Turnpike Troubadours’ Evan Felker on ‘Be Here’: “That One’s Completely Autobiographical”

Evan Felker, frontman and songwriter of the Oklahoma band Turnpike Troubadours, is known for his incomparable storytelling skills, regularly making the top of lists when it comes to the best American songwriters.

Throughout the band’s twenty year career, their music has dug into personal details, formed stories that connect across albums, and they've never been afraid to confront more difficult topics. However, as Holler sat down with the group in an exclusive interview, Felker opened up about some of their songs being much more autobiographical than others.

The red dirt band’s latest album, The Price of Admission, is a deeply personal one, Felker's lyricism feeling almost diary-like in their honesty, capturing moments that have come to define the band’s legacy and longevity. When we ask about the moving ‘Be Here’, Felker discussed the songwriting process that fueled the story.

“That one is completely autobiographical. It’s about my time at a treatment centre and my real roommate there,” Felker explains. The band took an indefinite hiatus in 2019, a time that was necessary for Felker to address personal issues with alcoholism and addiction. In his return to music and songwriting, he’s continued to carry those experiences with him. ‘Be Here’ tells the story of acceptance and healing, moving from lyrics of ‘tell ‘em what they wanna hear now’ as Felker first, perhaps unwillingly, started his rehabilitation process, to an ending of ‘I’ll be leaving, yes I will / Cyclone in my soul be still’. It’s a story of progress.

When asked if he found a sense of comfort in seeing people relate to his words, Felker expanded on the reasons why he writes the way he does, “I’ve found that there are two ways to talk about this stuff. One is like, “Hey, look at me. I did this so now you guys can forgive me or whatever.” And then there's the other reason.”

“At one point in time, I didn’t have anybody that I looked up to, or anybody around who had dealt with alcoholism or addiction and come to the other side of it,” Felker explains. Sometimes the biggest thing needed is simply having words to relate to, “so that’s the reason that I take the time to go through these stories.”

As with most writers, Felker also finds his own outlet in telling stories, “There’s a little bit of a therapeutic part of it to say, “Hey I did this. I should put it down on paper.” But reflecting on just how many people have found comfort in his words was something the Oklahoman wasn’t quite expecting. “It surprised me since I’ve been in recovery how relatable it is to so many people. Somebody’s got a brother or an aunt or an uncle, or it could be them, it could be somebody they’re dating, whatever, but that kind of thing has touched a lot more people’s lives than what I realised when I was younger and didn’t know much about it.”

For Felker, the bottom line is that by putting his words out into the world, Turnpike’s music will always be there to offer that relatability. “It’s just, I like saying that it’s an option. You know, these things are an option if you don’t like the way things are.”

That’s not to say Felker only writes from personal experience. As Holler asked about the opening track ‘On The Red River’, he spoke about finding inspiration elsewhere too. “That was based on some real people, a bunch of them, it’s not any one real story per se, but a mixture of those and my life and people I’ve known as well.” The moving waltz tells the story of returning home for a father’s funeral and reflecting on the memories and moments that a life well lived can bring up. “My dad’s alive and well, thank God. But it’s definitely drawn from a well of real people and their experiences and mine.”

Whether they’re specific to Felker’s own life and experiences, or a collection of moments from the people that surround them, Turnpike Troubadours are ready to offer empathy, one that will inevitably lead to company and comfort.

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