I am drinking Tommy Shaw’s brew, as I have been treated to a bag of Styx coffee, a special blend of fresh and robust beans, packaged by The Coffee Fool. I had the opportunity to sit down with Tommy a couple of Saturday’s ago in one of the well-appointed green rooms at the acoustically perfect, sophisticated pleasure palace that is the brand new ACL Live venue. It was my first time there, but It has only been open since late February. The room is beautiful, the staff is well trained, polite and helpful. And it was a total trip to hang with Tommy, as Styx has had an incredible run through the decades. The set list for the show was hanging on the dressing room wall, and I can attest that I have played every one of those songs on the radio.
Actually, the reason I was there was to talk about Tommy Shaw’s new CD, which comes out on March 22nd. It is called The Great Divide, and it is BLUEGRASS! No, don’t be shocked, Tommy is from Montgomery, Alabama, and this music seeped into his blood early and often as he was growing up. Then to record, he surrounded himself with the best and the brightest: Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Rob Ickes, Byron House, Dwight Yoakam, Alison Krauss, and Brad Davis, who also co-produced the CD along with Will Evankovich and Tommy. It is fun, rich, bubbling with bonhomie and tuneful offerings. And it was just announced that Tommy will be playing the Grand Ole Opry on March 26, which is a wonderful launch for a boy who grew up listening to that venerable show. Click on the player below to listen to some of the songs from the album.
And check out a video Tommy made taking about the making of the album and playing a couple of dates on the same day in Nashville, at The Station Inn and The Bluebird.
- Jessie Scott