The Deep Hollow Navigate Obstacles on “Freedom Street”

Some time later, when Littrell was itching to try out some new tunes he wrote, he turned to the duo ahead of an upcoming show. With no rehearsal, the trio hit the stage and something truly stupendous happened. A smooth blend of three-part harmonies poured out and set the foundation for an already impressive catalog of work together. “That was when we knew what we wanted next,” remembers Walk.

It was the song “Devil” that proved to be groundbreaking for them. They submitted it to American Songwriter’s 30th Anniversary Song Contest and ended up winning. “Not to sound jaded or disheartened or anything, but when you apply for a lot of contests for a few years and you maybe make it through a round or something, you almost assume nothing is going to come of it. We were excited to just be a finalist. When we won, it was like holy cow.”

They went on to play the City Winery to celebrate, performing alongside Jim Lauderdale, Jason Isbell, and John Oates. Then they hunkered down and made their debut record which included the award-winning track. They toured, they grew as songwriters, they developed their relationship as a band and wrote more music.

On their new album, Weary Traveler, the trio defy the sophomore slump. “Freedom Street” is a seductively lilting toe-tapper with a sinister edge. The trio brilliantly weave in and out of each others’ harmonies, while the lyrics demand us to empathize with people we are often taught not to. The hard-hitting mandolin fills do a lot to drive this song home. It showcases a trio with undeniable chemistry and a heaping pile of chops.

“Freedom Street” is named after a busy intersection in Springfield. The Deep Hollow’s Micah Walk told me a little more about the song.

1. What is the song about?

The short answer to what this song is about is homelessness. There is a street in our hometown called Freedom Drive. One of its busy intersections is a common place for folks who are down on their luck to ask for some help. I made up the characters’ stories but they are based on what I’ve read on various cardboard signs. So much of it is striking and thought-provoking to me – a person who seems to have lost everything but their faith and is certain that it’s only a matter of time before that faith rescues them, a veteran who is dealing with being back home in a country that doesn’t seem to fully appreciate his sacrifices, and the fact that the backdrop is a street called Freedom Drive.

2. Who/what were some influences when it came to writing the song?”

I’ve always liked this kind of claw-hammer style on the guitar. One day I was playing around with it in drop D tuning and the guitar part and melody that became Freedom Street just kind of fell out. Lyrics weren’t far behind. I tend to end up liking these songs the best – the ones that just kind of appear out of nowhere. Once it was written, I could definitely hear a T-Bone Burnett style production. We didn’t have a T-Bone kind of budget, but I think our producer helped us create a very unique yet fitting tonal landscape. This song is actually my favorite track on the album.

3. Any cool/funny/interesting stories from writing/recording this one?

As we discussed out-of-the-ordinary production ideas for this song, our producer Gary mentioned that he had a suitcase that sometimes worked for him as a snare drum replacement. That is exactly the kind of weird stuff I happen to like and told him to go for it! It’s subtle but I like it a lot.