Tré Burt is the newest artist to sign to John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, following a serendipitous discovery, Oh Boy’s Jody Whelan found Tré Burt’s music and was immediately enamored. Following Burt’s showcase at Americana Fest in Nashville, he has now become one of only two artists who have been signed to Oh Boy Records in the past 15 years, both signings in 2019. Today they’ve shared the video for the title track from Tré’s debut album Caught It From The Rye. The video is produced by Evan James Atwood and like their previous work, it’s imbued with the indigenous spirit of the Pacific Northwest. The concept for the video was inspired by the opening verse of the song; “The sky then opened up/ and from it came a light / Where have you been? I caught it from the rye / Well I was in a canyon/ mingled with a tribe / Soon became my family as I became their kind”
During the filming process both Atwood and Burt were invited to a sweat lodge by the caretaker of the land they were filming on which speaks deeply to Burt’s knack for ending up in the most auspicious situations. Speaking to this, and how it interplays with the title track and single Burt says;
“The songs of mine I find most interesting to play are the ones I can't remember writing. Caught It From The Rye is one of those songs. I remember where I was though, and the conditions of that particular time. I was living out of a broken-down car during a warm summer in Portland, OR. I spent a lot of time hanging out in the forest brushes in Washington Park with my guitar. I had just found a fresh box of cigarettes someone must've dropped and was feeling pretty lucky all things considered. I sat down at the base of a tree and when I looked up I saw an unmistakable shape of a butterfly made by a break in the leaves and branches against the blue of the sky. The sun shot down on my lap. When I looked back down at my notebook I wrote the first line,"The sky then opened up and from it came a light". After that, all I remember is rocking back and forth in the dirt in a state of hypnosis."
Burt’s songwriting lends as much to his early education, from the emotional depth of soul music, namely Otis Redding and Nina Simone, as to the radical spirit of folk music embodied by Neil Young, Woody Guthrie and, yes, John Prine, Tré Burt has an eye on the complexity of the modern American experience and writes songs that speak to, and through, it’s nasty nooks and crannies searching for something purer to hold onto. Clear-eyed and succinct, Burt is unflinching in his, sometimes psychedelic, always poignant, songs about the human experience with an eye on what we can do to be better to ourselves and to each other. This signing heralds a sea change for the itinerant musician, including the news that High Road Touring will be representing him, with Brian Jonas taking the reins. Tré Burt is as authentic of a songwriter as you’ll find and this new chapter speaks to his tenacity, determination and craft. You can find Tré Burt on the road this winter with Haley Heynderickx, dates below, with more tour dates TBA in 2020.
Tré Burt Tour Dates
Dec. 3 - Iron Horse - Northampton, MA*
Dec. 8 - BSP Kingston, Kingston, NY*
Dec. 10 - Boot and Saddle - Philadelphia, PA*
Dec. 11 - Columbus Theatre - Providence, RI*
Dec. 12 - SPACE Gallery - Portland,ME*
Dec. 13 - The Word Barn - Exeter, NH*
Dec. 14 - The Sultan Room - Brooklyn, NY*
January 22-26 - Folk Alliance International - New Orleans, LA
Jan. 28 - The Basement - Nashville, TN
Jan. 31st WMOT Finally Friday at 3rd and Lindsley Nashville, TN
July 3-5 - Mariposa Folk Festival - Orillia, ON, Canada
*Supporting Haley Heynderickx
