Gregg Fells - Songs From a Weathered Troubadour (2020)

Gregg Fells’ new album rolls in like a weather front, opening track “Timbalier Bay” looming up and breaking in a storm of full-force blues, setting the stage for fresh winds and unsettled conditions to follow.

Meteorological metaphors seem appropriate given the title that Fells has chosen: “Songs from a Weathered Troubadour.” It’s appropriate. Fells earned that title the hard way, on a long road to establishing his personal identity and his musical identity and the connection between them. He released it Thursday, on his fortieth birthday, and if that seems like it’s a little late for a debut, the music is right on time.

In 2016 he moved to Nashville, a fresh start that also brought some things into sharp focus. His musical style includes blues, soul and singer-songwriter influences, but also a distinct measure of country roots. For a Black man, that brings the challenge of immediate and never-ending comparisons to Darius Rucker.

“Let’s be honest, there’s not a lot of color of Broadway,” Fells said with a laugh, of his arrival on the Nashville scene and the challenge of asserting his own voice amid calls for Hootie and the Blowfish covers. But if you must make the comparison, here’s his take: “It’s like the difference for me between clam chowder and gumbo,” he said.