Travis Meadows - First Cigarette

Somebody Likes It

We all know the country music songwriter's recipe: start with a stretch of hardscrabble backstory, mix in some bad luck with the ladies, stir the bottom of the bottle around, maybe sprinkle in a stint in the pokey for good measure. Rinse. Repeat.

Your typical country artist could sing the blues, but somehow this feels heavier. More wrought with shame. Still, scenarios can wax trite.

Not so for Travis Meadows, who cut his teeth penning tracks for Dierks Bentley and Eric Church and wrote his first songs for himself after his fourth stint in rehab. And maybe that sounds predictable. But cancer at 14 was a wicked twist, on top of a the broken home that ushered Meadows into an evangelical stint bordered by deep dives into booze and drugs. He doesn't do much halfway.

This is his first release produced by someone else, and at times it feels a little pristine. But chances are taken, and hard luck abounds. Join us with a couple of special guests as we see where the dusty roads lead.

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Pick up a copy of First Cigarette from Amazon.

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A Current Affair

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