Rawdoggin' Reality

myself and Anthony Bourdain on my porch in Nashville, Tennessee for Parts Unknown Season 12. Anthony Bourdain was many things to many people. He was an author, a writer, a world traveler, a line cook, a chef, a philosopher, a producer, a television personality, a novelist, a journalist, an essayist, a connoisseur, a bad boy, and a man of the people. He famously believed that traveling outside of your country and comfort zone created personal growth.

The South is being dismantled by people drunk on greed power and it’s all happening right in front of our eyes. The rest of the country is watching, thinking, “this doesn’t affect me.” But it does. We are all connected, as Chief Seattle said, "We do not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves." So, even if you don’t live here, what’s happening to our voting rights will sure as shit affect you too.

A few nights ago, I was visited by Bob Weir in a dream. I was standing behind a dark curtain with Bob and the Wolf Bros- Don Was, Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti. We were backstage somewhere, getting ready to go on. Bob leaned in and started playing the walk up to ‘Mexicali Blues.’ His electric guitar wasn’t plugged in, but that didn’t seem to matter, the notes rang out as though he was playing through a cranked amp.

On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, I walked inside the West Tennessee State Penitentiary and Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center, in Henning, TN, to play a show for roughly four hundred and fifty women. It was one of the most important gigs of my career. I’ve never felt that kind of emotional, receptive energy from an audience before. They needed to hear the music, and I needed to deliver it.

Exactly four decades ago, in a small town in the midwest, my family lost their farm. I was just two years old at the time, but these traumatic events were among my first memories growing up.

My latest album Hard Headed Woman has been out for two weeks now. So much has happened in the world since then, it all feels like a blur. It can be so difficult to capture people’s attention these days- what with the news cycle being what it is, but sometimes timing is everything. I have been railing on the patriarchy since day one of my career and at times, doing so has made me a very controversial and polarizing character, especially in the country music world.

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free— the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me…” These powerful words from Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colosus’ could pair well as a companion slogan with the warm, welcoming, yellow glow of Waffle House. If you think about it, Waffle House is inclusive and comforting. They welcome us through bad weather, late nights, holidays, tragedies.

There’s a piece of my heart that only lives on the road. I’m most alive when I’m traveling the world and singing songs for the people— which is why I’m riding high to share the news, The Wild at Heart Tour starts this fall and the tickets go on sale this Wednesday, July 16th at 10 am CT. I’m giving my faithful Substack subscribers early access to tickets with the presale code: BASTARDS. Set your reminders and get your tickets.

My upcoming album, ‘Hard Headed Woman’ is coming your way on August 29th and my first offering, “Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down,” is out now. It’s available for preorder on vinyl, CD, cassette, 8 track and reel to reel. In addition to the standard vinyl, I’m also offering a limited edition Box Set that includes a double album with more music, exclusive merch- poster, bandana & guitar pick, and each will be signed and numbered.

I’m incredibly excited to share the news: my new single, “Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down,” is coming out next Tuesday, June 10th. I hope this song sparks unity and action for those facing oppression and hardship. I wrote it as a battle cry for the downtrodden—a reminder to keep going, even when the world tries to grind you down.