Ryan Bingham They Call Us The Lucky Ones
Ryan Bingham’s first album in seven years, They Call Us the Lucky Ones, arrives with the weight of a long afterglow. Seventeen years have passed since “The Weary Kind” first introduced a wider audience to his deliciously scratchy baritone through Crazy Heart, a song so all-conquering it swept up nearly every major prize in sight, Oscar included.
They Call Us the Lucky Ones finds Bingham sounding lighter on his feet than usual: still weathered, still road-worn, but refreshed and animated. The album moves between slow-dance ballads and rowdy burners, with The Texas Gentlemen: Ryan Ake on guitars, Daniel Creamer on piano and organ, Paul Grass on drums and percussion, and Scott Lee on bass.
The album’s musical chemistry extends beyond the core lineup. Richard Bowden adds fiddle and mandolin, while Cody Huggins layers in electric and acoustic guitar alongside pedal steel, giving the arrangements more scope.
Bingham has described the project as a return to instinct, and the record bears that out. As he puts it, “This album was probably the most fun I’ve had making a record. I’ve always loved records that feel loose and live and gritty with a bit of soul, where the imperfections from the moment are left in. Working with musicians as talented as The Texas Gentlemen really let us lean into that in a way I hadn’t experienced before.”
What’s striking is how little of the album settles into brooding. Even its slower songs pulse with flirtation, dry humor, and a kind of grace. On the title track, Bingham sings, “Two hands on the wheel, my eyes on the road / How far, how long can we go?” turning restlessness into a search for home that keeps disappearing. “Twist the Knife,” by contrast, is classic Bingham. A song steeped in dread and remorse that somehow still gives way to intimacy.
Co-produced by Bingham and sound engineer Grant Wilborn, the album emphasizes mood, and that decision pays off on its swaggering highs. The soulful stomp of “Let the Big Dog Eat,” the easy roll of “I Got a Feelin’,” and the open-road kick of “Ballad of the Texas Gentlemen” convey the rough-edged exuberance Bingham was clearly chasing.
On this record, Bingham’s home address is the highway, where you can drive “under the moon with no headlights.” Those lyrics capture the feeling of confidence of “Americana,” a funny, prickly ramble reminiscent of John Prine.
Only “Cocaine Charlie,” a standout portrait of familial ruin and narcotic fatalism, fully descends into the black darkness that defined much of Bingham’s earlier work. Whereas “Blue Skies” and “I’m a Goin’ Nowhere” disclose motifs of steadiness, loyalty, and choosing to stay.
More than ever, Bingham can still drag a song to the edge of heartbreak, but now has developed the talent to keep sentimentality at arm’s length.
On They Call Us the Lucky Ones, Ryan Bingham’s folk-rooted ballads still deliver emotionally, but The Texas Gentlemen give him a bigger, brasher milieu to work within, making the music even better.
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Ryan Bingham on Tour:
May 22 /// Pittsburgh, PA /// Stage AE
May 23 /// Columbus, OH /// KEMBA Live!
May 24 /// Cleveland, OH /// The Agora
May 26 /// Cincinnati, OH /// Taft Theatre
May 27 /// Royal Oak, MI /// Royal Oak Music Theatre
May 29 /// Buffalo, NY /// Artpark Mainstage Theater
May 30 /// Kingston, NY /// Ulster Performing Arts Center
June 1 /// South Deerfield, MA /// Summer Stage
at Tree House Brewing Company
June 2 /// Portland, ME /// State Theatre
June 3 /// Boston, MA /// Roadrunner
June 5 /// Port Chester, NY /// The Capitol Theatre
June 6 /// New Haven, CT /// Toad’s Place
June 7 /// Montclair, NJ /// The Wellmont Theater
June 9 /// New York, NY /// Irving Plaza
June 10 /// Philadelphia, PA /// The Fillmore
June 12 /// Richmond, VA /// The National
June 13 /// Washington, D.C. /// Lincoln Theatre
June 14 /// Norfolk, VA /// The Norva
June 16 /// Chattanooga, TN /// The Signal
June 18 /// Fayetteville, AR /// Ozark Music Hall
June 19 /// Dallas, TX /// Longhorn Backyard Amphitheater
July 11 /// Alta, WY /// Grand Targhee Resort
July 18 /// Whitefish, MT /// Under the Big Sky Festival