I first heard J. Roddy Walston & The Business at a little festival in Savannah, Georgia called Savannah Stopover Fest. It’s a mini fest that sprang up due to all the bands touring down to Austin, Texas for SXSW, but is a delightful event in its own right. After catching J. Roddy and co. on the first night, I sought them out several times down in Texas too — and wasn’t disappointed by a single set. That was years ago, and in the meantime, the Virginia four-piece have built quite a cult following, mostly off the strength of their enormous touring schedule.
This September, though, they’re releasing a new album, Destroyers Of The Soft Life, and it builds upon their gritty, jolting Americana sound in the best way. Today, they shared the video for “You Know Me Better,” a rollicking, heavy surge of country rock that includes a scream-along chorus in ode to those people who just get down to the core of who you are without even trying. It’s a country song built on top of a rock song, and the resulting mash up is fantastic. Listen to that above and look for their new album coming out at the end of next month.
Destroyers Of The Soft Life is out 9/29 via ATO Records. Pre-order it here and check out more of their extensive tour dates below, these guys are really worth catching live.
09/02 — Snowshoe, WV @ Snowshoe Mountain Resort
09/09 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE Outdoors
09/10 — Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
09/12 — Green Bay, WI @ Badger State Brewing Company
09/14 — Maquoketa, IA @ Codfish Hollow Barnstormers
09/15 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/16 — Fargo, ND @ Dekker Brewing Company
09/18 — Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
09/19 — Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
09/22 — Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
09/23 — Vancouver, BC @ Venue Nightclub
09/24 — Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
09/26 — San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
09/27 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
09/30 — Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up
10/04 — Jackson, MS @ Duling Hall
10/05 — Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
10/07 — Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
10/08 — Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
10/10 — Orlando, FL @ The Social
10/11 — Ybor City, FL @ Crowbar
10/13 — Macon, GA @ Cox Capitol Theatre
10/14 — Greenville, SC @ Fall for Greenville
10/15 — Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre
