There’s no doubt that the Turnpike Troubadours are one of the most influential bands in country music. Despite not having eye-catching streaming numbers and chart success, the Oklahoma band has influenced some of the biggest artists in the red dirt scene ranging from Zach Bryan to Flatland Cavalry to Wyatt Flores.
Today, none other than one of the hottest duos in the genre, Muscadine Bloodline, are the latest to tribute the band with their brand new single, “Tickets to Turnpike,” featuring none other than Turnpike’s very own Kyle Nix on fiddle.
The pair teased the song for the first time on Instagram back on July 2nd before officially announcing its release along with Nix’s feature this Wednesday.
In a separate Instagram post, the “Porch Swing Angel” singers penned a lengthy preface to the track, praising the band, their authenticity and independent nature: “Our first time seeing Turnpike play a show was in Hattiesburg, MS at a place called the Thirsty Hippo in 2013. There may have been 40 people there. Fast-forward 10 years later, they are selling out arenas and doing it independently. When people told us there is a glass ceiling to what we trying to do, our response has always been, ‘What about Turnpike?’
From the songwriting, the authenticity, and the business, we’ve looked up to the boys from East Oklahoma. We’ve been honored to share the stage with them several times over the past few years and this song serves as an ode to the impression they made on us from the get go.
If you’re gunna write a song about the Turnpike Troubadours, you’re gunna need some fiddle.
So, We were honored to have Kyle Nix of Turnpike grace the song with some saw and string. ‘Tickets to Turnpike’ out at midnight. Long Live Turnpike.”
The duo also noted, “This song is special to us because we have always looked up to Turnpike Troubadours. Over the years we have been able to cross touring with them off our bucket list. It means a great deal to have Kyle Nix from Turnpike on the track as well. Seemed very fitting and makes it that much more special to us.”
As for “Tickets to Turnpike” itself, it’s just about everything that you would want from a collaboration from Muscadine and Nix. Nix’s ability on fiddle simply cannot be understated and provides that patented Turnpike feel to the track. The combination of Nix’s fiddle and Muscadine’s charisma on the song makes the track an incredible success.
I would be lying if I said that “Tickets to Turnpike” is as poetic as some of Evan Felker’s lyrics on most of Turnpike’s songs, but the earnest nature of Muscadine’s songs simply powers through this track. There’s such a matter-of-fact nature to the song that makes it so endearing. It feels like an incredibly realistic retelling of asking a girl to a concert of your favorite band, and honestly, I can’t help but fall in love with the approach that Muscadine takes in their songwriting. In an indie/alt country climate that feels a bit overrun with overly flowery and poetic language, it feels a bit refreshing to hear a song that is incredibly well-crafted that simulateously also feels realistic and plain-spoken at the same time.
Muscadine is currently on the summer leg of their The Costal Plain tour. Upcoming dates include the following:
- 7/12 Whitefish, MT
- 7/14 Chicago, IL
- 7/18 Hastings, NE
- 7/19 Wichita, KS
- 7/26 Maquoketa, IA
- 7/27 Bloomington, IL
- 8/2 Isle of Palms, SC
- 8/3 Isle of Palms, SC
Listen here: