Bluesdays: Hadden Sayers

For most musicians, “the road” is a place of either hedonism or heartache. Contrasts on the far ends of a far too common cliché. But for Soul-Blues Guitar Slinger Hadden Sayers, the road is a comfortable buzz of underground fans and passionate shows.

It wasn’t always this way.

Because for a while, Sayers wasn’t on the road.

He built a successful career in Houston, Texas before relocating to the Midwest so his wife could pursue a career in cancer research. But then, shifty record companies faded away. Band members died tragically. The gigs stopped coming through and the phone stopped ringing. The ’57 Strat stayed in its case.

However, Sayers rediscovered his love of music on regular drives to Southern Ohio where he was rehabbing a battered cabin. The murmur of radials on concrete, the sounds of Van Morrison and Sam Cooke on the stereo, and the support and tutelage of a grizzled stonemason sent him back to the recording studio.

In 2011, Sayers released the acclaimed Hard Dollar, featuring the single “Back to the Blues,” which was nominated for the Song of the Year Award at the 33rd Annual Blues Music Awards. The album launched him back onto stages around the country. More than 100 gigs followed, from New York City to Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Sayers embraced the road, loved it. Savored the miles, the buses, and the airplanes. While the easy rock and roll tale is to collect panties and mugshots on the road, Sayers collected stories. Stories by everyday people who had read HIS story of healing in Southern Ohio. From the woman whose husband had passed unexpectedly taking on immense home repairs with the help of some Home Depot classes after reading the bio…to the old man in Illinois who was moved to tears as he recalled a similar period of loss in his own life. The stories resonated in Sayers’ head and heart driving him to explore the “human condition” more deeply.. The result of that troubadour experience is the eagerly anticipated album Rolling Soul from Blue Corn Music.

Confident tunes from a mature, assured composer, the record features Sayers at his best. Heartfelt lyrics sung from deep inside matched with innovative guitar work, recorded with the warmth and soul and depth of the best vintage gear. It’s a record to contemplate and savor.

“Something Wrong in the World”, “Lay Down Your Worries”, “The Man I’m Supposed to Be”

To celebrate the release of the record, Sayers is doing what he does best: he’s hitting the road. Hauling a refurbished 1962 Airstream trailer christened “The Rolling Soul Emporium” behind his 1961 Chevy Bubbletop Impala to select gigs, festivals, and surprise pop-up appearances around the country, the bluesman is rolling some soul into every town. Not simply a method of travel, the trailer is a mobile manifestation of Sayers’ love of music and the road. Fans across the country will be able to track the Emporium’s movements on Facebook, participate in contests, and hang out before and after shows.