Joshua Hedley Releases WEIRD THOUGHT THINKER Video Exclusively on Apple Music
By: Kaitlin Milligan Aug. 13, 2018
Third Man recording artist Joshua Hedley has announced Apple Music's exclusive premiere of his latest video, "Weird Thought Thinker." "Weird Thought Thinker" is but one of the many highlights found on Hedley's critically acclaimed debut album, MR. JUKEBOX, available now via Third Man for streaming and download.
Directed by actor/filmmaker Travis Nicholson (CMT's Still The King) and edited by Josh Shreeve & Jason Denton, "Weird Thought Thinker" is a phantasmagorical fever dream inspired by the works of such visionary directors as David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Kenneth Anger. Equal parts surrealist western and psychedelic road movie, the video was shot in a variety of vivid locations, including Pioneertown, CA's famed Pappy & Harriet's, Los Angeles' The Hi-Hat and The Roxy in LA, Indio, CA's Stagecoach Festival, and various points around California's Salton Sea and Joshua Tree National Park.
Hedley is currently spending nearly all of his time on the road, with headline dates and festival appearances slated through November including a much-anticipated European tour and his biggest North American shows thus far. For complete details and ticket availability, please visit joshuahedley.com/tour.
AUGUST
25 - Florence, AL - Billy Reid Shindig: Wilson Park
31 - Oslo, Norway - Café Mono
SEPTEMBER
1 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
3 - London, UK - The Old Blue Last
4 - Bristol, UK - The Crofters Rights
6 - Glasgow, UK - Admiral Bar
7 - Gateshead, UK - The Sage Gateshead, Hall 2
9 - Lutterworth, UK - The Long Road Festival
12 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
13 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
14 - Indianapolis, IN - Duke's Indy
15 - Detroit, MI - Third Man Records Cass Corridor
16 - Toronto, ON - The Drake Hotel
18 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
19 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
20 - Brooklyn, NY - Rough Trade NYC
21 - Washington, DC - Union Stage
22 - Knoxville, TN - The Open Chord
23 - Franklin, TN - Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival
26 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
28 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle Back Room
29 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
OCTOBER
16 - Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads
18 - Fort Collins, CO - Fort Collins Armory
19 - Denver, CO - Globe Hall
20 - Salt Lake City, UT - The State Room
22 - Vancouver, BC - Fox Cabaret
23 - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
24 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
26 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
27 - Los Angeles, CA - Moroccan Lounge
29 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar
1 - Dallas, TX - Kessler Theater
2 - Austin, TX - Antone's
3 - Houston, TX - The Heights Theater
4 - Mobile, AL - Callaghan's Irish Social Club
MR. JUKEBOX is already among the year's most acclaimed releases of any genre, with Rolling Stone naming it among the "25 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2018 So Far," writing "Joshua Hedley is a multi-tooled ace: an expert fiddle player, deft songwriter and pristine vocalist. All of those skills are on display on Hedley's superb debut, which embraces not the tired Outlaw-country trend du jour but the often-minimized Countrypolitan sound of Music City past...It's the juxtaposition of that outsized gruffness with Hedley's hidden sensitivity that makes the vulnerable, heart-tugging songs of MR. JUKEBOX so affecting." NPR Music hailed "Hedley's pristine vocals, unrivaled musicianship, and truly encyclopedic knowledge of country music," adding. "While many listeners focus on Hedley's otherworldly vocals (and who could blame folks, with that flawless vibrato), his lyrics are quietly powerful." "With a voice as clear as a mountain stream and nine originals that could have been written yesterday or 50 years ago, this music will light up any room," raved American Songwriter. "This sound is so authentic and he owns it with such offhanded charm and confidence that it seems like (Hedley) went to sleep in 1963 and just woke up." "It's as pure a country record as any you'll hear," raved Paste. "MR. JUKEBOX is proof you can take Hedley out of the country bar, but you'll never take the country bar out of Hedley." "Joshua Hedley makes classic, tear-in-my-beer country that sounds like he could've come straight from the '60s era of George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Jim Reeves, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn," enthused Brooklyn Vegan, while CMT noted, "Hedley owns a distinctive voice that is dynamic, and his melodies are infectious, making his music accessible to anyone with ears." "A must-listen for country music fans," declaredThe Tennessean as Wide Open Country definitively wrote, "Hedley has proved he's more than an interpreter of songs. MR. JUKEBOX so encapsulates the spirit of classic country it would sound right at home in, well, a jukebox, spinning right next to Hedley's heroes."
With the release of MR. JUKEBOX, Joshua Hedley finally embraces the role he was born to play: this generation's classic country champion. An accomplished fiddle player, Hedley felt inexplicably drawn toward the instrument as a child. He got his hands on his own fiddle at age 8, and by 12, he was playing with middle-aged pickers at the VFW. At 19, he moved from his native Florida to Nashville, where he became an in-demand sideman at Robert's Western World and other bars, and ultimately, a well-respected frontman. Armed with an easy croon and prodigious fiddle playing, he became known as the Mayor of Lower Broad. He hit the road to perform with artists including Jonny Fritz, Justin Townes Earle, and more, while the 2015 documentary Heartworn Highways Revisitedfeatured Hedley prominently.
Though increasing acclaimed as a performer, Hedley started writing in his late 20s, eventually unlocking a flood of clarity and creativity. The heartbreaking, distilled, defiantly classic country that poured out of him became MR. JUKEBOX, a salve and beacon for honky-tonk devotees everywhere.
Produced by Skylar Wilson and Jordan Lehning, MR. JUKEBOX features nine original songs - including the recent single/videos "Mr. Jukebox" and "I Never (Shed A Tear)" - as well as a striking version of the Walt Disney standard, "When You Wish Upon A Star." In addition to Hedley on vocals and fiddle, the album features Eddie Lange on steel guitar/guitar, Steelism's Jeremy Fetzer on guitar/baritone guitar, Michael Rinne on bass, Jon Radford on drums/percussion, and Micah Hulscher on piano/organ.
"It's not a throwback," says Hedley. "It sounds new because it is new, and it sounds the way it sounds because it's the only thing I know how to do. I can't write a song that sounds different. Classic country is like a suit. Nothing about a men's suit has changed in like 100 years. Classic never goes out of style. Something can't be a throwback if it's never been out of style."
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