The Black Lillies’ Cruz Contreras Comes Home for Special Concert

Cruz Contreras was 12 when his family left Bridgman, Mich., for Franklin, Tenn., but he never stopped thinking of the Southwest Michigan town as home.

The evidence can be found on The Black Lillies’ third album, last year’s Runaway Freeway Blues, which peaked at No. 4 on the Americana Music Association’s radio charts, No. 43 on the Billboard 200, and was No. 18 on the AMA’s Top 100 Albums of the Year list. One of the more personal tracks on Runaway Freeway Blues is “Catherine,” a song Contreras wrote about and for his grandfather, Bill Ackerman, who was a pilot during World War II. Ackerman named his plane Catherine, after his mother, and the song’s chorus carries the refrain:

And my Catherine, carry me on your wings
To Lake Michigan and childhood dreams
Where the Red Arrow Highway cuts right through our town
Nothing but blue skies and fire on the ground.

Contreras, who spoke by telephone during a tour stop in Tupelo, Miss., says it’s pretty likely that the song will make the set list on Sept. 27 when The Black Lillies – which also includes pedal steel whiz Tom Pryor, harmony vocalist Trisha Gene Brady, bassist Robert Richards and drummer Bowman Townsend – headline the annual Weko Beach Brewers Festival in Bridgman, Mich. The event, which has become a showcase of more than 35 craft beers from across the state, also features local opening bands Slim Gypsy Baggage and Top Secret Band, as well as offerings from area breweries Greenbush, Round Barn, The Livery and Tapistry.

Jeremy D. Bonfiglio: Being from Bridgman, this has to be a special gig for you personally. Can you talk about that?

Cruz Contreras: I remember getting a call from one of the promoters there talking about details and that the green room will be in the beach house. They asked if I knew where that was and I started to laugh because I remember hanging out in the old beach house with my granddad as a kid. We lived in a cabin there within a mile and as a kid I just had free rein. That was my backyard. Those are some of my first memories as a kid, so to go back and play there could not be more of a homecoming. I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Since this isn’t just another show, do you have anything special planned in the set list that you can share with me?

Because we don’t have a standard set list, we are able to tailor shows to the occasion. I have a few ideas, but I hesitate to say what we’re going to do. I do have a few regional songs and some tribute songs in mind. We will certainly play “Catherine,” which I wrote about my grandfather. … I’m considering (pauses, then laughs). OK, if I say this out loud I’m going to have to do it so I should just say it. We’ve put together a video, which is footage of my grandfather in World War II. We showed it a few years back in Knoxville and it went over great. I think I’m going to see if we can present that video with the song.

Of course that song is on your latest record, Runaway Freeway Blues, which was the band’s best received album to date. Have you seen an impact of that airplay success on your current tour?

The record did really well on the Americana charts, and that airplay goes a long way. It’s a way of getting the music out to people before you head to their town. People then show up because they want to see what you’re about live. It helps you gain traction. This summer we spent a lot of time out West and it was the first time I think we saw consistent progress with bigger venues, better festivals, bigger audiences consistently. It’s a really good feeling.

It’s not like the first two records were mediocre. Whiskey Angel (2009) was named best Americana album at the Independent Music Awards, and 100 Miles of Wreckage (2011) spent five months on the Americana Radio Chart — four of them in the Top 15. So what do you think it was about this album that made it a bit of a breakthrough for the band?

I’m not sure. I think, possibly, just the fact that it is our third record. I think if we had a record deal it would be a different equation where you’re waiting for that special song or special record, but in our case we don’t have a record company behind us so it’s just time and dedication. I feel that the way we’re doing things now that potentially every record we do will be bigger than the last one.

Speaking of new records, I know you’re writing new material. What are your plans moving forward?

Right now, we’re in the process of looking for a producer. In the past, everything really has been self-produced. But I think we’re ready to make that jump and bring in somebody from the outside to help focus the vision of a record so I can focus on just writing and performing. I tend to look at songs individually so it’s always a little hard for me to focus on the concept behind a record. It would really help to have a producer encourage me if not force me into focus. … And since we have set ourselves up really well for more airplay now, we want to make something that can hold its own on the airwaves. At the same time, you have to be careful about it because you don’t want to lose what made things work in the first place. I’m very aware of that right now as I’m writing. It’s all just part of our progression.