[Cover photo credit to Charles Bruce III]
Inspired by the lost history of Blues, Jazz, and Ragtime in pre-war Missouri, The Hooten Hallers are back on the road and have a new album coming in September 2022 titled Back in Business Again. The first single, “Heal It” has both a New Orleans and a Missouri influence.
Recorded in St. Louis at Native Sound, Back In Business Again has is very much a “hometown” album. The Hooten Hallers have survived some of their hardest times over the past few years thanks to the support of their local community. St. Louis itself has always been an inspiration to the band, a city as influential to American music as New Orleans but with a less known history.
As Kellie Everett says:
St. Louis was a pretty big hub for blues, ragtime, early jazz, and country; there was a lot of mixing of musical styles with the different people immigrating and settling there. Missouri has an important musical past and it continues to be relevant.
Andy Rehm adds about their ethos:
…we are not ashamed to be from a flyover state, we’re not trying to be part of the homogenous monoculture of popular music. We find the special things outside of the urban zones. We go places a lot of bands don’t go, and you find the real ones when you get off the interstate. We’ve met a lot of lifelong friends in these smaller towns that people might talk shit about or have never heard of.
The new album’s original songs draw from the band’s many travels and has been inspired by the hardships that all touring musicians have faced throughout a seemingly never-ending pandemic. Back in Business Again was Produced by bassist Dominic Davis (Jack White, Greensky Bluegrass).
