Alabama singer-songwriter Kashus Culpepper joined us in the Record Room at Jaan's House in Nashville for his No Depression Session at AMERICANAFEST '24. Culpepper performed three songs in his inimitable way, voice full of sandpaper and gravel, building intensity and volume until peaking with the final refrain of "Out Of My Mind."Between songs, Culpepper describes his relationship to music: he always loved it but did not expect to do it professionally, until recently. "I didn't think music was on the table for me as an option, I thought that was for other people. I was going to be a bystander and listen to music all day, which was fine," Culpepper says. He was sent to Spain three years into his military service, and then the pandemic hit. With no specific focus at work, and extra time on his hands, he learned guitar and started writing. Music was still a labor of love when he got back to the US and started "getting lucky," landing more and more bar gigs until he realized enough people were paying attention that he could shoot his shot.
We also discussed his working relationship with The Lone Bellow's Brian Elmquist, who started producing Culpepper after the pair clicked over their shared experiences as Southerners growing up in the Baptist church, and their shared understanding of the similarities between country music, gospel, and blues.
I dare anybody with a pulse to listen to Culpepper's vocal performance here without getting goosebumps. Buckle in for the second half of "Out Of My Mind," as his voice literally shakes the walls at Jaan's House. Audio engineer Juan Soria pushes him past 100% and "into the red," resulting in that classic '60s and '70s saturated sound a la "Gimme Shelter," and Neil Young's "Southern Man." Whew! I get goosebumps just writing about it.Please enjoy Kashus Culpepper's No Depression Session, and stay tuned for more than a dozen No Depression x AMERICANAFEST '24 sessions in the pipeline.Setlist:"Who Hurt You" "After Me?" "Out Of My Mind"
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