Review- Will Stewart: Moon Winx
Back in the 1960s, before home football games, coach Bear Bryant wanted to get his University of Alabama team away from any distractions on campus. He would load the team onto buses and take them to the Moon Winx Lodge. It was a 36-room motel in the eastern part of Tuscaloosa which happened to be one of the most modern motels in the region and located on the old main road into town. The team would enjoy a steak dinner at the on-site Lamplighter restaurant before turning in for the night. Saturdays would feature a bit of a parade as the team traveled back across town to the campus stadium with the locals lining the street to cheer on their beloved Tide. The Moon Winx had been in operation since the 1920s and featured a distinctive neon sign featuring a winking crescent moon which became a Tuscaloosa icon. Sadly, the motel fell into disrepair and was condemned and demolished in 2023, but the sign was saved and sold. This bit of history is important because Will Stewart uses the old motel as the canvas for his latest collection of songs on his fourth solo LP Moon Winx which releases February 28 on Birmingham’s Earth Libraries label.
Photo by William A Yarbrough
Stewart has made a reputation not only for his outstanding guitar work but for his exceptional Southern storytelling. “Writing about what you know” has long been the best advice and Will tells some good ones about Alabama in the 10 songs that make up Moon Winx. The time avant-garde bandleader (and Birmingham native) Sun Ra brought his Arkestra to Tuscaloosa for a three-night run at the Chukker Club is the basis for one tune. The group was staying at the Moon Winx for the run and “The Arkestra at Dreamland” describes seeing this group of jazz musicians eating at one of the South’s iconic BBQ joints. The original Dreamland in Tuscaloosa is in an old house and ribs were the only item featured on the menu; slices of white bread on a paper plate as the only side offered. It must have been quite a sight. Other songs name-drop Alabama landmarks such as Tuscaloosa’s Rice Mine Rd, The Warrior River and Montgomery’s WSFA radio station giving them a sense of place.
Stewart’s jangly guitars and intelligent lyrics often draw comparisons to Jeff Tweedy and Wilco. Songs like “Regulars,” “Penny,” and “Bird in the Hand” certainly fall into that category, but they are in no way derivative and serve to balance the moodier pieces on the record where the storytelling shines. “Til We Hear the Radio,” “Still Around,” “Late for the Banquet,” and “Mighty Fine” all deserve multiple listens to dig into the details of the characters and their situations. “Firebird Fever” is one of those road songs that has you reaching over more than once to turn up the volume as the tune bounces along. “Roxy Blue” is the track that stands out with its details of a man doing everything he can possibly do to save the life of his drug-addicted partner without much help from her; “buddy when she loves on me, it gives me purpose and I don’t feel so bad, fucked-up and worthless/Trying my best to keep her clean, no more Methamphetamines, I flush the pills, pour out the booze and maybe we can make it.” It’s heartbreakingly earnest and a picture-perfect look into the trials of a toxic relationship.
So much great music is coming out of Alabama these days from independent musicians. Some are seeing huge success on national stages while others continue to climb the ladder of recognition, but they all shared the same stages around the state that Will Stewart continues to play and we are fortunate to have more of his original music with these songs on Moon Winx.
Find out more about Will Stewart at the links below:
