Kelsey Waldon Revisits “Uncle Pen” With Amanda Shires, Announces Openers For Spring Tour
Listen to Waldon’s take on “Uncle Pen” with Shires here
Waldon announces Hannah Juanita and Nat Myers as openers on her Spring headline tour
Waldon’s new album There’s Always A Song is out May 10 th via Oh Boy Records/Thirty Tigers
April 2, 2024 – On her upcoming album There’s Always A Song, out May 10 th via Oh Boy
Records/Thirty Tigers, Kelsey Waldon pays tribute to some of the singular artists who shaped
her. Waldon shines throughout, and friends S.G. Goodman, Margo Price, Amanda Shires and
Isaac Gibson from 49 Winchester all lend a hand. Today, Waldon releases the latest single from the album, a version of Bill Monroe’s classic “Uncle Pen” which features incendiary fiddle work from Shires and Libby Weitnaur and background vocals from Shires and all the album guests.
’Uncle Pen’ is one of my favorites, explains Waldon. “First of all, I love the fiddle and this is a bluegrass song literally about fiddle tunes and Bill Monroe’s Uncle Pen playing those fiddle tunes...on his fiddle (of course). The fiddle has become an important part of our live show and my sound, and I really wanted to feature my incredible fiddle player, Libby Weitnauer. The versions I first came to know as a kid were from fellow Kentuckians Bill Monroe and Ricky Skaggs. I then fell in love with the Goose Creek Symphony version of it sometime later on in my life. So, we really took from the Goose Creek version to make this one my own, with a sort of half-time feel and a little psychedelic flair. We had the band and every guest who collaborated sing on the last chorus to encourage the spirit of joyful community, just like you were at a pickin party or a festy jam. I thought of my friend Amanda Shires to double the fiddle part because I’ve always wanted to work with her and we always talk about how much we love the fiddle, and she killed it and added such a breath to it! You can never have too many fiddles.
Waldon will hit the road this Spring in support of There’s Always A Song, and she will bring
along Hannah Juanita and Nat Myers as support on headline dates. Waldon will also return to
the Grand Ole Opry on May 10 th , and has been announced as part of the line-up at the
Outlandia Festival in Bellevue, NE in August. Waldon will be announcing more 2024 tour dates
soon.
The eight songs on There’s Always A Song, from the earliest pages of the country and bluegrass music songbooks, helped the singer-songwriter from Monkey’s Eyebrow, Ky., find her place in the world before she became an artist whose own work generates buzz, lands on year-end best-of lists, and, in 2019, led Waldon to become the first artist in 15 years to sign a deal with John Prine’s Oh Boy Records.
Kelsey Waldon – 2024 Spring U.S. Tour Dates
May 1 – Newport, KY – The Southgate House Revival*
May 2 – Urbana, IL – Rose Bowl Tavern*
May 3 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar*
May 4 – Indianapolis, IN – Duke’s Indy*
May 7 – Minneapolis, MN – 7 th Street Entry@
May 8 – Chicago, IL – Carol’s Pub
May 10 – Nashville, TN – Grand Ole Opry
May 11 – Paducah, KY – Lower Town Arts & Music Festival
May 14 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café*
May 17 – Elkton, MD – Elkton Music Hall*
May 18 – Queens, NY – Gottscheer Hall “Honky Tonkin’ in Queens” – SOLD OUT
May 21 – Philadelphia, PA – MilkBoy*
May 22 – Vienna, VA – Jammin’ Java*
May 30 – Roanoke, VA – The Spot on Kirk+
May 31 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle+
June 1 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre+
Aug 10 – Bellevue, NE – Outlandia Festival
*w/ support from Hannah Juanita
+w/ support from Nat Myers
@w/ John R. Miller and The Local Honeys
