RYAN DAVIS & The Roadhouse Band Announce New Album - “Dancing On The Edge” - Sophomore Lounge

Ryan Davis is quite possibly one of my favorite artists to date. His talent on the guitar is stellar as he casts several southern spells upon the crowds. Their ears and eyes widened with movies from the spilling heart of existence. His voice deep and rich with complex context as he expresses his soul with a ridiculously sharp tongue. Having had the honor of opening up for him back in 2018 during a unique solo run that he was, I was immediately torn and dispersed by his long form poetry and the visually stunning ecosystem he so gracefully provided his listeners. We would soon become friends as he met our small town community. Some friends and I followed him to his Nashville gigs just to catch as much as we could of him before he took off to tour for the rest of the country. It was as if he was ours… It was like nothing I’ve felt in music since. The Kentucky legend has been creating music, art and hosting shows/festivals for a number of years now with his friends, bandmates and the immeasurable Sophomore Lounge label. His long-running outfit, State Champion have released a number of beautiful records, their last being the critically acclaimed “Send Flowers” back in 2018 on Feeding Tube Records. His work has been praised by the likes of the late David Berman, Brian Turner, and most recently Bill Callahan for Davis’ new project, RYAN DAVIS & The Roadhouse Band. “Dancing On The Edge” is simply sublime and sprawls over an immensely ludicrous landscape of wide words and heavy weighted mountains filled with snow and a raging hell tempted at all times.

While this record is different and expresses itself through a few mediums that aren’t found on any of the previous State Champion records, its Davis’ voice that makes this album simply feel like home. Like your favorite re-runs of Seinfeld and Cheers. I’ve missed Davis, we’ve all missed him this last few years with the abstract hell-scape we’ve all learned to live with. I knew he would have a lot to say, a lot to express once he found his footing again in music and this record is just that. A flag thats confidently pierced the earth’s rich flesh. The albums gorgeous language and thoughts are radical and sobering on numbers such as “Flashes Of Orange” and “Junk Drawer Heart”. A client bargaining with hysteria and happiness, Davis has always found a way to express and explore the esoteric environments of pain, love, laughter, finace and sustaining a path in this life. The album’s opener, “Free From The Guillotine” is an eight minute southern tale of America and its eternal weekend dilemma of faith and freedom. The struggles of being bound to death and yet free from its Autumn hold, Davis has officially launched the new season over here for us and we can’t wait till this album drops on the 27th of October!