If you follow Whiskey Riff, you already knew this was happening…
While at HWY30 Fest, Shane Smith stopped by the Whiskey Riff afterparty to hang out with the fans and play a few acoustic songs and while he was on stage, he let us in on a little secret he and the boys were cooking up.
Not only did he say that a new album was on the way, but he let us know that he was teaming up with Hayes Carll on the all-time classic Townes Van Zandt song “Pancho & Lefty”.
Well today, that announcement turned into a release.
It was originally a song written and recorded by Townes Van Zandt for his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt, and then later by Emmylou Harris in 1976.
Of course, everybody is familiar with Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard version.
The duo released their iconic song, “Pancho and Lefty,” as the title track to their collaborative album Pancho & Lefty in 1983. It became a classic country hit and reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that year.
However, this collaboration isn’t on a Shane Smith & The Saints record; it’s for a project to benefit Texas Parks & Wildlife.
Texas Wild is a product of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation in partnership with Rambler Sparkling Water and Tecovas and will showcase some of the best current Texas artists paying homage to their Lonestar State predecessors.
Here’s what the ‘About Us’ page on their website says.
“Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation in partnership with Rambler Sparkling Water and Tecovas, introduces Texas Wild—a standout album featuring Texas musicians as they pay tribute to classic Texas tunes showcasing that untamed spirit found only in Texas music.
Produced by Texas singer/songwriter Walker Lukens, Texas Wild is a standout album that blends the sounds of traditional Texas genres like blues, cumbia, and country with modern sounds like hip-hop, R&B, and electronica, sure to please old-school country fans and new listeners alike.”
This is the third track released from the project, with Ryan Bingham’s cover of “Possum Kingdom” being one of the others.
Still no word on a new Shane Smith & The Saints project, but hey, I ain’t going to complain about having this to put on repeat for the weekend.
Tip of the cap, boys… let’s go.
And check out Shane playing the song with Ty Smith, an up and comer on the scene who’s just 15 years old, at the HWY30 afterparty.
@whiskeyriff Pancho and Lefty – Shane Smith and Tyler Smith at HWY30 #hwy30musicfest #shanesmithandthesaints #fyp #whiskeyriff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff
