Rod Picott

The thrum of insects on a hot August night. A saw blade biting kiln-dried hemlock. The lonesome highway whine of long-haul trucks. A crude swallow of cheap whiskey that tears at your throat. Tears of loss and the easy laughter of old friends. This is the sound of Rod Picott's world. Over 24 years, 12 albums, three published books and a few thousand shows Rod Picott has worked, powered by the fuel of the blue-collar world he was born into. The son of a hard working welder and a homemaker, Picott's youth set him on a road of self-reliance and fierce independence that at 60 still runs through his blood. Raised in the small town of South Berwick, Maine, Rod Picott was a restless and rebellious youth and after high school, a construction worker by trade until moving to Nashville in 1994. He turned down the one record deal he was offered at the start of his career, choosing instead to cut his own path and lay a bet on his own hard work. Through luck and white-knuckled determination Rod has been fortunate to open a tour for Alison Krauss and Union Station, play the Shrewsbury Folk festival, BBC Radio 2 Bob Harris sessions, Maverick Festival and receive the "Song of the Year" award for his co-write (with Slaid Cleaves) "Broke Down" at the Austin Music Awards. Rod is touring the UK this autumn on his "So Long It's Been Good To Know You" retirement tour. He brings his keenly observed songs, gritty delivery and compelling live show. The set will feature songs and stories from his quarter-century on the road.