I have officially awoken from my deep slumber on Colby Acuff.
The proud Idaho native has been on quite a tear as of late, announcing his 4th studio album Western White Pines, signing with Sony Music Nashville, and releasing a few singles from the new project.
While he’s certainly a newcomer to the country music scene, the 26 year old has been putting in the work and has released a quite large body of work to boot. Western White Pines will be his 4th album in as many years and it seems this may be the one the pushes him over the top and brings his music to a much wider audience.
Admittedly, I was one of the sleepers, having heard his name thrown around, especially at Gordy’s HWY30, but for some reason never dipping my toes in for a real listen. But that all changed over the past week or so when I put on his first album, Life Of A Rolling Stone, and immediately fell in love with songs like “Vietnam,” “If My Guitar Could Sing,” and the title track.
That’s lead me down the rabbit hole, playing all of his records front to back for hours at a time, and while there’s so many well-written, honky tonkin’ tunes, the one I haven’t been able to get out of my head is the title track for this upcoming project.
It’s no secret that the life of a musician is romantic and difficult at the same time, getting to play your songs for crowds throughout the country but also spending large stretches of time away from home and around strangers in unfamiliar places. This song is a gorgeous ode to not just his home state of Idaho, but the comforting feeling that sets in when he’s on the way back, just a little bit aways.
The simplistic descriptions of an area so beautiful that words can’t describe somehow hit deeper than some overembellished, artsy phrasings and help you understand this “Dying Breed” of person just a bit more.
“Pack a bag and my regrets
Take a big ol’ breath and I head into that sunset
It’s the only way I know to
Let go of all my hurries and my worries and
The way that my head gets
So, I take off and ride
To the western white pines
So high they almost touch the sky
I hit that Rocky Mountain line
My weary soul unwinds
Only home is on my mind
Cross that divide
I get a feelin’ deep inside
Over time I’ve come to find
The heart of me resides
In them western white pines…”
What a song.
If I know anything at all, it’s that Colby Acuff is pulling into the fast lane and gearing up for a major explosion.
So if you’ve been like me dragging your feet, it’s time to hop on because once he hits that highway, it’s full speed over the Rockies.
