Old Crow Medicine Show Shares ‘Belle Meade Cockfight’ Ft. Sierra Ferrell
The track also features on the two-time Grammy-winning folk-roots act’s new album ‘Jubilee’ out on ATO on 25 August.
Old Crow Medicine Show shares their new single “Belle Meade Cockfight” featuring singer/songwriter Sierra Ferrell. Accompanied by what the band describes as “a campy old-school-hoedown music video” directed and produced by band member Morgan Jahning, “Belle Meade Cockfight” is the latest track from the band’s new album Jubilee, which releases 25 August via ATO Records.
The video was featured this morning at BrooklynVegan, which praised the “energetic, old-timey, rollicking country/bluegrass song”. You can check it out below.
“My hometown is the self-proclaimed poultry capital of the world, smack in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia,” explains bandleader Ketch Secor. “I love chickens, have raised ’em from under the lightbulb to the brooder box, and I see their grace and beauty. Poultry makes fantastic fodder for song, always has. I can’t admit to having regularly attended cockfights, only that chickens are in my blood. But songwriting lets you travel the seven seas without leaving your porch swing, or in this case the cockfight ring, so I composed this ditty after extensive research and hope I’ve done right by the scholars of the sport.”
He continues, “I called up Sierra Ferrell and told her I had a ‘cockfight love song’ and needed a sparring partner. Not surprising, she was game. She’s from just over the line in West Virginia and knows a thing or two about the joys of chickens. We dedicate this one to Sarah Cannon, the opulent southern dame behind Minnie Pearl’s folksy persona. Sarah embodied class duality in Country music as only a Shakespearian actress-turned-hayseed-rib-tickler could. The only thing I can think of that better exemplifies Country music’s ability to be at once ‘highfalutin’ and ‘for the people’ would be if they started holding cockfights on Saturday nights in old Belle Meade.”
“Belle Meade Cockfight” follows the album’s debut single “Miles Away,” a sweetly reflective song co-written by Secor and bluegrass virtuoso Molly Tuttle, with guest vocals from Old Crow Medicine Show co-founder Willie Watson. “Miles Away” marks the first time Watson has recorded with the band in over 10 years.
In addition to Watson and Ferrell, Jubilee also features legendary soul singer Mavis Staples. The album finds Old Crow Medicine Show once again co-producing with Matt Ross-Spang (Drive-By Truckers, St. Paul & the Broken Bones) and recording at their own Hartland Studios.
As they gear up to celebrate their 25th anniversary, the band doubles down on their commitment to creating roots music that bears an undeniable urgency, encompassing everything from jug-band tunes to Irish folk songs to exultant gospel jams. The result is a wildly expansive body of work showcasing the dazzling musicality and poetic yet powerfully trenchant storytelling that has made Old Crow Medicine Show one of the most potent and influential forces in American roots music.
Following their triumphant appearances at this year’s Country 2 Country Festival, Old Crow Medicine Show will also be returning to the UK this fall for a string of headline shows, including a major show at London’s Eventim Apollo on October 30. They will also perform at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom on November 1 and at the Albert Hall in Manchester on November 2.
