EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “I’m always trying to do something different because I feel like if we’re not searching, we’re not learning,” says ultimate folk troubadour, punk pioneer, and fly-fisherman extraordinaire Chuck Ragan about his new album Love And Lore. “My writing approach seems to be whatever the song needs or wherever the song takes you, just let it breathe.”
That sums up his fiery first solo collection in a decade as well as his career as co-frontman of perennial punk band Hot Water Music and a legendary solo artist. Always pushing boundaries and defying genres, Chuck’s music constantly strives for and, more importantly, achieves the rare distinction of being both groundbreaking yet feeling quite distinctly Chuck. The fiery rocker Wild In Our Ways is a perfect example. The chiming guitar that launches the track sounds harder than most of Chuck’s solo material, but the second his instantly recognizable and road-worn vocals enter the picture, it drapes you with that comforting Ragan warmth, like a flannel blanket around a campfire.
A song of survival and struggle, Wild In Our Ways is a defiant anthem that pulls for the underdog and lifts him up high. “We could say anything and / Love the dirt on an endless road / We’re not meant to be alone / Stop dead in tracks we sing / We’re not meant to surrender, not meant to bow out,” he sings with fist-up, blue collar conviction. The one theme throughout all of this is the way that Chuck approaches everything with a level of honesty and integrity that can’t be faked — and that sentiment is undeniable on Love And Lore, his first solo collection in 10 years.
First conceptualized in 2016 with studio work beginning in 2019, Love And Lore was derailed by Covid, backburneredwhile Ragan focused on his fly-fishing operation in Grass Valley, CA to provide for his family. “We got serious about making this album again in 2022, but I didn’t have a ton of time to devote to it between being physically exhausted and having a toddler,” he admits. “It was just chaos.” (This also includes a tree falling on guitarist/pedal steel/multi-instrumentalist Todd Beene’s house.) Eventually, Love And Lore was recorded in early 2023 and the result is an album that showcases Chuck’s further transcending the “folk” label to create a collection of songs that see him stretching out as a songwriter to fearlessly explore new sonic territory.
A formidable presence on stage for decades, Ragan played his first solo show over 30 years ago, and has been writing heartfelt campfire anthems ever since he picked up an acoustic guitar at the age of 12. Growing up in the Southeast and raised by his Louisiana and Florida-bred Southern family, he has toured the world with Hot Water Music and solo. Chuck conceptualized The Revival Tour in 2005, and it has been been one of the most popular tours in North America, Europe, and Australia since its inception in 2008. Featuring such punk rock royalty as Frank Turner, Dave Hause (Loved Ones), Jenny Owens Young, Brian Fallon (Gaslight Anthem), Laura Jane Grace (Against Me!), Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio), among others, The Revival Tour was a festival of sorts that brought together artists of varying genres to collaborate and jam on stage as a musical collective.
Aside from his constantly evolving musical career, Chuck has also written a book, The Road Most Traveled (2012), which compiles anecdotes about life on the road. In addition, an award-winning documentary Landsick — based on his balance between music, fishing, and family — had a theatrical release in 2018, and was followed by a wide release the following year.”
