DISCOVERED and mentored by the late Guy Clark, Texan singer-songwriter is still something of a well-kept secret around Nashville, having co-written with the likes, featuring local players The Galician Cowboys, plus guests and , lands in early May. McKay’s eloquent portraits of life in flux – largely driven by fiddle, strings and pedal steel – deal with “the infinite nature of the cosmos and the indestructible nature of matter itself”. Also due that week is , the latest from multi-instrumentalist , whose many credits include a 20-year stretch as Jimmy Buffett’s trusted collaborator. Heading up a three-piece band, the folk-country stalwart offers up songs like the Robbie Robertson-influenced “Walking In The Valley Of The Shadow” and “I Don’t Want To Start A War”, a tale that veers from Grateful Dead worship to Capitol Building insurrection.
