Willie Watson has announced the release of his first fully original solo album, “Willie Watson”, via Little Operation Records on 13th September 2024. Watson has had a pretty storied career to date. Well-known as a founder member and major writer/lead vocalist of Old Crow Medicine Show, Watson stepped away from OCMS early in the last decade.
A frequent performer at Sara and Sean Watkins’ Watkins Family Hour at Largo in Los Angeles and a regular member of David Rawlings and Gillian Welch’s Dave Rawlings Machine, Watson also built up a reputation as a travelling folk singer. His sets would comprise old folk standards curated with love and care. This in turn led to him making two albums of folk songs “Folksinger Vol 1” and “Vol 2” which were released on Welch and Rawlings’ Acony label in 2014 and 2017 respectively. That connection also saw him performing the Oscar nominated song ‘When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings’ in the Coen Brothers ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ in which Watson played the role of The Kid. Last year saw he toured with OCMS as part of their twenty-five-year jubilee.
The self-titled “Willie Watson” is his first solo record of original songs. The record sees him renewing his musical bonds with Punch Brothers’ Paul Klowert and Gabe Witcher as well as keyboard legend Benmont Tench. The album can be pre-saved and pre-ordered here.
He has released the first single ‘Real Love’, with a video directed by Joseph Wasilewski and starring Watson and wife Mindy. Watch it below.
Wonderful record. Midway through I found myself wondering if it was a great lost Dylan song.