For Immediate Release
July 9, 2019
Hugh Masterson to release a single, “Trouble,” later in July in advance of new album
Tour dates planned in July with The Bottle Rockets and others
Nashville-based Americana singer-songwriter Hugh Masterson is set to share his latest single, “Trouble,” via all download and streaming outlets on July 19, 2019. The single is the first from his forthcoming (as yet untitled) new album, which is set for release in late 2019 by Rock Ridge Music. A dusty, yearning, dream-slide ode to life throwing things your way that you can’t control, “Trouble” (along with the rest of the album) was produced by Justin Glasco (formerly of The Lone Bellow). The track will premiere on July 18, 2019 at The Bluegrass Situation.
“I lost my mom to dementia during the coldest part of the year in northern Wisconsin,” Masterson recalls of the inspiration behind “Trouble.” “I ended up suffering from a depression I was having a hard time getting out of. I lost a job and a relationship, and I needed a change. I moved to Nashville, so I had to start over completely, and it wasn’t the easiest process for me, having left my band behind as well. In the end, if you keep working through and towards something, a lot comes out in the wash. This song, and the album it comes from, are about trying to get by and to get through the challenges of life and love, and ultimately realizing much of what we try to control, we cannot.”
The new material came from a time when Masterson was grappling with the writing process – either not feeling creative or experiencing times where he was only writing sad songs. Glasco encouraged him to work through it, and, as Masterson recalls, “I got back to a place where it felt good again. Justin forced me into it, but I needed that.” Before Glasco relocated to the West Coast, the two recorded seven of the 10 songs in his former Nashville studio. The remaining tracks were done at High Cotton Recording Studio just outside of Nashville when Glasco was back in Tennessee. “Despite pushing me outside of my usual boundaries, I was really comfortable working with Justin,” Masterson says.
The forthcoming album is the follow-up to Masterson’s 2017 release, Lost + Found, which was his first solo effort and was produced after the move from Milwaukee (he was originally from the tiny town of Butternut, Wisconsin) to Nashville. A deeply personal record about surviving loss and life changes while gaining self-awareness through experience, Lost + Found was praised heavily by the press. No Depression called it “a cohesive, self-reflective journey from one end of the spectrum to the other: loneliness and redemption, love and loss, the atrophy of staying put and the freedom of letting go. …one part Midwest Americana to two parts Lower Broadway honky tonk.” The Daily Country declared it “deeply personal …relatable, impactful, and undeniably enjoyable. …a sound that blends Americana and Southern Rock with jangle, grit, and heart.” Wide Open Country said his music was “rife with wordplay and old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll vibes.”
Masterson found a home in the Nashville music scene and has hit the road with artists such as The Lone Bellow, Margo Price, Nikki Lane, Anderson East, Lindi Ortega, and The Bottle Rockets. Additionally, he’s drawn attention from the Americana Music Association, CMT, KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” Rolling Stone, World Café, and South by Southwest.
Masterson is on the road this summer – see tour schedule below.
Hugh Masterson Tour dates:
July 11th – Minneapolis, MN / First Avenue (w/The Rad Trads)
July 12th – Spooner, WI / Spooner Rodeo Block Party (w/Brandon Lay, Little Texas)
July 13th – Milwaukee, WI / Cactus Club
July 15th – Appleton, WI / Nice Time (full band show)
July 17th – Spring Green, WI / Shi-tty Barn (w/Liz Cooper & The Stampede)
July 24th – Nashville, TN / The Basement (w/The Bottle Rockets)
July 25th – Decatur, GA / Eddie’s Attic (w/The Bottle Rockets) (solo show)
July 31st – Nashville, TN / 3rd & Lindsley (w/ George Shingleton) (full band show)
August 1st – Appleton, WI / Mile of Music