During SXSW this year I had the pleasure of seeing Paul Cauthen perform live at Garden And Gun‘s showcase, and it was one of the highlights of my entire festival experience. Cauthen can wail on the guitar and on a vocal hook like his life depends on it, and then he can also bring it all back home with a raspy and sweet croon.
On his forthcoming seven-track release Have Mercy, the follow-up to his debut, My Gospel, the country singer/songwriter firms up his position as a gospel troubadour with a rebel streak a mile wild. Nowhere is that rebel streak more apparent than on the album opener, “Everybody Walking This Land,” a swaggering, boot-stomping country tear that calls out everyone from the fascists to the angels across a percussive, bluesy stretch.
“‘Everybody Walking This Land’ is a song bigger than me or my writing,” Cauthen said of the track. “This song needed to be heard. I felt the spirit with this one.“ We’re premiering the track today, so you can listen above, and look for more info on his forthcoming release, which will be out June 22 via Lightning Rod Records.
In the meantime, if you’re out at Stagecoach this weekend, Cauthen will be performing a set there — and his live show really is unmissable.
Have Mercy will be out June 22 via Lightning Rod Records.
