“I had driven out of Nashville hundreds of times as a touring musician, but this time I was packed up and moving to a different city,” says songwriter, singer, and bassist Shelby Means, who’s spent the majority of her career careening down highways on tour with world-class string bands like Della Mae and the Grammy-winning Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. The drive she’s remembering here is chronicled in “Suitcase Blues,” the latest single from Means’ debut solo album, Shelby Means. Joined by Billy Strings on harmony vocals and an all-time all-star backing band of Bryan Sutton, Michael Cleveland, Ron Block, and Sam Bush, Means puts a homesick twist on the time-honored road song.
“Heading east with tears in my eyes I sang a little voice memo to my phone,” Means remembers the song’s origins. Written with her husband and fellow musician, Joel Timmons, and producer Maya de Vitry, “Suitcase Blues” feels like a memoir of Means’ time in Nashville and genuine heartache not knowing when she’d return. “Eleven years of paying dues / Glued rhinestones on my cowboy boots / Kickin’ grass with some of Nashville’s best / I got a road gig with an all girl string band / Dragging my bass through foreign lands,” she sings in the song’s second verse. “Hardly home, heartsick, and depressed.”
“The traveling life I have chosen is a lot of ‘hardly home, heartsick, and depressed,’” she says. “I think the ‘suitcase blues’ are relatable for musicians, dogs, and travelers alike!”
A moody chord progression adds trepidation to the arrangement, highlighted by a split banjo and fiddle break, guitar flourishes, and a brief mandolin break. “Bryan, Michael, Ron, and Sam brought incredible life and depth to the recording,” says Means. “Already a very strong collaboration with the band, I was honored that Billy Strings agreed to sing harmony. His voice and energy mixing with mine and the sentiment of the song paint a vivid picture of chasing down a dream on the open road.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be back
I gotta go with Cackalack Jack
It’s a lonesome road that I choose
Packing up my suitcase blues”
Fans can stream or purchase “Suitcase Blues” today at this link, check out Means’ previously-released singles, “Farm Girl,” “Streets of Boulder” and “Million Reasons,” at their respective links, and pre-order Shelby Means ahead of its May 30th release right here. To pre-save the album on Spotify, click here. A full list of tour dates can be found below or at shelbyleemeans.com/events-wav.
Catch Shelby Means On The Road:
May 16 - Royal Albert Hall - London, UK #
May 23 - WMOT Finally Friday at 3rd and Lindsley - Nashville, TN
June 4 - The Ramkat & Gas Hill Drinking Room - Winston Salem, NC
June 6 - Midwood Guitar Studio - Charlotte, NC
June 7 - Charleston Pour House - Charleston, SC * (ALBUM RELEASE SHOW)
June 25 - The 5 Spot - Nashville, TN (ALBUM RELEASE SHOW)
July 4 - Soundcheck Summer Music Series - Pinedale, WY
July 6 - Hot House West - Salt Lake City, UT
July 13 - Means House Concert - Laramie, WY
July 17 - Big View House Concerts - Westcliffe, CO
July 18 - Music on the Green Summer Concert Series - Telluride, CO *
July 25 - RockyGrass - Lyons, CO #
Aug. 22 - Charleston Pour House - Charleston, SC ^
Oct. 18 - Henderson Bluegrass - Henderson, NV
Oct. 20 - WoodSongs - Lexington, KY
Oct. 22 - Red Barn Radio - Lexington, KY
* With Maya de Vitry
^ With Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
# With Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
