Crockett forges ahead with "$10 Cowboy"

Crockett will also be touring again thisu year, beginning this week in Australia.

Crockett didn't set out to make a themed record. He had released a concept album in 2022, "The Man From Waco."

For the new disc, Crockett wrote over a two-month period while touring the U.S. He offered personal, vivid portraits of a country in transition.

"This material is written at truck stops, it's written at casinos, it's written in the alleys behind the venues, it's written in my truck parked up on South Congress in Austin," said Crockett. "A rambling man like me, a genuine transient, is in a pretty damn good position to have something to say about America."

Crockett and his band, the Blue Drifters, will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight. "A $10 Cowboy is a country singer who made himself on a street corner in America," Crockett said. "But the cowboy way, the cowboy mindset, that applies to anyone who doesn't feel free, who feels fenced in and bound to something."

"Being out on the road gives you a first-hand experience of how different kinds of Americans see themselves as going through some kind of great struggle," Crockett said. "The roughneck working the oil and gas fields in West Texas. The single mother raising kids by herself. The young man working a street corner because he thinks it's his only option. I would be dishonest if I said I couldn't see the thread. Each of them feel invisible. I am struck by the battles they are fighting internally, and the ways they have been entrapped by what America says they are."

"$10 Cowboy" was recorded at Arlyn Studios in Austin and produced by Crockett and his long-time collaborator Billy Horton. It was recorded live to tape, with anywhere from 6-12 musicians on each track.

"The reason I cut it on tape is, when you get the right folks in the room, great players rise to the occasion. When that red light is on and the tape is rolling, you get the magic of a performance."

Regular bandmates Kullen Fox, Nathan Fleming and Mario Valdez are joined by Rich Brotherton, Kevin Smith, Dave LeRoy Biller, Jason Lee Moeller, T. Jarrod Bonta and a string quartet. Lauren Cervantes and Angela Miller sing on the album

Crockett's latest headline tour of Australia begins later this week, and today he announces the first round of his 2024 North American tour dates. Crockett has also confirmed 2024 appearances at Stagecoach, Moon Crush Festival, Buckeye Country Superfest, FloydFest, Two Step Inn, and Avetts at the Beach in Riviera Maya, Mexico with the Avett Brothers plus summer festivals.

Tour dates are
Jan. 23 – Marquis Park City – Park City, UT
Jan. 27 - Tamworth Town Hall - Tamworth, AU
Jan. 28 - Bar on the Hill - Newcastle, AU
Jan. 30 - The Kings Theatre - Sunshine Coast, AU
Jan. 31 - The Green Room Byron - Tyagarah, AU
Feb. 1 - Eatons Hill Hotel - Eatons Hill, AU
Feb. 2 - Anita's Theatre Thirroul - Thirroul, AU
Feb. 4 - Enmore Theatre - Sydney, AU
Feb. 6 - Canberra Theatre Centre - Canberra, AU
Feb. 8 - The Gov - Adelaide, AU
Feb. 9 - Ballarat Civic Hall - Ballarat Central, AU
Feb. 10 - Coal Creek Community Park & Museum - Korumburra, AU
Feb. 12 - Forum Theatre - Melbourne, AU
Feb. 13 – Forum Theatre – Melbourne, AU
Feb. 14 - Astor Theatre - Perth, AU
Feb. 22 – San Antonio Stock & Rodeo – San Antonio, TX
Marchj 1 – Extra Innings Festival – Tempe, AZ

March 7 – Wynwood Marketplace – Miami, FL
April 5 – Grind City Fest – Memphis, TN
April 11 - Avett Brothers at the Beach @ Hard Rock Hotel Riviera
May a - Riviera
May a, MX
April 19 - Moon Crush Festival - Miramar Beach, FL
April 20 – Crawfish Music Festival – Biloxi, MS
April 21 – Two Step Inn Festival – Georgetown, TX
April 27 - Stagecoach Festival - Indio, CA
May 20 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
May 21 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
May 23 - Grey Eagle Event Centre – Calgary, AB
May 25 - River Cree Resort &Casino - Enoch, AB
May 27 - Burton Cummings Theatre - Winnipeg, MB
May 29 - Massey Hall - Toronto, ON
May 30 - MTELUS - Montreal, QC
May 31 - Higher Ground - South Burlington, VT
June 1 - State Theater - Portland, ME
June 3 - Empire Live - Albany, NY
June 5 - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom - Hampton, NH
June 6 - Capitol Theatre - Port Chester, NY
June 7 – XFINITY Theatre – Hartford, CT*
June 8 – Xfinity Center – Mansfield, MA*
June 14 - KettleHouse Amphitheater - Bonner, MT
June 15 – Scout + Gather - Whitefish, MT
June 17 - The Newberry - Great Falls, MT
June 18 - The Old Saloon - Emigrant, MT
June 19 - The Lincoln - Cheyenne, WY
June 20 – Telluride Bluegrass – Telluride, CO
June 22 - Buckeye Country Superfest - Columbus, OH
June 23 - Buckeye Country Superfest - Columbus, OH
June 28 – Jackalope Jamboree – Pendleton, OR
July 20 – Brooklyn Paramount – Brooklyn, NY
July 28 – FloydFest – Check, VA
Aug. 3 – Hinterland Music Festival – St. Charles, IA

* with Hank Williams Jr.