I really wish The Golden Saw Music Hall Series went all year long.
There’s just something so intriguing about not only the history of the venue itself (Riley’s great-grandparents old house-turned-music hall), but getting to hear the stories of the songs and how they came to be straight from the writers in an intimate setting.
A couple weeks ago, he kicked off the first episode with Jonathan Singleton, and last night, he premiered episode two featuring his friends and co-writers Erik Dylan and Wyatt McCubbin.
Erik co-wrote title track to Riley’s most recent project “Behind The Bar” as well as “If It Wasn’t For Trucks.” Wyatt helped him pen “Put ‘Em On Mine” from that same project.
Riley kicked the show off by singing one of his newest songs, “I Let A Damn Good Woman Leave” (around the 1:40 mark), that he premiered during the first season of the series.
It just doesn’t get old hearing that song in an acoustic, stripped-down setting like the Golden Saw Music Hall. He also sang “Put ‘Em On Mine” with Wyatt (around the 13:30 mark), which was one of my top two favorites from Behind The Bar.
Erik did an acoustic version of “My First Everything” from Riley’s debut album Different ‘Round Here (around the 5:16 mark), and it was fun to hear someone else sing that song who has a bit of a different style than Riley. Seeing as Erik’s one of the co-writers, you could tell it meant just as much to him as it does to Riley.
But, one of the best parts of the night, aside from Riley debuting his new song “Miles On Main” (which he co-wrote with Erik), was Erik playing his original song “Fishing Alone”.
It’s been out for a few years now, but it still cuts deep every time I hear it. An absolutely brutal track, it really is as raw and honest of a song as there can be in country music. He tells the story of sadness and regret after suffering the tragic loss of a loved one and wishing he’d made more time for them when he had the chance.
Watching him play it in this setting only enhances the entire experience of listening to the song. It will hit you where it hurts, there’s no question about that:
“Lord there ain’t no crystal ball
Ain’t no writing on the wall
Next thing you know something’s wrong
You get the news, drop the phone
You’re fishin’ all alone
We never fixed up that old car
She’s still sittin’ in the yard
Never did make Arkansas
To fish for rainbows in the fall
I guess you just lose track of time
I got busy, he got old
Now I got lots of time to think
About these kinds of things
Fishing all alone”
I think it’s something all of us can relate to.
Even if you haven’t lost someone you’re necessarily close to, it’s a good reminder to make time for the people you love and care about while you still have the opportunity to do so.
There’s just one more episode left in this season, which is set to debut in a few more weeks on September 30th featuring Muscadine Bloodline.
If you love hearing country songs in their rawest, purest form performed by the people who actually wrote them, you’ll love every minute of this episode.
Check out Erik’s gut-wrenching song here, and if you have 40 minutes to spare this weekend, I highly recommend watching the whole thing:
