Born and raised just a few minutes from Nashville’s Music Row, Teddy and the Rough Riders—the songwriting/vocal duo of Jack Quiggins and Ryan Jennings—blossomed in Nashville’s alternative-rock boom of the 2000s, spearheaded by the likes of Jack White and JEFF the Brotherhood. Through experimentation and sharing stages with groups like The Raconteurs and Natural Child, they naturally merged their rock leanings with the traditional country roots of Music City, developing a sound that is uniquely cosmic-Americana.
Their upcoming album, Down Home—out October 11—is a raucous, electrifying double-down on all the elements that garnered praise for their 2022 self-titled LP. The country music grooves are enough for their friend and former producer Margo Price to proclaim that “given the chance, [Teddy and the Rough Riders] will unite the hippies and the cowboys, the bikers and the stoners.”
The eleven-song collection, being released via Appalachia Record Co., breathes like a band confident in their songwriting and recording. Working with momentum already up to speed, the album moves along at an easy clip, with several points where one will unconsciously find themselves reaching for the volume knob to turn up the rippers. At 33 minutes, it’s a record begging for repeat listens, where even the down-tempo numbers groove.
Today, Teddy and the Rough Riders released the first single from Down Home, the head-bobbing ode to the greatest summer in Jennings’ life, dubbed “Catfish Summer.” “This one is about visiting my mom’s side of the family who lived in Rockmart, Georgia,” Jennings recalls. “But instead, my mom dropped me and my cousin off at my uncle Bubba’s house for a few weeks.” The boys kicked around Uncle Bubba’s “hillbilly shack” on the side of a catfish pond, fishing, riding four-wheelers, swimming, and listening to their great uncle’s bluegrass band pick; a far cry from how they’d initially anticipated their summer break to go. “From childhood bummer to high time,” Jennings laughs, reiterating the words behind the tune’s catchy refrain. Yesterday, American Songwriter premiered the lead single, describing the band’s sound as “a combination of classic country and classic rock from the ‘70s.”
Fans can check out the handy cam-driven nostalgia of the “Catfish Summer” music video here, stream or purchase the new single, and pre-order or pre-save Down Home ahead of its October 11 release via Appalachia Record Co. right here.
Teddy and the Rough Riders are on a non-stop tour this summer, backing and opening for New West artist Emily Nenni across the U.S. and throughout parts of Europe and the U.K., culminating in their official showcase at this year’s Americanafest in September. Following a short run of dates with Emily Nenni opening for Orville Peck, the Teddy gents will set out on their own U.S. tour beginning in October through the end of 2024, with dual album release celebrations in Austin and Nashville. Tour dates can be found below or at teddyandtheroughriders.com.
Down Home Tracklist:
Bullet
Fast Livin’
Catfish Summer
Trouble Sleeping
Golden Light
Edna’s Song
Mountain Girl
Hippies
Love After Life
Bird Has Flown
Gettin’ High
More About Down Home:
Down Home was mixed and overdubbed throughout their previous album’s release, wrapping in 2023. As is often the case with back-to-back productions, this follow-up takes all the strengths of the previous and builds on them, leaning further into the otherworldly fuzz guitar sounds of Sean Thompson on tracks like “Bullet” and “Hippies”—songs with lyrics that turn country and western conventions on their head—where a bullet is a romance imbued beau rather than a weapon (with Doug Sahm-inspired organ) and “hippies make the best country music”—a refrain poking the purist traditionalists in the ribs. Elsewhere, modern melodic progressions and the layered backing vocals of Erin Rae and Emily Nenni service the beautiful and upbeat “Golden Light,” a song inspired by the social and personal paralysis of the Covid pandemic, finding hope in the eventual return to traveling, playing music, and sharing stages with friends.
But as the album title suggests, styles never stray far from the Rough Riders’ traditional country wheelhouse. Childhood imagination goes from bummer to core memories in the back-to-nature reflections of “Catfish Summer,” and “Mountain Girl” is a rollicking bluegrass-inflected tune with fiddle (Eli Bishop) accenting the super up-tempo stomp, conjuring an essence akin to alt-trad rockers, The Pogues. There’s classic country territory like the grooving but sober “Bird Has Flown,” and “Fast Livin’” is an absolute barn burner, invoking Hank Snow’s “I’ve Been Everywhere” with an extra coat of red paint for every town.
More About Teddy and the Rough Riders:
On their new album Down Home, the songwriting duo of Jack Quiggins and Ryan Jennings double down on all the elements that garnered praise for their previous, eponymous album produced by Margo Price. Holler Country succinctly sums them up: “Teddy and the Rough Riders are pulling apart the lost threads of country rock and weaving them back together with their own alternative take on the form.” As native Nashvillians, the pair came up through Music City’s DIY rock scene explosion of the late 00s into 2010s, eventually embracing the traditional country roots of their home city. At just 33 minutes, Down Home moves at a fast clip, with a variety of blazing rippers, traditional sounds, and alt-country styles inviting repeat listens. The band has recently been named “Best Honky Tonk Group” by Austin TX’s Ameripolitan Awards for 2024. They tour North America, the EU, and the UK through the summer, backing and opening for Emily Nenni, then embarking on their own North American tour in October after making an official appearance at Americanafest in September. Down Home is releasing on October 11 via Appalachia Record Co.
Catch Teddy and the Rough Riders On Tour:
- August 9 - Borlange, SWE - Broken Dreams
- August 10 - Gotland, Burgsvik, SWE - Gainesville
- August 16 - Gothenburg, SWE - Pustervik
- August 17 - Falkenberg, SWE - Rootsy Summer Festival
- August 18 - Stockholm, SWE - Stockholm Roots
- August 20 - Malmo, SWE - Annelundsgarden
- August 23 - Hamburg, DE - Nochtwache
- August 24 - Den Haag, NL - Wild Rooster
- August 25 - Amen, NL - Cultureel Cafe de Amer
- August 26 - Eindhoven, NL - Americana Mondays
- August 27 - London, UK - Camden Assembly
- August 28 - Birkenhead, UK - Future Yard
- August 29 - Nottingham, UK - The Angel
- August 30 - Oxford, UK - The Bullingdon
- August 31 - Southampton, UK - The Joiners
- September 1 - Bristol, UK - The Louisiana
- September 2 - Cardiff, UK - Clwb Ifor Bach
- September 3 - Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute (2p)
- September 4 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
- September 5 - Glasgow, UK - Audio
- September 7 - Vance, FR - Americana Festival
- September 20 - Nashville, TN - 5 Spot Americanafest Showcase
- October 3 - Las Vegas, NV - Backstage Bar
- October 4 - Reno, NV - Off Beat
- October 5 - Folsom, CA - Folsom Hotel
- October 6 - Los Angeles, CA - Permanent Records Roadhouse
- October 7 - Costa Mesa, CA - The Wayfarer
- October 8 - Phoenix, AZ - The Dirty Drummer
- October 10 - Abilene, TX - Lone Star Dry Goods
- October 11 - San Antonio, TX - Lonesome Rose
- October 12 - Austin, TX - White Horse
- October 13 - Austin, TX - ACL Fest
- October 17 - Birmingham, AL - Woodlawn Theatre
- October 18 - Nashville, TN - Soft Junk
- October 19 - Thomaston, GA - Mule Days
