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World Cafe Nashville: Colter Wall

Colter Wall's self-titled debut album is out now.
Melissa Stilwell
/
Courtesy of the artist
Colter Wall's self-titled debut album is out now.

For a 20-something, Colter Wall has a startlingly deep voice. His songwriting is full of hard-won wisdom — there are tales of wandering and working, of murder and mystery, that tap into the old, weird lore of North America. And although he's based in Kentucky and spends a lot of time in Nashville, Wall was actually raised in Swift Creek, Saskatchewan.

"I do a lot of explaining of where I'm from to Americans," Wall says in this interview. "I think there is a certain lack of curiosity when it comes to Canada because it just sort of seems like it's just the North — what could be interesting about that?"

In this session, hear Wall perform songs from his self-titled debut record, produced by Music City favorite Dave Cobb, and discuss the Canadian cowboys and prairies that inspire his sound. Listen in the player above.

Copyright 2021 XPN. To see more, visit XPN.

Ann Powers is NPR Music's critic and correspondent. She writes for NPR's music news blog, The Record, and she can be heard on NPR's newsmagazines and music programs.
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