The good folks over at Yer Bird Records sent me a copy of Caleb Coy‘s Wild Desert Rose, and I’m so glad that they did. This gem of a country record positively crackles with an old-time earnestness that simply cannot be ignored. It’s just a man, a guitar, and a life slowly unwound through his unfussy, soulful tunes. Here’s how the folks at Yer Bird describe it:
Texas born and southern bred, Caleb Coy writes songs woven from the backwoods tapestry of his drifting ways. Channeling the eloquence and magic of such legendary songwriters as Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley and Kris Kristofferson, his songs paint pictures of the open road.
If you close your eyes you can almost see the redtail circling high above and smell the campfire and whiskey amidst the pines. From an old airstream in the high desert of far West Texas and the ancient cliff dwellings of the Gila Wilderness to the south fork of the Yuba River, the American countryside has been his muse and true love for the last five years.
Though the heyday of the hard living troubadour has come and gone, Caleb Coy reminds us that the outlaw spirit is alive and well… and still on the run.
My friend Julie first introduced me to 
Just what is folk music? Is it soft-spoken, intimate confessions poured out over an acoustic guitar? Is it “We Shall Overcome,” sung on the National Mall? Is it ever playful? Joyful? Does it do something other than teach? Can it be “pop?” Clearly, the answers to these questions are subjective, but at their core is a common notion: “Folk” music is “apart” from other music. There is something different about the folk singer – that mythic figure of storytelling and poetic wisdom. But is that really true?
The fine folks over at