Godwin announces seven-song EP

This is the follow-up to the West Virginian's breakout CD, "Family Ties."

"It was really cathartic for me," he said of re-teaming with his longtime producer, guitarist and bandmate, Al Torrence, at Torrence's Music Garden Studios in New Brighton, Pa. Godwin recorded his vocals separately for the first time in his career in order to give them even more life and resonance.

Written principally on the road, "Lonely Mountain Town," Godwin said, "These are character songs. Most of them aren't about my life. They're just little pieces that I've taken from traveling."

"It's a good feeling to know that," he said of having such artistic independence. "It gives you major confidence going forward."

Working with labelmate ERNEST on "Dead to Rights" taught Godwin how sometimes the best songs can be written without painstakingly obsessing over the smallest detail. "I saw that maybe it isn't the worst thing in the world to sit down and try to write a song in 10 minutes and see how it turns out rather than toiling over a line for a week," he said. And then there is the truly magnificent cover of Jason Molina's "Hammer Down," which paired Godwin with one of his musical heroes, Scott Avett of Avett Brothers fame. The two became friends after touring alongside the Avett Brothers as co-openers on Luke Combs' 2024 "Growin' Up and Gettin' Old" stadium tour. Most nights onstage, they'd duet on "Hammer Down."

"It meant a lot to me, and I think it turned out really cool too," Godwin said of recording with Avett. "It brought new life to a song that a lot of people probably haven't been exposed to."

"I just want to continue writing like I have been and continue to record when I can and to keep producing and making music," he said. "Because that's what makes me happy."

"If I keep doing that, then I think everything else will work out just fine."

The track list is:
1. Lonely Mountain Town (Charles Wesley Godwin)
2. It's The Little Things (Charles Wesley Godwin)
3. Dead To Rights feat. ERNEST (Charles Wesley Godwin, Ernest Keith Smith, Chandler Paul Walters)
4. It's Her Move (Charles Wesley Godwin, Wyatt Flores, Aaron Raitiere)
5. Then I'm Gone (Charles Wesley Godwin)
6. She Don't Love Me Anymore (Charles Wesley Godwin, Zach McCord)
7. Hammer Down feat. Scott Avett (Jason Molina)