Rodney Hayden

Down the Road (Palomino)

Pleasanton, Texas, native Rodney Hayden possesses a voice made for singing country. With his ability to write gushing ballads, hard-charging rockers, and unadulterated honky-tonk, it’s bewildering more people don’t know his name. Yet the 27-year-old remains unfamiliar to all but those attuned to so-called Texas music. Down the Road, his third album, might change that. A solid effort moving past Hayden’s previously more traditionalist stance, it blends in with the likes of Pat Green, the obvious influence on “Silverado Boys.” There’s also a nod to Doug Sahm on the Tex-Mex flavored “Nuevo Laredo” and a righteous ramble in “I’ll Ride Again,” a Robert Earl Keen ringer. A two-stepping duet with Sunny Sweeney (“These Arms”) is a keeper. Hayden has traveled Down the Road; now it’s time to break away from the herd.

***

This article appears in July 6 • 2007.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US