Nashville country singer Don Gallardo took the long way home to get some well deserved recognition in the USA. His latest album Hickory was embraced by the folks of UK label Clubhouse Records in 2015 before getting a Stateside release. He is the kind of artist that sounds familiar after hearing him sing for just a few lines. Backed by seasoned A-list sidemen ((Mickey Raphael, Rob Ickes, Randall Bramblett, Guthrie Trapp, Micah Hulscher and Brad Pemberton) he could focus on his vocals and playing a bit of guitar. Don Gallardo is a natural story teller, who can write about heartbreak or tell the tale of a couple of lovers/bank robbers who get into trouble after they have shot down a sheriff during one of their heists in The North Dakota Blues.
Gallardo is a traditionalist, sounding like a mellower and unpolitical version of Steve Earle. He is a serious, self-conscious entertainer with a soft post for The Band and Levon Helm in paricular - he is honoured with Ophelia, We Cry.
Hickory touches all the bases, before he brings it home with Pearl, a slow song with a glorious slide guitar and old school organ. Gallardo takes his time to get to the core of a couple that can't help caring for each other despite their decidedly different outlooks on life. Is it autobiographical? Could be, but he makes it universal.
Hickory is released on Southern Carousel Records/Clubhouse Records. Buy it from his website. Full stream on Soundcloud
Tracks:- Down In The Valley
- Diamonds & Gold
- Carousel
- Midnight Sounds
- Banks of The Mississippi
- When The World Wakes Up
- Ophelia, We Cry (Ode to Levon Helm)
- The North Dakota Blues
- A Cup of Rain
- Angel on The Dance Floor
- This Time
- Will We Ever Get It Right
- Pearls
- 10/26 Nashville, TN @ The 5 Spot (w/ The Battlefield)
- 10/27 Lexington, KY @ Willie's Locally Known (w/ The Battlefield)
- 10/28 Gatlinburg, TN @ Sugarlands Distilling Co. (w/ The Battlefield)
- 10/30 Asheville, NC @ Isis Restaurant & Music Hall (w/ The Battlefield)
- 11/26 Atlanta, GA @ Smith's Olde Bar (w/ Cordovas)
- 11/28 Asheville, NC @ Jack of the Wood (w/ Cordovas)
- 11/30 Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House Music Hall (w/ Cordovas)
- 12/01 Chapel Hill, NC @ The Cave (w/ Cordovas)
- 12/02 Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor (w/ Cordovas)