel Romano, Dee White, Been Jarrell, Margo Price, Brady Quinn, John Full bright, AA, Isbell, Jesse Daniel, Cody Jinks, Jason Boland, Kristina Murray, Brando Carlile, Sarah Jane Scouten, Dusty Rust, Dirty River Boys, and so on)
AND ANYONE WHO CAN BE NAMED AS PART OF THE CLASS OF ’89 IS NOT OUTLAW BY DEFAULT. There was great music there, yes, but that was the most commercialized group of artists in the history of country music.
Skyler
June 2, 2019 @ 5:58 am
I don’t think Travis ever really called himself an outlaw. He was labeled one by others. And he has a lot of influence from outlaws like Waylon Jennings. And I don’t see a direct line from any of his music to the crap now. Just saying Travis and Chris Simpleton are not classic country singers like George Jones but they can both sing and write good country songs and also do some southern rock and blues style music. That is nothing like most of the mainstream crap.
Seth of Lampasas
June 2, 2019 @ 11:31 am
He started the concert by asking the audience, “Are y’all ready to hear some outlaw country?!”…….. I’ve heard him refer to himself as outlaw several times.
Skyler
June 2, 2019 @ 11:42 am
Okay I’ll take your word for it. Not gonna argue I saw him in concert last year and he the only mention I heard from him about outlaw was that he was very close to Waylon Jennings which he notably is, but he didn’t call himself an outlaw when I saw him in concert. And yes he did cover Nobody to Blame when I saw Travis too.
Seth of Lampasas
June 2, 2019 @ 12:52 pm
I had never thought about how similar they are style-wise, and how much Chris is influenced by Travis til I heard him sing that. It was really cool seeing him rock that tune, don’t you think?
Skyler
June 2, 2019 @ 1:21 pm
@Seth of Lampasas
It was really neat because I liked Chris Stapleton already and when Travis started talking about the guys he likes nowadays I knew he was gonna say Stapleton in the back of my mind
Woogeroo
July 14, 2019 @ 2:39 pm
he wrote and recorded a song called ‘outlaws like us’ which he sang with Waylon and Hank Jr., so… yeah, he did.
Skyler
July 14, 2019 @ 2:44 pm
Well if he wasn’t to be considered an outlaw I don’t think the greatest outlaw of all in Waylon would have recorded a song with Travis and Hank Jr. And out of the ‘class of 89’ who would be considered to be an outlaw from that group…. I would say Travis Tritt
Don
June 2, 2019 @ 9:06 am
I think you are confusing the “class of 89” with the mid to late 90’s output. Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Alan Jackson etc.. all of their first 2-3 albums are about as country as it gets, and I would put up against anything in the genre at any period.
Seth of Lampasas
June 2, 2019 @ 11:37 am
The class of ’89 is what gave us the mid to late 90’s output, so I’m not sure what your point is.
You’re right about their early albums, but they all eventually compromised here and there to stay relevant, except Alan and George and maybe Clint.
Luckyoldsun
June 2, 2019 @ 9:36 pm
Oh, come on. Clint started doing this M-o-R crap like “A Bad Goodbye” with Wynonna Judd and whatever dreck he could come up with for Lisa Hartman Black
Seth of Lampasas
June 2, 2019 @ 10:28 pm
Lol
What is M-o-R crap?
vikingwench
June 6, 2019 @ 3:23 pm
Middle of the Road
Talmadge East
June 1, 2019 @ 1:57 pm
I am hopeful, but ‘The Storm’ was awful.
hoptowntiger94
June 1, 2019 @ 6:59 pm
Legendary? He tries too hard to be an Outlaw.
Steel&Antlers
June 1, 2019 @ 10:24 pm
I believe the only time he ever wore a hat onstage was an event in which he played with Waylon and Waylon let Travis wear his hat.
Link to the event – https://youtu.be/xT9ZhmZylcU
Seth of Lampasas
June 2, 2019 @ 11:40 am
When I saw him in Houston he had a hat on for the first half of the show.
Garrett Roe
June 5, 2019 @ 7:17 am
I’ve seen him put on a hat for his encores
Woogeroo
June 2, 2019 @ 2:34 pm
Almost every time I saw Tritt perform he’d put on a cowboy hat when he was about to get loud and do his southern rock songs full tilt… great singer, great live performer. If you like his songs, go see him live if you get the chance. I hope he comes back out with a good album again someday. But to be honest a lot of his stuff is about as country as the loud rocking hank jr. songs. 🙂
Luckyoldsun
June 2, 2019 @ 8:17 pm
“Though his recorded output has slowed recently, …”
Good one!.
In the last–oh, 15 or 20 years, Travis requires clearance from the FBI, Interpol, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir before he’ll record any new material. (And he rarely gets it.)
But I hear he’s in the studio re-editing and re-mixing “The Storm” for a fall re-release. “This is the album I meant to make before I was cheated by my record label,” Travis said. “My fans will love it.”
Seth of Lampasas
June 2, 2019 @ 10:14 pm
That would be interesting. I’d give it a chance. Where did you hear that?
And is that why we’re being encouraged to ignore that record? If he truly didn’t have control of the production of that record (personally, I find that hard to believe that he would allow himself to be put in that position, but it’s definitely plausible), I would love to see a The Calm After…: Redux.
the pistolero
June 2, 2019 @ 8:42 pm
Tritt recorded “Lonesome, On’ry, and Mean” on a Waylon tribute album back in the early 2000s, and it was really damn good, to the point that to this day I pine for a whole album of him doing nothing but Waylon covers.
Seth of Lampasas
June 2, 2019 @ 10:06 pm
Lol
What is M-o-R crap?
KGD
June 3, 2019 @ 7:30 am
Middle of the Road would be my guess.
Jack Williams
June 3, 2019 @ 8:30 am
Yep. I associate MOR with a radio format that would play soft, easy listening music. Like, say, I Write The Songs by Barry Manilow.
RD
June 3, 2019 @ 4:11 am
Travis Tritt is super-talented. His early output is some of my favorite from that era. That, couple with the fact that Waylon thought highly of him, is enough for me. In that time (late 80’s/early 90’s,) Garth, Clint Black, Alan Jackson, always seemed like a put-on to me. Travis Tritt was more authentic and less contrived.
RD
June 3, 2019 @ 4:15 am
I know this is hard to believe now, but at that time, those other guys seemed like pop country to me. To some degree, Alan Jackson has grown on me, but I will never completely disavow my initial impression that a lot of that stuff was line-dancing-craze-era pop country. The kind of stuff that 40-year old moms line danced to when they went out for sweet pink drinks with the other moms.
CeeCeeBee
June 3, 2019 @ 7:57 am
Just a quick observation…
Back when Tritt, Black, Jackson, etc. were dominant, there was no streaming and no way to listen to music other than the radio or buying the physical copy of the music. For all the bitching about “M-o-R” music, it’s important to understand that radio and record lables had even MORE control then than they have now. If you weren’t on the radio, you had NO CHANCE. These guys sometimes did what they had to do, but the bulk of their music was traditional, country, and good.
TXMUSICJIM
June 3, 2019 @ 2:08 pm
I saw him and the CDB a few months back and Travis can still bring it on stage full band and solo acoustic and the pipes are strong as ever!