Will Henley
On the heels of their recent European trek, Americana band JD & The Straight Shot are set to open for Jewel’s Picking Up the Pieces tour kicking off on March 4th in Lake Charles, LA. JD & The Straight Shot – vocalist/guitarist Jim Dolan whose voice the New York Post calls “reminiscent of Tom Waits and Randy Newman,” guitarist/vocalist Marc Copely (B.B. King, Rosanne Cash), bassist Byron House (Robert Plant, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton) along with touring musicians guitarist JJ Appelton (David Bowie, Keb Mo, Darius Rucker) and violinist Alicia Enstrom (Keith Urban, Nashville Symphony) – are hitting the road in support of their new, all-acoustic album Ballyhoo! released on January 15th.
Frontman Jim Dolan explains that the decision to go acoustic on the band’s fifth record was a natural one. “We’ve always approached writing songs acoustically, so it made sense to go in that direction. They just sound right this way.”
The beauty of Ballyhoo!’s stripped-down instrumental approach is clear on the infectious tracks. From the swamp groove of “Better Find A Church” ( to the harmony-filled cover song “Nature’s Way,” Dolan’s love of classic rock songcraft shines bright. Slide-blues album opener “Empty” tells the story of hitting rock bottom and climbing back up, while “Here He Comes” pays homage to the genius of Johnny Cash, “Glide” reflects on the pureness of childhood joy, and closing ballad “I’ll See You Again” offers a hopeful eulogy.
In addition to dates with Jewel, JD & The Straight Shot toured alongside luminaries such as the Eagles, Keith Urban, the Dixie Chicks, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the Allman Brothers Band, and recently performed on the “Today Show” and “Good Day New York.”
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