Ol Billy Bob Boy - Sweltering Sun (2020)

It all started in a high school art class where a young Bill Simms imagined himself as a famous country singer. He sketched a caricature of himself sitting on a bale of hay beneath large text that read “Ol Billy Bob Boy’s Holiday Hoedown Boxset.” During a time when alternative rock was king, the country music Bill’s grandparents loved was clearly having a subliminal effect on the rapidly growing teen.

Several years later, Bill found himself studying music in college and once again imagined himself as a country singer. This time he created a cover for a theoretical album featuring the country hero surfing an epic wave, clad only in a speedo and cowboy boots, entitled “Ol Billy Bob Boy’s Spring Break Bluegrass Bonanza.” His friends loved it, and he knew he was onto something.

Around this time, Bill really began digging into the catalogues of country music’s greatest acts, including Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Patsy Cline, followed shortly by contemporary country artists like Corb Lund, Hank III and Little Miss Higgins. Before he knew it, Bill landed himself a gig playing upright bass in a theatre festival band which was revered for its annual country revue. After four seasons with this band and a music degree under his belt, Bill began writing his own country songs.

In 2018, Bill imagined yet another album cover for his country alter-ego: a serene lakeside scene depicting the character lying back near the water with a beverage in hand, captioned “Ol Billy Bob Boy’s Sweltering Sun.” But this time, Bill had the music to accompany the cover art, and Ol Billy Bob Boy had finally come to life.

Recorded later that year, Sweltering Sun is a collection of 12 original songs dealing with love, longing, jealousy and heartbreak. Blending the sounds of traditional country and bluegrass music with signature tongue-in-cheek humour and stories inspired by life in Newfoundland and beyond, the album is scheduled for release in May 2020. Featuring a stellar cast of young musicians, Sweltering Sun is sure to make listeners hoot, holler, belly laugh and maybe even shed a tear.