Nashville, TN— The witty Jon Byrd describes what he plays as "What they used to call Country Music."  He’s known for his voice, songwriting and his song selection and stories.  His latest album, All Your Mistakes is his 5th full Studio album (he also has recorded an EP) and was produced by Joe V. McMahan. Co-written songs account for almost half of the tracks on All Your Mistakes, while cover songs account for the other half. Byrd has been teaming up with songwriters he has long admired for this ten-song cycle.  

His long-time friend and collaborator, Paul Niehaus, is once again on Pedal Steel Guitar, along with his producer, McMahan, on Electric and Acoustic guitars, Chris Donahue on Bass and Bryan Owings on Drums.  Shannon Wright, Amelia White and Andrea Zone all join on harmony vocals while Andrea adds fiddle to three tracks.  Strings were arranged, performed and recorded by Chris Carmichael. 

The addition of string arrangements for the very first time was a monumental shift for Byrd: from subtly intense quartet arrangements on “Golden Colorado” & “Why Must You Think of Leaving” to the ‘Billy Sherrill’ treatment on “These Days.” According to Byrd, When he sat his partner down to listen, headphones on, she finished by removing the headphones and pronouncing: “Okay. So you now have to get a job so you can pay Chris Carmichael to play strings on every song you ever write and record from now on.'-- I think she meant it as a compliment".

Byrd and Niehaus started performing around Nashville five years ago. A natural result of all the gigs played was his last record, Me and Paul, a 5-song EP of two originals and three cover songs."Paul Niehaus continues to amaze. So knowledgeable, and yet still so curious and caring about my songs and his contributions. He has stunning moments on this (new) record." Byrd admits that he's only ever made records with friends. "I wasn’t friends with Bryan Owings. Acquaintances, not friends. As we were recording I discovered he came to Nashville playing with Will and the Bushmen, who I’d done shows with in the 80s. Small damn music world."

The achingly sentimental "Golden Colorado" and the twangy "Miss Kitty's Place" were both co-writes with Stephen Simmons.  "Why Must You Think of Leaving" was written with his long-time friend and songwriter, Shannon Wright.  "I had the guitar riff, and most of the verses and chorus but it wasn’t a song until Shannon shaped it into a story arc and flow. That’s what your songwriter friends do for you," quips Byrd. 

Nashville songwriter, rocker, and Byrd's great friend Kevin Gordon brought "I'll Be Her Only One" to him in it’s infancy. "He said he thought it might be some kind of country song," mused Byrd. “It sure is now. Plus, he left it to me to rhyme ’Tchoupitoulas’!”

Byrd covers the old Johnny Paycheck classic, "(It Won't Be Long) And I'll Be Hating You" which he describes as "a little quicker and a lot more hateful--I like to keep things balanced." "City People" was written by a longtime friend Mats Roden (with Stephanie Truelove Wright), who Byrd toured with in the mid 80s bringing, "Southern jangle-pop" to CBGB's.

"Woman, Sensuous Woman" by Gary Paxton was chosen by Byrd for its "perfect representation of so much traditional country music: Pitiful Dude Music.  If there's only Blues and Zip-a-dee-doo-dah per Van Zandt, this is a monumental subcategory of the Blues." 

The last two songs, "Four Strong Winds" (Ian Tyson) and "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such As I" (Bill Trader) are a direct result of years of Byrd and Niehaus playing for their dear music lovers at Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge in Nashville. "When I do finally admit to playing Country Music, there’s always one smartass that asks: 'Oh yeah? What country?' To which I always respond: 'Well, we do a LOT of Canada.' These are two examples. The last of which, “A Fool Such As I” is an homage to the EP Me & Paul… the stripped down nature of which was a direct product of the restrictions of the pandemic."

In contrast to Me & Paul, All Your Mistakes was fleshed out with a full band and full production.  Byrd attributes the album's freshness to the added strings, his co-writers and Joe V.'s production. 

When asked how he got where he is today, Byrd cracks,"An old used car I bought with movie song-placement money. And all my people."The “Infinite Thanks to Friends of Longleaf Pine Records” on the record cover is a thank you to Byrd's fans.  "They give me dollars and they show up in-person and online.  They truly sustained me during the pandemic." 

As far as what he wants people  to know about this album, "Whatever they want to know… as long as they understand this: you can ask where, how, when, what, who, but do NOT ask me why." 

All Your Mistakes Releases October 20th

A Bit o’ Bio:

Nashville, TN—Jon Byrd plays “what they used to call Country Music.” Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he grew up in the piney woods of south Alabama before becoming pivotal in Atlanta’s storied Redneck Underground music scene of the 90s. He was always a featured sideman, but his first solo recording (Byrd’s Auto Parts 2007) didn’t happen until after he moved to Music City over 20 years ago. Since then he’s recorded 3 other full-length solo records: Down at the Well of Wishes (2011), Route 41 (2014), and Dirty Ol’ River (2017), and a 5-song EP Me & Paul (2022). 

He was a featured vocalist on the Red Beet Records Grammy-nominated I Love: Tom T. Hall’s Songs of Fox Hollow alongside Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Bobby Bare, and Tom T. himself! Jon’s albums have been lauded by Mojo Magazine, Maverick Magazine and NPR. 

After a summer of national radio exposure via Thacker Mountain Radio out of Oxford, MS and NPR’S Mountain Stage Radio from Charleston, WV,  a NEW FULL-LENGTH RECORDING: ALL YOUR MISTAKES will be released this fall on Longleaf Pine Records.

Jon’s an int’l touring artist and has played the Country Music Hall of Fame with Lloyd Green and Duane Eddy. Yet when asked about some of his career highlights he wittily responds with, “I sold a drum set to John Prine.”