The Turnpike Troubadours are an American country music band that originated in Oklahoma in 2005. The band consists of Evan Felker on lead vocals and guitar, Kyle Nix on fiddle, Ryan Engleman on electric guitar, RC Edwards on bass guitar, and Gabe Pearson on drums. They have released four studio albums and are known for their lively, roots-influenced sound and poetic lyrics that often focus on small towns and rural life. Their music incorporates elements of country, folk, bluegrass, and rock. In this article, we will take a closer look at the lead singer and songwriter for Turnpike Troubadours, Evan Felker. We will provide some background information on Felker, discuss his musical influences and style, and highlight his contributions as the lead vocalist for the popular country band.
Evan Felker’s Early Life and Career
Evan Felker was born in 1986 in the small town of Wright City, Oklahoma. From an early age, Felker was surrounded by music, as his father was a guitar player and both parents encouraged his interest in performing. Felker started playing the guitar himself as a teenager and gravitated towards folk, country, and bluegrass influences. Some of his early musical inspirations included Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Bob Dylan, and The Avett Brothers. After graduating from high school in 2004, Felker briefly attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University before following his passion for music and moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2005. There, Felker met the musicians who would become his future Turnpike Troubadours bandmates, including Kyle Nix, Ryan Engleman, RC Edwards, and Gabe Pearson.
The group began playing local shows under different band names, finally settling on Turnpike Troubadours, a name inspired by the Indian Nation Turnpike highway that connected many of the small Oklahoma towns where they performed. Their inventive blend of country sounds quickly earned them a local following and led to their first, self-titled record release in 2007. As the principal songwriter for the group, Felker penned the majority of the original tracks and also assumed lead vocal duties. His evocative songwriting and natural vocal delivery proved integral to establishing the Turnpike Troubadours’ signature sound.
Musical Style and Influences
As the frontman and lead singer of the Turnpike Troubadours, Evan Felker’s musical style and influences help shape the band’s overall sound. While rooted in country traditions, Felker brings a number of diverse influences to bear in his songwriting and singing. Some of the most notable influences on Felker’s music include:
- Outlaw and Red Dirt country – Artists like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Cross Canadian Ragweed helped develop Felker’s honky-tonk sensibilities and lyrical focus on rural life.
- Folk and roots – Felker is heavily influenced by folk singers like Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt. This is reflected in his use of narrative and poetic lyrics.
- Bluegrass – The fast pace and instrumental virtuosity of bluegrass impacted Felker’s musicality and the band’s live shows.
- Rock – Felker brings grit and a roots-rock energy to his vocals at times, influenced by bands like ZZ Top.
- Oklahoma music scene – Growing up in small-town Oklahoma impacted Felker’s musical landscape and lyrical imagery.
These influences blend together in Felker’s dynamic voice and heartfelt, story-driven songwriting. Fans have come to expect Felker’s smooth vocal delivery, full of earnestness and sentiment, often singing of specific people and places that reflect his Oklahoma roots.
Lyrical Themes
As the primary songwriter for the Turnpike Troubadours, Evan Felker’s lyrics are central in conveying the band’s musical style and aesthetic vision. Most of Felker’s songs focus on deeply personal storytelling and commentary on small-town life. Some of the common themes that appear throughout his lyrics include:
- Small towns – Songs like “Blue Star,” “7&7,” and “Southeastern Son” romanticize and reflect on the character of rural towns in Oklahoma and the South.
- Relationships – Felker writes extensively on relationships, heartache, and fidelity in songs like “Every Girl,” “Wrecked,” and “The Bird Hunters.”
- Working class lives – References to truck drivers, farmers, and working class struggles appear in songs like “The Mercury” and “Unrung.”
- Rural imagery – Vivid descriptions of countryside, open roads, and rural people populate Felker’s lyrical landscapes.
- Outlaw spirit – Songs like “Old Time Feeling” and “Before the Devil Knows We’re Dead” embodied an outlaw cowboy mystique.
By giving listeners a glimpse into farm towns, dive bars, winding roads, and relationships gone wrong, Evan Felker’s narrative lyrics provide a poetic, novelistic window into rural Southern life. His storytelling expertise as a songwriter is a major contribution to the Turnpike Troubadours’ identity and popularity.
Vocal Ability
In addition to his songwriting prowess, Evan Felker’s vocal talents also make him well-suited to fronting the Turnpike Troubadours. As lead vocalist, Felker relies on a smooth natural vocal tone and versatility to bring the band’s songs to life. Some of Felker’s skills as a vocalist include:
- Warm vocal tone – Felker has a mellow yet arresting vocal timbre that pairs nicely with acoustic instrumentation.
- Dynamic range – He can transition from gentle crooning on verses to forceful, emotive singing on choruses.
- Adaptability – Felker adapts his delivery to fit the tone of each song, whether subdued on ballads or aggressive on uptempo numbers.
- Rhotic, Southern phrasing – His Oklahoma accent and drawn-out phrasing lends authenticity to the lyrics.
- Harmonizing – He provides tight vocal harmonies with other band members, especially Kyle Nix.
These vocal abilities allow Felker to do justice to his own lyrical compositions. He uses his voice like another instrumental texture to build emotionally resonant performances. Felker’s heartfelt delivery makes him perfectly cast as the lead singer of the Turnpike Troubadours.
Accomplishments and Highlights
Over his career fronting the Turnpike Troubadours, Evan Felker has contributed to a number of significant accomplishments and career highlights:
- Recorded 7 studio albums with the band since 2005, including critically praised works like Goodbye Normal Street (2012) and A Long Way From Your Heart (2017).
- Earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Every Girl” in 2017.
- Charted 3 albums on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, with their best rank being #18 for A Long Way From Your Heart.
- Sold out shows across the United States, especially in their home region of Oklahoma and Texas.
- Headlined major festivals and venues like Red Rocks, Stagecoach, and the Ryman Auditorium.
- Featured on tribute album Outlaw: Celebrating The Music of Waylon Jennings (2015).
As lead singer and frontman, Evan Felker has steered the Turnpike Troubadours from local origins to their current status as one of the most promising bands in contemporary country music. Felker’s contributions as a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter continue to earn the band critical praise and an ever-growing fanbase.
Singing Style and Approach
When exploring Evan Felker’s skills as the lead singer of Turnpike Troubadours, his distinctive singing style and approach are crucial components. Here are some of the defining features of Felker’s vocals:
- Rich, textured vocal tonality – Felker often sings with a good deal of vibrato and character in his voice.
- Dynamic phrasing – He plays with elongating syllables and dramatic pauses for effect.
- Smooth gliding between registers – Felker transitions smoothly between mid-range and higher vocal registers.
- Emotive delivery – From gritty and aggressive on fast songs to tender and melancholic on ballads, Felker connects to the emotional crux of each performance.
- Vernacular styling – His slight Southern dialect comes through, enhancing the authenticity of his storytelling.
- Use of space – Felker leaves room in vocal phrasing for the band’s instrumental work to shine through.
By combining a dynamic, emotion-driven delivery with a vernacular flair, Evan Felker’s heartfelt singing has become inseparable from the Turnpike Troubadours’ signature sound. His vocal approach takes the band’s narratives of small-town life and makes them compelling.
Role in the Band
As lead singer and frontman, Evan Felker plays an integral role within the musical and performative dynamic of Turnpike Troubadours. Some of Felker’s key duties and responsibilities within the band include:
- Lead vocalist on the majority of songs, providing identifiable voice to the band.
- Rhythm/lead guitarist and soloist, fleshing out musical arrangements.
- Principal songwriter, composing lyrics and melodies for most original material.
- Co-arranger of songs alongside fiddler Kyle Nix.
- Onstage “leader” directing the band’s energy and audience engagement.
- Spokesperson and face of the band for interviews, promotion, etc.
- Custodian of the band’s overall artistic vision and musical style.
While all five members are integral to the band, Felker’s role synthesizes many of the lyricism, vocals, guitarwork, and creative direction that form the quintessential Turnpike Troubadours sound. His multifaceted contributions and leadership solidify him as a central piece of the band’s musical identity and appeal.
Future Directions
Currently on an indefinite hiatus from touring, the future direction of Turnpike Troubadours remains uncertain. This pause came after lead singer Evan Felker went through personal difficulties, including a divorce from his wife Staci Nelson in 2017. For now, Felker continues to write and play music sporadically, suggesting potential for new Turnpike Troubadours material when the time is right.
If the band does reconvene, Evan Felker will no doubt continue serving as frontman and principal creative force. Wherever Felker takes his songwriting next, his fans eagerly await the chance to hear his signature vocals and poetic storytelling again soon. While the Turnpike Troubadours’ future remains to be seen, Felker’s singular abilities as a singer-songwriter make him a talent worth following in country music for years to come.
Conclusion
In summary, Evan Felker’s contribution as lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter has been essential in establishing the Turnpike Troubadours’ indelible sound and identity within the country music landscape. Felker’s influences ranging from folk and roots-rock to red dirt country come through in his narrative lyrical voice and dynamically emotional singing style. As a compelling vocalist and masterful storyteller, Felker gives piercing insight into the lives of rural, working class people and communities. He provides the band with leadership, creative vision, and a bridge between their music and audience. While the band is currently on hiatus, Felker’s vocal and songwriting talents will likely continue impacting country music far into the future.