The mind is the greatest escape. Chuck Westmoreland should know. Having already garnered acclaim from Noisey, the AV Club, & more with his eponymous 2016 debut, and having shared stages with the likes of Justin Townes Earle and Whitney Rose, Westmoreland is poised for a breakout with his forthcoming second album Long Winter Rodeo (due June 1). Proud owner of a Portland, Ore., bar named The Red Fox, which he compares to the creepy watering holes of Twin Peaks, Westmoreland weaves his story songs from years of regulars shuffling through his doors, his characters drawing from a deep, personal well, while also pulling bits and pieces from his relationship with bar patrons with all the understanding of an old friend.
“He knows that there’s nowhere to go when you’re gone / There ain’t no direction,” Westmoreland sings with desolate beauty on Long Winter Rodeo’s title cut. Inspired by the real-life Tygh Ridge Rodeo Grounds (featured prominently in Westmoreland’s “Sharp Rocks” video), the sparse track unveils a simple love story. “A guy falls for this woman,” he says, “but she’s already with somebody else.” In an act of serendipity, the two finally end up together. Ultimately, it’s a hopeful tale, though one laced with an inescapable sadness. The song’s guitars ebb and flow beneath Westmoreland’s vocals, walking the line of solemnity and jubilee. “In the morning, you can see the outline of the rodeo, but it’s shrouded in mist—a lonely, desperate-looking thing,” he says, detailing the colossal presence of the song’s Tygh Ridge backdrop. “When you drive by it after you’re done fishing, the fog is all burned off, and it turns into the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen. Every single mountain in Oregon is visible standing there in the arena.”
The same majestic grandeur pulses through much of Westmoreland’s new record. “Long Winter Rodeo” rises as the album’s backbone, and the other narratives are bred and born from an equally raw and moving center. “Mama Be Eternal,” written only hours after his aunt’s funeral, blends tender balladeering with a honky-tonk strut: “Mama, can you carry me?” he pleads, an almost gospel-style choir coming to his aide.
When you listen to the songs on Long Winter Rodeo, aside from Westmoreland’s weathered vocals and vivid storytelling, it’s the instruments—in particular, a set of electric guitars Westmoreland crafted himself—that bind everything into a cohesive set. “I made six of those guitars, he says, highlighting his love of woodworking. “It gets pretty addictive.”
In honor of Mother’s Day, Westmoreland has hand-picked a variety of 12 songs for Glide that most ideally fit his vision of what the day represents. Moreland sings with a gravely and gritty directness that is touchingly familiar yet remains explosively venturesome: his choices are equally as sincere.
“Since having a kid, Mother’s Day isn’t just about my mom anymore–for some of these. I had my own mother in mind and others my wife. If anything seems a little creepy and you’re like “whoooooooa Chuck, you got some issues!” please bear that in mind,” laughs Westmoreland. “I’ve also included a preview of “Mama Be Eternal” off my upcoming album Long Winter Rodeo available on June 1st. It’s a song about getting too far away from home and losing everything that made you want to leave it.”
Long Winter Rodeo is out June 1 on Black and Gold Records.
