It’s really impossible to appreciate the true musical talent of the Turnpike Troubadours, unless you see it all unfold live, and even better, in person.
And with them officially BACK, you just might get your chance next year (but you’ll need to be pretty rich to see them at Red Rocks apparently).
From the captivating vocals of Evan Felker, to the fiddle riffs of Kyle Nix… it truly is something special to see.
And one of my favorite songs to see live?
“Before The Devil Knows We’re Dead,” from their 2012 album, Goodbye Normal Street.
The song is an absolute banger, but often gets overlooked by the bigtime hits on the album like “Good Lord Lorrie,” and “Gin, Smoke, Lies.”
Nevertheless, an ode to living life to the fullest, the first verse is about an old farmer who jumps into a river after a long night of drinking, and never comes back up, and the second follows up the first with a young couple who wrecks their car driving a little too wild.
I was digging through the vaults of the interwebs and found this hidden gem… a rare, high quality video of the group performing the song at the HearYa Live Session from Shirk Studios Chicago… way back in 2013.
Kick back, relax, and get your mind boggled by one of the group’s best performances:
