Tennessee Cree goes off the rails on his own Hellbound Train in his raucous new single — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Some songs arrive like a whisper. Others hit like a runaway locomotive. On his blistering new single, Indigenous singer-songwriter Tennessee Cree (aka Kevin Schofield) delivers a wild, soul-scorching ride straight from the heart of Canadian roots music. Hellbound Train is a declaration from the edge of memory, a fire-lit ceremony, a roots-rocker that dares to ride the line between salvation and surrender.
It’s a song that sounds like it could have been found on an unreleased Johnny Cash record — and that’s no accident. “Johnny Cash has been good to me,” Schofield says. “I love The Man in Black. George Jones is almost like the dad I never had. Hank Williams is the lost uncle I never knew.”
But Hellbound Train is no imitation — it’s a deeply personal reflection on what it means to carry pain, survival, and country music in your blood. Written with a mix of reverence and rebellion, the track is powered by Schofield’s gravel-and-honey vocals, gospel-tinged melodies, and a rhythm that rolls like thunder on steel tracks.
“I learned Johnny Cash when I was nine years old
I never did walk that line, I never did what I was told
I’ve had a lot of fun stealing Johnny’s sound
But will the circle be unbroken when the man comes around
Because I’ve found I’m on a hellbound train.”
“I call it the moaning of an out-of-control train on fire,” says Schofield. “It’s a prayer disguised as a country song. A hallelujah sung through grit teeth.”
Schofield was born by Moose River, Ontario, and earned his name — half homage, half prophecy — in the heart of Nashville. A member of the Cree Nation, his music is a tapestry of lived experience, survival, and cultural legacy. A poet, warrior, and musical force, he’s as comfortable performing at a festival as he is lighting up a community hall or sacred fire gathering.
His journey includes a stint in residential school, a life-changing move to Nashville in the early 2000s, and a Juno nomination in 1998 with his No Reservation. He has shared stages with Greta Van Fleet, Wailin’ Jennys and Stephen Fearing, and his shows with his band Kuhwuhgin Awahshish — an homage to residential school survivors — have earned him acclaim as one of Canada’s most compelling Indigenous voices.
For fans of Cash, Jones, Stompin’ Tom, and truth-telling troubadours everywhere, Tennessee Cree has arrived. And the trip is just getting started. Climb aboard his Hellbound Train above, hear more from Tennessee Cree below, and find him on his website and Facebook.
