When the Turnpike Troubadours went on their hiatus back in 2019, some members of the band took the time off the road to spend it with their families, while others went right back into the studio to pursue solo projects.
Bass player and songwriter RC Edwards released an album with his band, RC & the Ambers, and fiddle player Kyle Nix dropped a killer album of his own.
Although it was a brutal three or so years without Turnpike together, it was awesome to see just how talented each individual in the band is, and definitely gave me a new perspective on the band.
Also, the solo projects gave us a glimpse of other extremely talented musicians as well that flew under the radar before, and one example? Lance Roark, the guitar player for RC & the Ambers.
Roark, a native of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, is now about to get some well deserved exposure in his own right, as he has his debut full-length album on the way.
Titled Better Man, the project will feature eight new songs, based off the story of a couple working through their relationship and trying to grow together, according to the Tahlequah Daily Press.
Roark expressed his excitement:
“It’s really exciting. There’s a lot of pressure on it as well, because I want it to be good. I want people to like it, but then again, as an artist, I am just putting it out there for myself as well.
So if people do or they don’t like it, it’s something I can be proud of.”
The album is also produced by the Turnpike Troubadours’ steel-guitar player, Hank Early.
Roark also released the lead single to the project, “Searchin’,” last Friday, and needless to say it’s a great catalyst for what’s to come on Better Man.
The song is an electric guitar heavy honky-tonker, about a man telling a woman that she’s the one he’s been searching for.
You can almost picture a guy walking into a bar and striking up a conversation with a woman in your head like a movie scene, just by listening to the lyrics.
Check it out:
