Jay Farrar’s Son Volt at Turner Hall

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Music Features

“May the wind take your troubles away/Both feet on the floor, two hands on the wheel,” so sings Jay Farrar on “Windfall,” a song that takes listeners on a spiritual road trip on an empty highway mapped by Roger McGuin and Merle Haggard.

The song leads off Trace, Son Volt’s 1995 debut for Warner Brothers that would include many songs that are among Farrar’s best: “Tear-Stained Eye,” “Route,” “Loose String” and others.

The album marked Farrar’s first effort away from the legendary Uncle Tupelo, the band he started with Jeff Tweedy in the late 1980s in Belleville, Ill. Somehow, with Trace, Farrar and his new band created their own memorable mark with an album that would become one of the cornerstones of the alt-country movement of the 1990s. 

Farrar and the current lineup of Son Volt will play Trace in its entirety on Tuesday night, Aug. 15, at Turner Hall Ballroom.

Many songs from Trace have continued to be part of Son Volt’s repertoire over the years, but Farrar says it has been fun and challenging to play the songs in order, which he had never done before. Milwaukee kicks off the second leg of the band’s Trace tour. “It’s kind of great to have a blueprint to follow,” he says.

Twenty-eight years have passed since the album was released (the original plan was to do the tour during the 25th anniversary in 2020, but COVID-19 stepped in the way). Farrar says he still connects with the songs after all these years.

“Normally, you kind of reinterpret and find new meaning as you go along,” he says. “What you thought you were writing a song about, three years later it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s what it’s about?’ These songs seem pretty resilient, and I’m glad to say I’m not embarrassed by any of them. It’s been great playing them.”

Day of the Doug

Son Volt’s current release, Day of the Doug, is a tribute to the late and beloved Doug Sahm, who trailed an unequaled path beginning at an early age as Little Doug Sahm, continuing with the Sir Douglas Quintet (in various incarnations), the Texas Tornados, and many solo albums. Sahm, of course, also notably contributed vocals to Uncle Tupelo’s recording of Sahm’s “Give Back the Key to My Heart,” on their final album, Anodyne. 

Farrar, who says he first met Sahm in the lobby of a San Franciso hotel when he heard this “familiar voice,” enjoyed a personal relationship with Sahm even past Anodyne. Answering machine messages from Sahm, who passed away in 1999, start and end the album.

As far as recording the album at this point in his career, Farrar says a couple of things led to the tribute becoming a reality. It was recorded in five days between tours and boasts a notable bounce and joy.

One motivation came from Farrar’s ongoing conversations about Sahm with two members of Son Volt who hail from Austin, Texas, bassist Andrew DuPlantis and drummer Mark Patterson.

“The spirit of Doug is kind of woven into the fabric of Austin,” Farrar says.

Another factor, which gave rise to many creative projects for all sorts of people: the pandemic. During the down time, Farrar first explored the five-disc, limited edition box set of Sahm’s work with the Sir Douglas Quintet from 2005: The Complete Mercury Recordings and continued to dig deep into Sahm’s music discography.

A lot of Sahm’s music is out of print and difficult to find on vinyl in 2023, Farrar says. “I felt like there were so many songs that needed to be heard,” he says.

Farrar calls Sahm a “musical shapeshifter,” who recorded Tex-Mex, ‘60’s pop and garage, San Antonio soul and so much more. 

“I think that’s what makes him a musical icon,” he says, “He can’t be put into a box with some label on it. He was kind of the prototype beatnik cowboy who never stopped searching.

Day of the Doug is Son Volt’s fourth album since 2017, and Farrar says he is looking forward to stepping back from live performances and perhaps participating in some collaborations with other artists.

“Just essentially seeking out inspiration in ways I have not before,” he says. “But having said that, it’s always tough to predict what’s going happen.”

Son Volt performs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, Turner Hall Ballroom. Anders Parker opens.