You know you’ve arrived when your home region steps up. Such was the case for 49 Winchester, when Russell County, Va., gave the band its own day this past April. Add that to a lengthy list of firsts for this surging outlaw-country sextet that had close to zero industry traction 24 months ago.
Not long after their 2022 debut, Fortune Favors The Bold, racked up a slew of accolades, they found themselves playing the Grand Ole Opry, London’s O2 Arena and other marquee venues around the world. Released earlier this month, Leavin’ This Holler (New West) fleshes out the band’s rock-influenced, Appalachia-tinged twang, offering more sonic and stylistic nuance than its predecessor.
Here’s what singer/guitarist Isaac Gibson had to say about each of its 10 tracks.
1) “Favor”
“I wrote this song with my good buddy Kendell Marvel. Kendell had an idea for a song about the spirit of the people during the Eastern Kentucky flooding of 2022. It speaks to the nature of how tough people in Appalachia really are.”
2) “Hillbilly Happy”
“This is the rocker on the record. When I wrote it, I wanted something that felt like a summertime anthem … a fun song that also hits hard enough to be a ‘cut loose and slam it home’ moment onstage. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs to play live, and I love how it turned out on the record.”
3) “Yearnin’ For You”
“When I wrote this song, I felt like it really encapsulated what it’s like to be a musician—more specifically that other side of the coin that fans don’t see as often. The people you miss so badly, the sacrifice that it takes to forge out a living. More importantly, it’s a love song. It’s about reuniting with the one who holds you down and how great it is to finally be back where you’re loved. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
4) “Make It Count”
“It’s a song about realizing how short life really is and how little time you have to do the things you want to do. It’s about taking the bull by the horns and not letting go.”
5) “Leavin’ This Holler”
“This always felt like the emotional heart of the record. It’s a song that underwent a lot of change from the time I wrote it to the time it was recorded. My original idea was to play it at a much faster pace, but our producer, Stewart Myers, suggested we slow it way down. I think it allowed the lyric to really be more impactful. Maggie Antone’s harmony vocals throughout the song are really what makes the tune shine. She knocked it out of the park.”
6) “Fast Asleep”
“This tune is an emotional sledgehammer. I wrote it when I was 19 years old, as one of the very first 49 Winchester songs. We used to play it live, back in those earliest days, but it somehow worked its way out of the setlist. We knew it was still a great song and wanted to breathe new life into it—and I think we achieved that. It features the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, and the sounds they were able to capture really add a lot to this track. The pedal steel on the chorus is some of my favorite work on the record from Noah (Patrick).”
7) “Tulsa”
“This was one of the first songs written for Leavin’ This Holler, and its chorus references the Don Williams classic “Tulsa Time” and Kenny Rogers And The First Edition’s “Tulsa Turnaround.” I wrote it on a frigid night in 2022, leaving a show at the Mercury Lounge in Tulsa. It was in the middle of a blizzard on the way to a run of shows through Texas. The interstate was covered in snow, and we jackknifed the van and trailer sideways on the road. It was just a sketchy situation altogether. My anxiety wasn’t helped by the fact that Oklahoma had recently legalized a plant we’ve been known to be fond of—and that’s ultimately where the song comes from.”
8) “Rest Of My Days”
“It was great having Max Abrams and Lorenzo Molina from the Mavericks on horns. We knew the progression was funky, and the horns really drove it home.”
9) “Traveling Band”
“You have to be built for the road—you gotta learn to love it. Touring constantly requires sacrifice, and it’s hard always being gone from home. But it gets in your blood, and you come to love it.”
10) “Anchor”
“Another song I wrote very early on toward the start of the band, this one has some of my favorite vocals. I opened it up and sang loud for those choruses. Without that little bit of extra grit, they wouldn’t have been as heavy. Big guitar sounds and a beautiful string arrangement wrap it all up.”
See 49 Winchester live.
