Kentucky’s Tyler Childers has announced details of his new album ‘Rustin’ In The Rain’, which will be released September 8th on Hickman Holler Records/RCA Records. Of the album, Childers shares, “This is a collection of songs I playfully pieced together as if I was pitching a group of songs to Elvis. Some covers, one co-write, and some I even wrote in my best (terrible) Elvis impersonation, as I worked around the farm and kicked around the house. I hope you enjoy listening to this album as much as I enjoyed creating it. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
In advance of the release, the first single, ‘In Your Love’ is out now, the video for which you can watch below. Written and creative directed by Silas House (with a story idea by House and Jason Kyle Howard), it was directed by Bryan Schlam and stars Colton Haynes and James Scully and depicts a timeless love story of two men set in rural Appalachia in the 1950s.
House is a New York Times bestselling author, current Poet Laureate of Kentucky and recipient of the 2022 Duggins Prize—the largest award for an LGBTQ writer in the nation. Of the video, he shares, “As a gay teenager who loved country music, I could have never imagined seeing myself in a video. That visibility matters. There have always been LGBTQ people in rural places and finally we’re seeing that portrayed in a country music video. Tyler and I both felt the attention to detail about rural life was very important, so we made sure that the house and the people looked realistic for the time period instead of the stereotypes of country people that have become so ingrained in the public consciousness. We used our own family pictures as references. We wanted to tell as complex a story as we could in four minutes, not only about a gay couple, but also about rural people. We wanted to show their joy and their sorrow—all the things that make up a complex life. Too often simplistic notions are pushed about both rural and LGBTQ people, so we did everything we could to make this story as rich and layered as possible.”
The new album follows last year’s triple album, ‘Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?, which featured eight songs presented in three distinct sonic perspectives—Hallelujah, Jubilee and Joyful Noise and of which we said: “Anyone who can write “He’s rattling a Werther’s, On his dentures in the pew, He’s holding down the bass, It’s a little out of tune” is blessed.” In the years since his debut, Childers has earned two Grammy nominations and has been featured on “CBS This Morning,” “The Tonight Show Starring
Look out for a review next month here on AUK.
This is such a beautiful song and video. Thank you, Tyler.