Ever since 2016’s Cautionary Tale, Dylan LeBlanc has been on The Influences’ wish list. The American songwriter released multiple beautiful records since, like 2019’s Renegade, 2021’s covers EP Pastimes and his best work to date: 2023’s Coyote. His voice never disappoints, but I feel like on this record every aspect of his songwriting and sound blend perfectly. At TakeRoot, we met up and filmed the title track and covers of John Prine’s Hello In There and Lindsey Buckingham’s Big Love.

“Lindsey Buckingham never plays more than what’s necessary for the song.”

“I found this song is such a killer guitar part and it’s not the easiest song to play. Lindsey is one of my favorite singer/songwriters and so underrated as a guitar player. His ear for guitar parts and his taste has always appealed to me. He never plays more than what’s necessary for the song while being thoughtful and ingenuitive . I always respect that in any player. And I love the melody of the song.”

“John Prine was an otherworldly wordsmith.”

“Hello In There is a cover I chose to do because that song has always made me feel something in its lonesomeness and stark despair. I love the words and the sentiment and I can relate personally on the hardships of changes and time. Time goes on and people drift apart and things are constantly changing and John was an otherworldly wordsmith putting down on paper songs in such a way that left you with more insight than you had before and done in a unique and powerful way that only he could have done.”

My name is Coyote.

“Coyote is one of my favorite songs on the album, it has everything I love about music. The groove, the guitar part, the strings and it’s one of those songs that is easy to pull off alone without all of those touches. I like the story of the outlaw and the reference to the narco saint Santa Muerte. I love writing about characters who operate in the underworld. I really love this album. I put my heart and soul into it.”

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Keep watching

Thank you for watching and enjoying this session. You’ll probably like some other sessions from The Influences’ archive too, like these by Mick Flannery, Kelsey Waldon and Ian Noe.