With all of the music coming out of the Texas/Oklahoma and Appalachian scenes, the Mountain West sometimes gets overlooked, but there is no shortage of great country music originating from the area.
From the cowboy folk standards that originated on the region’s plains well over a century ago, all the way to legendary artists like Chris LeDoux, to more recent trailblazers like Reckless Kelly, and rising superstars like Colby Acuff, just to name a few, the Mountain West has always been responsible for some of the genre’s best. One of the latest names to emerge from this geographical scene, though, is Colorado’s Danno Simpson.
And with the release of his latest single “A Hard Rain in Bozeman,” the up and comer continues to prove that he is an artist everyone needs to know.
In the brand new track, Simpson sets the scene by describing a girl who has become restless and uncomfortable in her big city life, and as the years begin to get away from her, decides she needs to go start fresh in Montana. The narrator’s life then intersects with the protagonist’s, as he finds himself playing music in a rowdy bar and falling in love with the girl from the stage, despite her being more interested with others in the crowd.
As the narrator laments the fact that he’ll likely have to swallow his pride and head on to the next city in the morning, leaving the woman’s memory behind, “A Hard Rain in Bozeman” sheds some light on the lonely aspects of life on the road that artists such as Simpson endure. Backing his deft lyricism with a honky tonk sound led by a fiddle heavy attack, Simpson’s latest release is as impressive sonically as it is lyrically, so give it a listen below.
“There’s a cold hard rain here in Bozeman tonight
And I’ll be headed back to Denver come the morning light
So when you let me down, won’t you let me down with ease?
I’m begging, darlin’ please”
With only 11 officially released songs to his name, Simpson’s catalog may be short at this point, but it’s potent, and each song is more than worthy of your time and attention. Born in Texas but hailing from Colorado, Simpson’s music is rooted in storytelling through thoughtful lyricism, and with a killer backing band and an intricate instrumental approach, the proof is in the music that Danno Simpson could be one of the next up and coming country music artists to breakthrough to the big time.
If you’re not too familiar with the rest of his music, check out a few of my favorites below. And be on the look out for more new music from Simpson in the near future, too.
“Honest Work”
“The Final Stand of Henry Lee”
“Old Town Saturday Night”
