Joshua Hedley at the Raccoon Motel -- September 28.
Thursday, September 28, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Touring in support of his 2022 release Neon Blue, which Holler Country praised as "a crash course in pure country from one of the music university’s finest and most knowledgeable professors," singer/songwriter Joshua Hedley headlines a September 28 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist's latest also inspiring Pitchfork to rave that "the pleasure of Neon Blue is how Hedley subtly twists country conventions, making retro-minded songs and sounds seem both familiar and fresh."
Born and raised in Naples, Florida, the 38-year-old Hedley was drawn to the fiddle as a child, requesting one by name from his parents at age three. He actually got his first violin at eight, and by age 12, he was playing alongside adults at his local VFW. When Hedley turned 19, he moved to Nashville, where he became an in-demand sideman at Robert's Western World and other venues, and started to become well-known around the Lower Broad district of Nashville where he developed his sound. "I always thought Josh was the best thing going on down on Broadway," said singer/songwriter Margo Price in a Rolling Stone interview, the artist having used Hedley's fiddle on her 2017 album All American Made. "No one carries on the tradition the way Ol’ Hed does. He grew up in it, worked on his chops and earned his place in that world. Now the world gets to hear it."
Hedley became known as "Mr. Jukebox" while playing down on Broad, and went on to tour with talents such as Jonny Fritz, Justin Townes Earle, Willie Watson, and others. He was featured in the 2015 documentary Heartworn Highways Revisited and was listed as one of 10 country music acts to watch by Rolling Stone in 2016.
Hedley was also featured on an online variety show hosted by Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show on YouTube Live. In 2018, the country artist delivered his album debut Mr. Jukebox via Third Man Records, and was an immediate beneficiary of rave reviews. According to The Tennessean, "Hedley, an old-school country singer, songwriter, and fiddler whose sound recalls Johnny Paycheck and Merle Haggard, has spent years paying his dues in Nashville. Now it's time for the rest of the world to take notice." Pitchfork, meanwhile, stated that the recording "positioned Hedley as an unabashed revivalist, crafting a meticulous, loving re-creation of the heyday of the Nashville Sound, layering supple strings and vocal harmonies over the steady clomp of tic-tac bass."
Joshua Hedley plays his Davenport engagement on September 28, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $12, and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
