Turnpike Troubadours Put Cool Twist on Brew Partnership
Look, I’m not here to knock anybody. Merchandising and licensing deals are one of the lifebloods of music, and much of independent music specifically. Your favorite band isn’t getting by just on their Spotify streams alone, trust me.
But I can’t tell you how achingly predictable and just sort of uncool it feels to see so many artists releasing a signature line of booze these days. At one point it was kinda cool. But now most any artist of any decent size has one, and it’s gone from something unique to something that’s almost expected.
This isn’t to knock some local brewery when they decide to do a limited-edition bottle, can, or brew commemorating a cool artist, or to be a total prude about artists wanting to put their mug on an alcohol product. More power to them. It’s just so par for the course these days, it feels pretty uninteresting when the announcements come out about a new one seemingly weekly.
But I have to say, the Turnpike Troubadours partnering with a coffee company actually seems quietly awesome, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t even drink coffee, and doesn’t get excited about these kinds of things ever. It’s an interesting twist on the country music brew partnership, and a very subtle and unspoken jab at always making these deals about alcohol, especially when so many artists and their fans are sober these days.
Sure, many people can enjoy alcohol responsibly. But it’s cool to see a band offer an alternative, especially one with numerous members who’ve struggled with alcohol themselves. When they put George Jones on bottles of moonshine and vodka, it never sat right with me after how much he struggled with the sauce. This isn’t just about coffee. It’s about what it symbolizes.
The Turnpike Troubadours have partnered with the Onyx Coffee Lab out of Rogers, Arkansas to offer the limited edition “Long Road Home” blend. The coffee is said to come with an aroma of chocolate, molasses, heavy body, and fruit punch. For more info and to purchase, CLICK HERE.
Now I know that what most of y’all out there want from the Turnpike Troubadours right now, and it’s not necessarily a cup of joe. You want new music dammit. Well, I’m sure that’s brewing too and will be on the way sooner than later. I’m kind of surprised we haven’t heard at least a new single at this point. But give the boys from Oklahoma some space. I’m sure they want to get this right, and so should the rest of us.
This story has been updated.
January 23, 2023 @ 9:20 am
And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold…
You’d be better off to drink your coffee black….
January 23, 2023 @ 9:33 am
I ordered it but goodness it’s absurdly expensive for coffee, 2-3x what you’d pay a specialty roaster for the same weight. Better be awesome!
January 23, 2023 @ 9:38 am
Can’t wait to see how hard TT fans cream their pants over this.
January 23, 2023 @ 9:43 am
“… especially when so many artists and their fans are sober these days.”
What % of country music fans do think are sober? % Turnpike Troubadours’ fans?
It’s hard to define “country music fans” these days, but I’d guess hardcore country music fans (those who listen to strictly country music by its purest definition – none of this Americana bullshit), 5% are sober. Turnpike Troubadours’ fans, I’d guess 7.5%. Drinking is such a part of our culture.
I remember when Wilco sold out their catalog to Volkswagen in 2006 (?) and all the pushback from fans. Now it’s the norm (and key to survival). I love these creative partnerships. Very similar to the creative NIL deals in college football (something else that’s becoming the norm).
January 23, 2023 @ 10:07 am
That’s a good question. And again I’m not trying to say drinking or endorsing alcohol is evil or something. But having it be synoymous with music can be evil for some who struggles with it.
Think about it like this: Evan Felker, Kyle Nix, BJ Barham, Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Billy Strings, these are all sober guys. That’s the majority of the top of the independent country food chain. When we talk about how we want country music to be accepting of everyone, that should include sober artists and fans too.
I know this is just a silly coffee partnership, but this is what it made me think of.
January 23, 2023 @ 10:23 am
I think it’s very interesting, too. And becoming more accepting.Think about the fans who are uncomfortable when their favorite artist goes sober. I’ve seen a ton of comments left by idiots proclaiming Isbell and Childers’ music being better when they weren’t sober/clean. But, that way of thinking is slowly changing. And whatever percentage of country music/ Turnpike Troubadours’ fans are sober is greater than in the past.
Hell, I attended Healing Appalachia (an opioid benefit) last year where it’s clearly communicated throughout to “read the room” if drinking. And I had a great time (we kept the hard stuff in the truck so it was out of sight).
January 24, 2023 @ 4:31 am
I think the lifestyle that leads to heavy drinking and drug use is genuinely good for the creative process. I know this isn’t an acceptable opinion to have and someone will reply with some albums they believe to be exceptions that disprove the rules… Just look at the lyrics off …And Justice For All and compare them to St. Anger. Btw, Metalliica’s Blackened Whiskey is phenomenal.
January 28, 2023 @ 8:57 am
When I realized/ finally admitted to myself that I needed to get sober it was oddly incredibly helpful to know how many artists I value were sober/working their best at it.
Rhett Miller of the Old 97s, and Jason Boland were two other artists that had quit that really helped me.
If any of those dudes in that lifestyle could stop I knew my generic suburban self could do it too.
January 24, 2023 @ 10:22 am
13 Years sober and I absolutely love this move from TT. Very subtle. Very outside the box. I don’t drink coffee either because I’m a Mormon but I love them partnering with someone who is not an alcohol company.
January 30, 2023 @ 1:58 pm
Congrats, 14 years sober and I like this too. Nothing wrong with alcohol, except for us drunks and Evan is one of us.
January 23, 2023 @ 9:55 am
Fruit punch aroma coffee. That’s something I’m sure I’ve never heard of.
January 23, 2023 @ 6:31 pm
I’m oddly tempted to try this.
January 23, 2023 @ 10:16 am
My wife always gets me a bottle of bourbon or other whiskey for Xmas. Which I love, since she’ll pay more than I’ll spend for myself, and it’s usually a fun surprise to try a good, new-to-me, whiskey. This last year, I take the bottle out of the package and see Night Sweats Straight Bourbon Whiskey (bottled in bond). I don’t even listen to Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, but immediately thought of the band. I thought it was kind of an odd collaboration, but guess not based on what Trig is saying. It was pretty good, but I got the feeling some of that price was paying for the limited run, band collaboration, and note that 10% goes to charity.
January 23, 2023 @ 10:33 am
I love it when a bar has coffee. It’s great for making it thru that final set at 1am and you still have to load up your year and drive an hour back home.
January 23, 2023 @ 10:41 am
Several years ago Jittery Joe’s Coffee did a collaboration with Drive-By Truckers called Cups of Dawn. The coolest part was that the art on the coffee tin was by Wes Freed (who tragically passed away last summer). For a few years now, that can has sat on my dresser at home and collected my pocket change.
January 23, 2023 @ 11:46 am
They have “Trucker Speed” available year-round now. Same deal, the coffee tin art by Wes Freed. Ordered for first time a couple months ago, it is good stuff and reasonably priced.
https://jitteryjoes.com/products/drive-by-truckers-trucker-speed?variant=40724573683823
January 23, 2023 @ 11:20 am
Why has no country artist partnered with Waffle House to push something?
January 23, 2023 @ 12:43 pm
Sturgill did a Waffles House song with Colbert. I get they probably aren’t your cup of tea.
January 23, 2023 @ 1:18 pm
OMG,
This is hilarious …
Sturgill Simpson Returns In “Waffle House”
https://youtu.be/L9WBVULoic0
January 23, 2023 @ 1:23 pm
I like Sturgill. Colbert is the embodiment of a blowjob to the State.
January 24, 2023 @ 6:47 am
you don’t like blowjobs? lmao.
January 24, 2023 @ 10:58 am
I’ve never given a blowjob, but I don’t think I’d enjoy it.
January 23, 2023 @ 1:27 pm
Didn’t Lainey Wilson just do this?
January 23, 2023 @ 12:52 pm
https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/whiskey-myers-band-sponsoring-world-of-outlaws-4-wide-salute-to-the-fans/
FYI
January 23, 2023 @ 4:35 pm
I have purchased the Drive by Truckers Coffee many times. The Wes Freed artwork on the cans is super cool and I reuse the cans. Can’t wait to try the Turnpike Coffee
January 23, 2023 @ 7:17 pm
I could be wrong, but I think the four aromas listed are the tasting notes for the one blend they’re selling. I.e., you can expect this coffee to be heavy bodied with notes of chocolate, molasses, and fruit punch. Fruity flavors, while it sounds odd, are common in natural processed coffee.
January 24, 2023 @ 1:17 am
And here I was nearly starting some rant about aromas in coffee. But I lookes it up, you are absolutely right 😉
January 24, 2023 @ 7:44 am
Yes, I exposed how little I know about coffee with this article. You’re right it’s only one blend. A correction has been made.
January 24, 2023 @ 7:46 am
Not really that important, but it’s probably decent coffee. On the larger note, I agree it’s cool to see a non alcohol related tie-in. Similar to the Billy Strings themed Thirst Mutilator.
January 24, 2023 @ 11:02 am
the $20 for 10 ounces is steep, especially when comparably ranked ’boutique’ coffee companies have roasts for 15$ for 16 ounce bags.
January 24, 2023 @ 6:39 am
I don’t usually spend my money on these sorts of things since you are basically paying a premium for a product with a band branded logo. But since music is pretty much 99% streaming these days, it is another source of income for artists, and it’s a cool bit of merchandise for those that are big fans.
Anyone going out to get a RAM truck to go along with Chris Stapelton’s new single? They should have a Stapleton Edition like the Harley F-150 or the Levis Jeep.
January 24, 2023 @ 8:57 pm
Maybe they should be releasing albums not aromas.
January 25, 2023 @ 7:03 am
I’m an unapologetic Turnpike fanboi. The kind of fanboi that travels to OK to see them live because it just hits better in Okla. I’ll pay too much for their show tickets, f’n buy obscure tees and stickers from The Mercury. Try to convince everyone I know that Tulsa isn’t just square dancing and rollin’ coal, “I’m a real city!” I reserve their albums a special spot in my record rack, but I am not buying this coffee. I understand they’ve worked and worked and worked to get to this point, but I’m just not doing it. Feels forced. It also reflects the ever upward movement in the financial demographic of their fanbase. Their OG fans weren’t flying all over the great plains, buying out the rooms at The Mayo, and massively overpaying for floor seats at the BOK. And they sure weren’t paying a 300% markup for the same quality coffee beans you can get at your local grocery albeit branded differently. I draw the line here. Even I have limits.
January 26, 2023 @ 11:05 am
Any idea what kind of cut an artist gets from one of these deals? Is there an industry standard % or something?
January 27, 2023 @ 8:52 am
Instead of releasing overpriced coffee, can they bring back the fighting roosters hat?
That will get my money into their pockets.