Premiere | Will Payne Harrison: Don't Drink Well Whiskey in the Lonestar State
Photo by Anna Rogers
We’ve got a fun one for you today from Nashville-based artist, Will Payne Harrison. We’re premiering his latest single, “Don’t Drink Well Whiskey in the Lonestar State.” It rides the line of being equal parts funny and cautionary tale. The single appears on Harrison’s upcoming album, Tioga Titan, out on October 21st. A rollicking tune featuring Meredith Krygowski on fiddle and Gabe Tonon on baritone guitar. It’s a song that would feel right at home being played at any dance hall in the state of Texas. You might be surprised to learn that this honky-tonk vibe isn’t the sound Harrison originally tried to capture in his first couple of albums. “I’ve always wanted to be a bluegrass musician, but I just don’t have the chops so it comes out as Americana," he chuckles. "For these new songs, I paid attention to what the fans were really digging into previously and decided that I should release a full album of honky-tonk since those were the tracks that resonated most with listeners." If you think the light-hearted nature of “Don’t Drink Well Whiskey in the Lone Star State” is indicative of the tone of the rest of the album, you’d be wrong. Although Harrison knows how to keep things light, he also can write a tearjerker.
Proving that the best song inspiration comes from real life, “Don’t Drink Well Whiskey in the Lonestar State” was pulled from Harrison’s own travels in Texas. “This is based on a true story. I was in Austin with a friend at a well-known bar and I ordered well whiskey. My Austin-based friend warned me not to, but I said, ‘what the hell, it can’t be that bad.’ I was very wrong. I decided to write a song based around that premise. I’ve learned that being in Tennessee and close to Kentucky, we’re spoiled with good whiskey.”
The song is proof you don’t mess with Texas, but fortunately for Harrison, he fucked around, found out and got a new song out of the whole ordeal. You can listen to the new single from Will Payne Harrison below and pre-save or pre-order his newest album, Tioga Titan.