Family Matters to Billy Crain and so Does His Music

When I first listened to Billy Crain’s album Family Matters, there was one song that caught my immediate attention. The third track on the album, “Lucky Penny”. I’m usually captivated by beats and melody first before anything else, but there was something different about this song that kept me leaned in, wanting to know more. The song opens up with a celtic instrumental then flows into a piano medley that captures emotions and sets your mood — sadness. “Lucky Penny” captures an emotion that forces you to reach deep down into your heart and relate to a sad time in your life when you lost someone that you’ve loved. You know that’s what the song is asking of you within the opening lines of the lyrics. When I looked up the lyrics to see what this song was actually about, I found out that it was a song that Billy and his wife wrote on the morning of the Sandy Hook shootings. It’s a dedication song, a song that reminds you of how gun violence affects families and takes away innocence from it’s victims. I listened through to the rest of the album to find out more about Billy Crain.

Crain is one of those unique souls who keeps his music close to his heart, and wears his heart on his sleeve. In Family Matters, he invokes emotion through storytelling, some biographical, of real and relatable family matters. As listeners, we’re taken into what could be remnants of Billy’s past, present and future. We don’t know what’s truly his story, but we don’t care because it’s all familiar, and we can all relate. In the title song off of the album, Billy takes us through his family tree speaking of John, his first born son all the way up to his cherished wife, Sandy. It’s the story of a man and his loved ones and the not so perfect truth of what it means to have a family. The beauty of the album lies in the acceptance that family is important to us all, and we all come to terms with this in our own way.

With his roots based in Nashville, Tennessee, Crain doesn’t swing too far from the essence of Southern Rock, giving fans what they want in a contemporary artist who yearns for a little bit of Tom Petty and the greatness of Bob Dylan.

Family Matters doesn’t give me total 100% satisfaction, “True Beauty” is fast-paced when I’d prefer the song to take it’s time, and while “Joe Parker” has a personal message that’s deep, emotional and sentimental, the simplicity of the verses lack the power of where the song could go. Overall, however, the album does satisfy my quest for musical emotion and acoustic variety. The album is simple yet complex. If you don’t listen closely, you will miss Billy’s message, and if you listen too closely, you may miss his personal story or get too enwrapped in your own story.

The celtic influence is showered throughout most of the album. Crain keeps the album alive through a consistent upbeat modern pop pace, which at times feels forced, but for the most part works well in many of the songs. The album is fun, modern and rhythmic and Crain purposefully gives us exactly what we want when trying to meet this happy medium.

Crain has paid his dues. He’s been on stage with the Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, and The Outlaws among countless other Southern Rock favorites. He is a legend in his own right and a humanitarian by the nature of his heart. When you learn of his personal stories — he and his wife Sandy have adopted and fostered children. In 2011, Crain made a trip to Haiti and dedicated his second album Creole Shoes to this experience. This all is demonstrative in the type of artist that Billy Crain is representing himself to be, a humble one by all means.

There is a lot that you can appreciate about Crain’s fourth solo album. If you’re ready to go on a musical journey, this album will take you along for the ride, it’s easy to appreciate.

Hi, I’m Jenny Miranda. If you liked this article, hit the 💚 button below and/or share this post.

Happy Listening!