The material on “Good to Be…” was recorded toward the end of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown at Moore’s recording studio in Nashville.
“We started putting it off and not dealing with it,” he said, speaking from his home in Nashville. “Then, we got to the point where we decided, ‘OK, let’s just go.’ We did it at my house. I have a little studio, so we got in there and we were able to work. That’s the way I’ve done most of my records.”
Pandemic life had an impact on some of the album tracks.
“It is definitely a record of the times,” Moore said. “There are two songs that stand out to me as the timeliest. One is ‘The Medicine Man,’ which I did with Old Crow Medicine Show, and the other is ‘Marvelous to Me,’ which grew out of the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis. There’s that kind of thing and there’s some feel-good stuff too. I wanted to have a feel-good record.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
While Moore is excited to be playing some new songs live, he admits it’s a balancing act.
“I’m glad to have some new songs to refresh the set,” he said. “It’s really fun to do that, but I’m not playing so much new stuff that it will make people mad. Some people don’t want the new songs. If you give them too much stuff they don’t know, they’ll let you have it. You kind of mix new songs in with the good old stuff. You have to have the skills to present it to them so they will get their ears, their heads and their hearts wrapped around it in a way they can (understand).”
In addition to headlining dates, Moore is also sharing bills across the United States, with Sheryl Crow, including the stop in Huber Heights.
“We’re really excited about doing a run with Sheryl Crow,” he said. “She’s an iconic artist with a lot of hits. Folks dig her and we dig her so we’re just happy to be out there with her. I don’t get to go to Dayton that much, so I’m stoked about going there. I’m really looking forward to being a part of the Dayton landscape.”
Moore says he has some other projects on the horizon, but is currently focused on touring and performing, which includes dates in the U.S. and Europe.
“I have some things in the works, but I don’t want to say anything,” he said. “Right now, I’m really excited about taking the new record out on the road. I don’t really have an approach to life. I just take one thing at a time, and then, when I get done with that, I jump into the next project. I like being present with whatever I’m doing. I’m very much in the now.”
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or e-mail at donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
Who: Keb’ Mo’ and Sheryl Crow with Southern Avenue
Where: Rose Music Center, 6800 Executive Blvd., Huber Heights
When: 8 p.m. Friday, July 8. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Cost: $53-$102
More info: 513-232-6220 or www.rosemusiccenter.com
Artist info: kebmo.com
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