Jason Eady with Midnight River Choir
With a decades-long commitment to his craft as a songwriter, Jason Eady has built a career on bringing his unique perspective to a variety of genres. Uninhibited by ties to one particular sound, Eady’s catalog showcases an affinity for telling authentic, forthright stories with his music, a quality that continues to bring new listeners to this veteran musician’s audience year after year.
Born in his most recent album’s namesake state, Mississippi finds Eady inspired, motivated but not bound by the success of his past; instead, Mississippi is yet another manifestation of what Eady does best – channeling truth into songs and a refusal to be boxed in by his previous work. His newest album, however, is not a seismic shift that rebukes the past; rather, Mississippi brings to the forefront hints of deep South-style blues that has always had a place in his sound.
“There was a groove based sound that I grew up with in Mississippi that has always been a part of what I do, but with this record I wanted to bring that to the forefront. I think this record is the opposite side of the same coin I’ve always had, I just flipped it over.”
Mississippi’s critical praise situates it as yet another beloved album born out of Eady’s nineteen year career. With nine full-length albums, Eady explores genre and form with mastery, complementing the Texas sound he’s perhaps best known for with forays where listeners can find him accompanied by bluegrass pickers or pedal steel. This versatility has earned Eady praise from contemporaries and critics alike, with NPR acknowledging Eady’s grassroots, nononsense approach to his craft by dubbing him “one of the most promising alt-country underdogs.”
This intentionality and fluidity is indicative of an artist at the top of his craft, bolstered by critical success like 2021’s To the Passage of Time and 2018’s I Travel On but not reliant upon it; if Eady stands for anything, it’s the wholehearted pursuit of remaining loyal to himself without resting on his laurels, pushing himself as an artist and a storyteller.