Turnpike Troubadours Covered Alabama’s “If You’re Gonna Play In Texas” For A 2013 Tribute Album

We know Evan Felker and the Turnpike Troubadours are some of the best in the business, but as it turns out, they have equally high standards when choosing covers as well.

2013 marked the 40-year anniversary of the legendary country music group Alabama, and to commemorate the occasion, a legendary-in-their-own-right group of musicians recorded a tribute album titled, High Cotton: A Tribute To Alabama. The artists included Jason Isbell, Wade Bowen, Brandy Clark, Jason Boland, Old Crow Medicine, and, you guessed it, the Turnpike Troubadours.

(Another tribute record, Alabama and Friends, was also released that year featuring Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Rascal Flatts, and more, but… we’re not gonna talk about that one)

They put their spin on the honkytonk classic “If You’re Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band)” and oh man did they knock it out of the park. Honestly, it’s not that surprising. I mean, we’re talking about Turnpike here.

And what a great choice for Turnpike. The fiddle is prominent in so many of their songs, so this was the obvious and most fitting song for their style.

There’s been inklings of good news on the horizon for the currently-on-hiatus group, so we’ll just have to wait and see, but I sure as hell hope they’re in for a comeback soon.

Until then, I’ll keep trying to get my hands on every piece of music they’ve ever played.

Here’s a live performance from the House of Blues in Houston, Texas.

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