Saturday May 4th, 2024

7PM DOORS / 8PM SHOW

$15

ALL AGES

William Tyler & Luke Schneider

William and I bondedearly in our relationship over Barry Hannah, a hellraising writer fromMississippi who practically reinvented the way that words could be assembled ona page. Like Hannah, William Tyler knows the South—as a crucible of Americanhistories and cultures, an entity capable of expansive beauty andincomprehensible violence, often in the same beat—as his native place, theplace that holds him and that he runs from. In the music of William Tyler, theSouth is not apart from America; the South is America condensed. And likeHannah—and this part is important—William moved to California, where GoesWest was written. We don’t know how long William will stay—Hannah lastedjust a couple of years, writing in the employ of director Robert Altman—but thechange of scenery seems to suit him.

Goes West marks asort of narrowing of focus for William’s music; it sounds as though he found away to point himself directly towards the rich and bittersweet emotional centerof his music without being distracted by side trips. Perhaps this is down tothe fact that William only plays acoustic guitar on the album, a clear andconscious decision considering that he is one of Nashville’s great electricguitarists. The band that performs Goes West alongside William—includingguitarists Meg Duffy and Bill Frisell, bassist and producer Brad Cook,keyboardist James Wallace, drummer Griffin Goldsmith, and engineer TuckerMartine—is the best and most sympathetic group of players that William couldhave assembled to play these songs.