Todd Day Wait walked into my setup with his guitar and played three songs that reminded me why I film these sessions. The Missouri-born musician has made his way from California to New Orleans and now calls Nashville home, carrying decades of American music tradition with him. He performed Willie Nelson’s Man With The Blues, traditional song Come Home, It’s Supper Time and his own Tie That Bow‘
Letting the song do the work
It’s not hard to hear the old records in Todd Day Wait’s playing; the folk, country, and blues that shaped American music from the twenties through the sixties. But he’s not trying to recreate the past. He’s carrying those influences forward.
His take on Willie Nelson’s Man With The Blues showed the respect of a songwriter who understands the craft. He didn’t try to reinvent it, just found his own space within those familiar verses. The approach was straightforward; let the song do the work.
Digging into the old songbook with genuine appreciation
Come Home It’s Supper Time felt like watching someone dig into the old songbook with genuine appreciation. Todd’s music draws heavily from early American folk, country, and blues from the 1920s through 1960s, and that influence comes through clearly when he tackles traditional material. No artifice, just honest delivery.
His original Tie That Bow builds at its own pace, unhurried but purposeful. It’s the kind of writing that comes from years of playing music because you need to, not because you’re chasing something.
Photos
Credits
Filmed & edited by Matthijs van der Ven.
Audio recorded & mixed by Matthijs van der Ven.
Location
TivoliVredenburg
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Thanks
Mike Vanata
Western As Fuck
There is no better way to discover music than watching great musicians cover the songs they love. The Influences has been producing these videos ever since 2008.
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