Sterling Drake has always had a taste for adventure.
“I left home at 17 without any idea where I’d end up,” he explains. “All I knew was that if I held onto my dreams, they’d lead me where I was meant to be.”
With the release of The Shape I’m In, Drake’s remarkable debut, it’s clear the young troubadour is right where he belongs. Recorded in Nashville with Grammy-winning Icelandic musician Thorleifur Davidsson (Sierra Ferrell, KALEO), the collection stands as a captivating reflection on purpose and growth, on the journeys that take us away and the revelations that bring us home. The writing is profoundly existential, balancing the emotional and the intellectual in equal measure as it grapples with the sum total of love and heartbreak that make us who we are, and the performances are raw and revealing to match, captured live and direct to tape with an all-star cast of players. The result is a warm, lived-in sound that’s timeless and inviting even as it remains loose and rough around the edges, a poignant, intensely honest work that draws on country, folk, Celtic, and bluegrass traditions to forge something entirely its own.
The Shape I’m In finds Drake stretching beyond his honky tonk roots, though, expanding his sonic palette with lush, harmonically adventurous arrangements as indebted to Willie Nelson and Townes Van Zandt as Merle Haggard and Roger Miller.
For a dreamer like Sterling Drake, the adventure’s only just getting started.
Today, Glide is excited to premiere the video for the standout track “Worthy of the Name,” which finds Drake reflecting on the responsibility of calling yourself a proper cowboy – to your family, your land, and your animals. Featuring honky tonk songstress Brennen Leigh, the song is a heartfelt work of rich country folk that shines with its fiddle and a tone that feels almost like an old Irish folk tune. Leigh provides gorgeous background harmonies, accentuating the emotional impact of this song that speaks to an important issue.
Drake describes the inspiration behind the tune:
“‘Cowboy’ is a word that gets passed around a lot these days. We see the image in our media and our songs, but for those who work the occupation, it means something more. In working ranching communities, calling yourself a cowboy isn’t just about the job, it’s about carrying yourself with a soft feel and a quiet sense of responsibility. ‘Worthy of the Name’ is a call to live up to that code. Written with my friend Sara Douga, it’s a reminder that the title ‘cowboy’ ought to be earned, not claimed lightly.
This song felt like a natural starting point to speak to something deeper. In rural communities across the West, too many folks, cowboys included, are facing a healthcare epidemic: depression, addiction, and abuse. With a lack of healthcare infrastructure, these struggles can be isolating, and help can feel far away.
So alongside this song, I’m sharing some tools and resources at SterlingDrakeMusic.com/resources. If this song stirs something in you, I hope you’ll take a look, or pass it along to someone who might need it.”
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