Stephen Wilson Jr.

One Liner:  Eclectic country/rock sound that grew on me

Wikipedia Genre:  Country

Home: Nashville (via Seymour, Indiana)

Sunday at 4pm on the Pony Up Stage.

Thoughts:  His Wikipedia entry is laughably sparse, but it does contain some interesting little nuggets.  He competed in boxing as a youth.  He considers Nirvana to be his chief musical influence.  He has described his own music as "Death Cab for Country."  His album was inspired by the death of his father.  There is a lot to unpack there, but I am going to just unequivocally state right now that this is nothing like Nirvana.  Don't get your hopes up.

His website claims he is influences by The National, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Nirvana.  I have never been able to jibe with The National.  Just can't get my head around the depressing vibe that runs through every song.  Two of my most-respected music guy friends think they are awesome, I just can't get there.

He really did give boxing a go as well, starting from age seven and going as far as being an Indiana state Golden Gloves finalist.  Certainly sounds impressive to someone who knows nothing at all about boxing other than I want to avoid being involved in it.  He left rural Indiana to attend Middle Tennessee State University in Nashville, where he also started an indie rock band called AutoVaughn.  According to his own bio, he spent "five years touring the world as lead guitarists with AutoVaughn" before turning to focus on his songwriting (and working as a research and development scientist at Mars (!?!?).  Do we have him to blame for all the weird ass M&M flavors now?  AutoVaughn has one EP available on Spotify, and it's not terrible.  Sorta Vertical Horizon-meets-Temper Trap?

Now, he's his own guy with one album, 2023's s∅n of dad.  It is outrageously long at an hour and a half and 22 songs.  Just Drake-levels of ridiculousness here.  Cut this thing in half, Stevie.  But, I kind of like the vibe of it anyway.  His voice, at times, reminds me of the current sound of Bruce Springsteen's voice.  Especially when he holds a note, it sounds like that slight age-spot warble that has crept in on Bruce's vocals.  But other moments make him sound like he is channeling his inner Sturgill Simpson, like on "Cuckoo."  His top track though it a little nostalgia nugget called "Year to Be Young 1994," with 10 million streams.

Sounds like Eric Church's "Springsteen" in the first piece when he is listing things from the past.  Heartfelt and genuine, I like it.  And maybe more so because 1994 was a pretty formative year in my past as well.  While writing songs, before he figured it out on his own, he got a few big stars to perform his tunes, with Tim McGraw recording one, and The Brothers Osborne doing another.  It is funny to read other biographical descriptions of this music because they are really taking the grunge thing seriously, calling "Mighty Beast" "a blast of skronky noise inspired by Wilson's love of Soundgarden."  Maybe, if you really squint your ears at that song, but this is like how Buc-ee's Classic Cane Cola sorta tastes like Coke.

But, honestly, as I bop along through this gargantuan album, it is good.  The duet with Hailey Whitters sounds great.  "For What It's Worth" is a catchy, harmonic little rock country tune.  "Father's S∅n" is a sad but lovely little tribute (and this is one of those that really brings Bruce to mind for me).  The line that "every bone's tethered" sticks in my brain. Same with "grief is only love that's got no place to go," that is a good line too. "Hometown" is classic sounding as well. He has a cover of "Stand By Me" in here that is pretty solid as well.  We'll do that one here as well.  3.3 million streams.

Sounds like Trigger there at the start!  Dude has a look for sure.  What up with those locks of hair in his face?  Also, what up with the feed corn salesman sitting in the high-backed armchair next to him looking on in rapturous silence?  What is going on here?  Is that a wax model?  Oh, no, he nodded a little bit.  I gotta say, he crushed the living crap out of that cover.  Freaking good.

I wanted to tear him apart because of his claimed influences, but honestly I have really enjoyed this album.  If he could have released it as two separate 11 song albums, I would have appreciated that restraint and consideration.  I can see him being very entertainingly earnest on stage.  Maybe worth it.