The hybrid of classic country song craft and psyche-rock sounds inform the spirit of Nashville native songwriting duo of Jack Quiggins and Ryan Jennings—known throughout all music scenes as Teddy and the Rough Riders. The group’s latest single, “Hippies,” personifies that ethos to the nth degree with a rowdy, driving groove and interjecting, fuzz-laden guitars. “‘Hippies make the best country music’ is a line said to me after I show I played while I was backing Whitey Morgan,” remembers Quiggins. Right off the bat, Quiggins realized he’d made a mistake engaging with the said individual who proceeded to share everything from political and social views to his opinion on whether Quiggins would make it in the music industry. “He continued to berate me about my long hair and demeanor,” Quiggins laughs. But as abruptly as it began, the man made a lasting exit. “Then he decided to end the conversation with praise and the infamous line we used in the song. Who knows, maybe he’s not wrong.”
“‘Cause if this wicked world’s on its last leg, how do we two-step?
And that hair down to your shoulders don’t cover that big chip
Keep your mind on what’s important son, or you’re gonna lose it
Hippies make the best country music”
Today, Holler. premiered the track writing, “Rattling along like an eighteen wheeler with its brakes cut, ‘Hippies’ is a mix of chugging barroom boogie and squelchy glam rock that once again reinvents 70s country rock with a little slacker charm and knowing 21st-century irreverence.” Teddy and The Rough Riders’ 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; country music groovy enough for their friend and once-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.
Fans can stream or purchase “Hippies,” check out Teddy and The Rough Riders’ previously released single, “Catfish Summer,” and pre-order or pre-save Down Home ahead of its October 11th 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 11th on Appalachia Record Co.
Catch Teddy and the Rough Riders On Tour:
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 - El Dorado 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 - Tempe, AZ - Yucca Tap Room
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
