The Oklahoma group test out the brooding composition at the California country festival
Turnpike Troubadours were one of the big draws at Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California, over the weekend, where they were part of a Sunday afternoon lineup that included Chris Stapleton and Tyler Childers. During their set, the beloved Oklahoma band thrilled fans with the live debut of the new song, “Mean Old Sun.”
“Alright Stagecoach, you wanna hear a new one?” singer Evan Felker asks the crowd, who cheer enthusiastically in response.
“Mean Old Sun” is built around a minor-key chord progression, with a descending banjo riff and a brooding vocal melody on top of it. “Empty promises I’ve given/Hollow heart beats in my chest,” Felker sings in the opening verse. That same sense of forboding comes through in the chorus, which has a bit of rock muscle behind it. “The dawn is yet to dry the dew from off my Sunday clothes/That mean old sun better rise up soon if it’s ever gonna set on me,” Felker sings.
It’s been a little over a year since Turnpike Troubadours reunited at Cain’s Ballroom and resumed touring again, following a tumultuous period in 2019 when the band went on hiatus while Felker got sober. The group has been working on new music, but has so far only played new songs live — no release dates for new recordings have been announced. The group’s most recent album, A Long Way From Your Heart, was released in 2017.