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Friday, November 5, 2021

Kristian Bush is an old school 'Troubadour' on November album

Kristian Bush dives into his Appalachian roots with new single "Hunt Dog Hunt."

"A lot of times when people see my name next to a song, people expect joy,” Bush said. “‘Hunt Dog Hunt’ is exactly that.”

It is the debut single from his new album Troubadour. Available Nov. 19, the 16-song collection is the soundtrack to Bush’s country music musical of the same name that debuted in Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre.

Half of the Grammy-winning country duo Sugarland, Bush grew up in East Tennessee's Smoky Mountains swathed in primitive mountain music and inescapable bluegrass tradition. The album begins with traditional 1930's bluegrass and progresses through the decades with Americana music. 

To respect the time period the songs reflect, Bush assembled a group of players familiar with the style and recorded the album live in one room in his Atlanta studio. They gathered in a circle and honed the unique blend of harmonies until they mimicked what Bush remembered hearing in church as a child.

"It's a very spooky thing when we get it right," Bush said. "You don't know where one note ends and the other begins. They all start to move together, and they're making a color that only people from the mountains make."

Bush wrote or co-wrote every song on the album.

"One way or another, where you grew up is what's in your bones," Bush said. "As many wonderful, crazy opportunities as I get in my life to go play music, you have to know where you're from because otherwise, you'll have no idea where you're going. This record is me."

About Kristian Bush:

Kristian Bush is a multi-platinum-selling, two-time Grammy winner most known for being half of country music duo Sugarland. The Sevierville, Tenn., native launched his professional music career in 1994 with the folk-rock duo Billy Pilgrim. Within the decade, Kristian moved on to form Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles. The duo released "Baby Girl," its debut song, in 2004 and to date has charted five No. 1 hits and 12 Top 10 songs.

Bush made his solo debut in 2015 with "Southern Gravity," home to his Top 20 hit "Trailer Hitch." He made a foray into television theme songs in 2016 with "Forever Now (Say Yes)," which he penned and performed for TLC's popular "Say Yes to the Dress." Bush is a multi-instrumentalist and has written three musicals. "Troubadour" opened at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in 2017, and his second musical "Darlin' Cory" followed in the same space in 2021. He co-wrote a song for the Atlanta staging of Stephen Schwartz's "Working: A Musical." Bush's third musical, "Me Before You," opens in Miami in 2022.

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