Episode Five: Carson McHone
We talk in this episode with incredibly talented Texas singer songwriter Carson McHone, who has a wonderful new record out, Carousel. We discuss songwriting, growing up in the heart of Austin, and postcards from the road. I also reveal my secret fear of horses.
Years before Rolling Stone was praising Carson McHone's rule-breaking roots music, the Austin, Texas native played weeknights in local bars like The White Horse, keeping dancers dancing and drinkers drinking. With her 21st birthday still in the distance, McHone entertained late-night crowds bearing witness to the good times and bad decisions that fill a busy bar.
“There was a time when I wanted to champion traditional country,” says McHone, “mostly because I wasn’t hearing it in what was being called ‘country’. I think a lot of roots influenced artists feel the need to defend tradition in this way. Today though, I want to do more with the form, push myself past where I understand it to be.”
Dark, driving and evocative, 2018's Carousel captures this period of remarkable growth, shining a light not only on McHone's honky-tonk roots, but on her development as a modern, alt-country storyteller. It features newly written songs and updated versions of tracks that first appeared on her 2015 album Goodluck Man, pushing traditional sounds and themes into a modern context.
