Outlaw country legend Blaze Foley — a figure who lived a life as rugged as his music and met a tragic end at age 39 — is the subject of a forthcoming tribute album. Sittin’ With Blaze, scheduled for release this August, gathers a diverse array of artists to reinterpret the Austin singer-songwriter’s catalog. The project features contributions from Lucy Dacus, Lucinda Williams, Joshua Ray Walker, John Moreland, and Lydia Loveless, among others.
The album announcement is accompanied by the release of two tracks: a spectral take on “If I Could Only Fly” by Phosphorescent and a spirited rendition of “Election Day” by Austin country-rockers Uncle Lucius.
Reflecting on the project, Kevin Galloway of Uncle Lucius shared, “Driving a cab in Austin and trying to make it in music brought me a lot of Blaze stories. Blaze is this big man with the biggest heart and nobody was below him. And he was a little eccentric as South Austin is or used to be. And that’s perfectly okay. That’s what makes him what he is.”
Matthew Houck of Phosphorescent also offered insight into his connection to the songwriter: “I came to Blaze a while back. Like anybody who’s interested in songwriting you’re going to eventually find Lucinda, Townes Van Zandt, Blaze, Guy Clark. But Blaze was kind of a mystery to me. It wasn’t hard to capture the lonesomeness of ‘If I Could Only Fly.’ So really, it was just kind of, like, stay true to the song.”
Interestingly, the album is bookended by the same track, with Phosphorescent’s version of “If I Could Only Fly” serving as the opener and Lucinda Williams’ interpretation closing the collection. Sittin’ With Blaze is set for release on August 7 via Lost Art Records.
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