May 2026 Wrap-Up

Episodes 101-104 highlights: unwrapped, behind the scenes, backstories, details + video links

w. Corb Lund at Ranchman’s Cookhouse & Dancehall in Calgary, AB.
Photo by Heather Saitz.


I’m late to the party once again but here’s your May 2026 wrap-up. Some nice stuff, if I say so myself.

I of course intended on tackling this in June sometime but that tricky work-life balance thing… I was home for 13 days, 5 of them I had shows + we had a video shoot with Lost Country, a promo photo shoot and to top things off a gentle kitchen renovation here at my house. Then, right back on the road for 3 weeks. It’s all kind of a blur.

The Bottom of the Deck tour in May-June with Corb Lund across Western Canada was a fun one. Multiple nights in each market, playing 2 full albums per night (4 in total). Was lots of work but pretty rewarding. June-July in the mountain states of Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico with Corby was back to normal, calling ‘em out as we go every night with some bright spot shows & venues along the way. I love playing music, touring (and hotel life) in the United States but I’ll admit it was nice to do a little Canadian run. Especially at that time of year.

I’ll touch more on what happened in June with Corb, Lost Country and more in the next newsletter but let’s get focused on May, here.

4 episodes aired in May 2026 (101-104), with the first 3 being made at Boots & Saddle Headquarters here at home while 104 was recorded in a Holiday Inn by the Vancouver airport, 25 minutes from the gig and with no redeeming services within walking distance from the room. That was a bummer, but hey, it allowed me to get to work on what if I recall correctly was a Saturday afternoon.

Here we go, let’s get after it.

101

I’m bigger on this new Dale Watson record than I had anticipated. Dale’s been at it for a long time and even though his albums are generally extremely well-done and layered with perfect & complimentary country music instrumentation not often featured in his live band shows (Fiddle, Piano), Watson and his group are mainly a live attraction for me. But, Unwanted (released April 24, 2026) is a bright spot in recent memory and a shining moment at this stage of the legendary honky-tonkers career. Not too surprised by this but it seems like some of these songs have been floating around for years as evidenced by this 2022 live performance of a standout track from Unwanted called, Don’t Let The Honky Tonks Go:

I featured David Allan Coe in Episode 101 to commemorate his passing on April 29 at the age of 86. I made my thoughts and stance on DAC quite clear on the air and as mentioned though I don’t agree or condone a lot of what he publicly stood for and broadcasted, his contributions to country music as an artist, singer and songwriter cannot be overlooked and every now and then he’d do something to prove there was some good hiding deep down there in the man. I’d rather not focus on the negative side of DAC because quite frankly, a lot of it is utterly disgusting, even disturbing but on a bight note as pulled from an article on savingcountrymusic.com: “Coe insisted he was no racist. and pointed out that his drummer at the time of some well deserved criticism of some of his music was a Black man named Kerry Brown. Nonetheless, the accusations, and the songs, would follow Coe for the rest of his career and life, at times aided by his proud display of the Confederate Flag both in cover art, and as the painted image of his electric guitar. But paradoxically, David Allan Coe also at times spoke out against racism, tore down conventional barriers in music, and was on the cutting edge of inclusion, including employing drummer Kerry Brown, and having the distinction of being the first country artist to field an all-female band. Similar to Johnny Cash, Coe took up the plight of the incarcerated, playing numerous prison concerts. Coe also showed strong support for the Native American community. On his other “underground” album called Nothing’s Sacred also full of raunchy songs, David Allan Coe directly targeted anti-gay activist Anita Bryan with his song “F-ck Aneta Briant” (with her name purposely misspelled), calling her a hypocrite for criticizing gay lifestyles.”

Take that for what you will / want but I wanted to include it. What’s important to me as a country music fan and as the host of this program is the music and ones contribution to the genre. So with that, I’ve got a few from DAC to share.

I think I touched on it on the broadcast and if not it’s because I ran out of time, but I certainly wanted to mention my thoughts on Tennessee Whiskey. It’s become one of those songs that leaves me running to the exit any time I hear the title announced from a stage. Chris Stapleton is clearly an exceptional talent but he’s also one of the last people I ever want or need to hear sing again. It just doesn’t do it for me at all. At. All. The success he found with Tennessee Whiskey has spurred on droves of Stapleton wannabe’s who quite simply don’t have the talent or chops to pull off anything close to the vocal prowess he possesses. It’s further ruined the song for me. I can’t stand to hear Stapleton sing it and don’t think anyone else needs to try their hand at the song. Now, with all of that said, DAC singing it, or George Jones and his version, I am here for that. All day, every day.

DAC said his own name in song the way rap & hip-hop singers would go on to in the years that followed. Just think of it… who does that in country music these days? It’s quite a move and one he wasn’t shy to exercise. We all know You Never Even Called Me By My Name. It’s a classic. And the way DAC could imitate the other vocalist/artists that he name-checks remains incredibly impressive to me. Get a load of this unit here… whoa. Complete with a questionable lead guitar playing & tone even by 1974 standards. I love what Coe is wearing here. All while appearing quite disheveled. What a performer though. You can’t argue with that. You just fucking can’t. He can throw that tenderness on his voice that would suck just about anybody in. What a party this is:

Tanya Tucker had a #1 hit with the DAC penned Would You Lay With Me In a Field of Stone and here’s a nice moment of the pair singing it together. Not necessarily my cup of tea but a nice song and one that I felt essential to include in the broadcast (and here):

102

I spoke about Wayne Kemp after we opened 102 with Faron Young doing Step Aside. I’d intended on spinning Kemp’s version but it just isn’t fair to put anyone up against Faron for that song. Written by a Canadian, Ray Griff, “Step aside if I try to get near you. Lock your heart if I start making time. Walk away if I say that I need you. Step aside if I step out of line”. A wonderful example of how simple and powerful the language in country music can be. I just love it so, so much. Faron got the broadcast but Wayne Kemp gets the newsletter:

I met Chasen Wayne in Austin, TX when he booked us (Corb Lund) to play the Sagebrush in I think, 2023. In the years since he’s made as splash as a well-respected talent buyer (for good reason) and as a musician/songwriter/band leader. It’s not traditional country music. It’s not rock ’n roll. It’s not psychedelic rock. It’s not outlaw or alt-country or cowpunk or honky-tonk. But it’s also not-not any of those things either. Ya feel me? Seems to me Chasen Wayne & The Honky Tonk Machine do whatever the fuck they want and that is more than a good enough reason to pay attention. I like this one that we played on 102:

Todd Day Wait is a name I know from paying attention. I’ve seen plenty of posts, tour dates and clips shared over the years but embarrsingly haven’t spent too much time with his music. Released on April 17 was a single called Who’s to Blame, which is one of my favourites of 2026. Similar to the Dale Watson cut from earlier, it looks like this one has been around for a few years. Found a few live performances of this one online but I really like this one best. Nice song.

103

Theme-show time on 103. Another Cover Song episode. In theory, these ones are the easiest theme-shows to assemble due to the sheer volume of cover songs in the country music cannon but if you know me at all you know I do not take the easy way to the finish line when it comes to the Boots & Saddle Show. Sure, I phone it in hard in my real life much to the dismay of everyone around me, but not on B&S. 103 was a good one. But you knew that.

I’m calling this one a cover song even though it might sit in some kind of grey area. Corby wrote the song back in his day with The Smalls and reworked it nearly 10 years later for his 2007 Horse Solider! Horse Soldier! record but even under the cover of this metal-adjacent band, My Saddle Horse Has Died is without question bordering on a (country &) western music masterpiece. Here’s the studio version and a live clip. Dig Lundy on the bass with the Oilers jersey. Fuck yeah.

Honestly, I’ve loved the Concrete Blonde hit, Joey for as long as I can remember. My mom had the cassette. It was 1990 and the song was everywhere for a good long run. Written by Johnette Napolitano who fronted the band on the bass (and you know how much I love a singing bass player), she was a powerhouse vocalist and the song hits hard with people who have been through or around those that the subject matter she touches on in Joey pertains to. Jeremy Pinnell released his cover of it in I think 2021 but after this video surfaced of his ‘Live at The Print Shop’ session a couple months back they wisely released this audio/version to the streaming sites. The original cover he did is really good but there’s just something in this newer performance that hits harder. Way harder if I’m being honest. And obviously it resonated deeply enough with others to warrant the attention and release. I caught some shit from a couple listeners about this one but I don’t care, not even a little bit. I think it’s incredible. Pinnell is one of my favourite singers in the country underground.

It’s not her best performance but I wanted to find live one to share. Man… she could sing even if she was only halfway trying her best… and sell it.

I’m not a Garth Brooks fan but if I had to choose one from his catalogue it’d be Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old). Corb & Hayes had done this one as a duet on their first duo tour and ahead of their run through Europe this past April, released their studio version of it as a single. They recorded it in Vegas during NFR last December, engineered by our touring soundman. Darryl Swart and mixed by the wonderful Scott Franchuk at Riverdale Recorders in Edmonton, all involved did a real nice job. Cello in place of the fiddle. Interesting move but it works.

104

Recorded from Vancouver, BC, 104 is a solid working-man’s episode of the program that closed out the month. I’d set aside a couple songs from Star de Azlan and was glad to include one in 104:

Vincent Neil Emerson’s new record, Blue Stars was released April 17 and it has some good ones on. All of his records do. However, it’s not always up my alley. I’ve enjoyed his 2019 debut Fried Chicken & Evil Women more than any of the rest but he’s taken some big swings and done some really cool shit along the way and I commend him for that along with his strong work ethic. Dude has been on the road a lot these past few years. You know I love that. Someone not afraid to put in the time and work and not cry about how hard or expensive it can be. This is real nice solo performance of the title-track recorded for No Depression:

Back once again to the subject of artists releasing songs years after they’ve written and been performing them, we closed 104 with my guy Carter Felker. As you probably know, I’m not too big on the “singer/songwriter” stuff so much but if I’m in on someone, I’m really in on ‘em and I might just be the biggest Carter Felker fan there is outside of his mother who I have shared messages with over the years mutually praising her son and his elite ability to construct songs and lyrics. I played this one as a reminder to our local Winnipeg listeners of the upcoming show he had at Park Alleys that next to nobody ended up buying tickets for. I’d go on to express my disappoint and disgust the following week. The feeling hasn’t waned. And based on what sells (and sells out) around town here, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You missed out, folks. Don’t fuck it up next time. IF we’re even lucky to get a next time.

Alright, that does it for May 2026. As always, thanks for your patience and understanding in my lack of urgency to get these out in a timely manner. I appreciate all of you out there for listening to the program, reading the newsletter and following along. I feel lucky to be able to make this show and am thankful to have you along for the ride.

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Have a great week. We’ll chat later,

SB -