Name: Tyrone Cotton with The Tennessee Stifflegs and Cornbread
Start: 2024-10-01T20:00:00-04:00
Location: The Pilot Light

Tyrone Cotton with The Tennessee Stifflegs and Cornbread

Tyrone Cotton
and
The Tennessee Stifflegs
and
Cornbread
$10
Tyrone Cotton’s earliest musical revelation was listening to the raspy, inspirational voice of his grandfather, the Reverend Cleveland Roosevelt Williams, at his childhood home in Louisville, KY. Cotton began playing guitar along to the sounds of popular rock and blues artists and draws inspiration for his debut album from influences such as Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, and Mississippi John Hurt, who intrigued Tyrone with his “ finger pickin’ and soft, wispy voice.” Cotton’s debut album, Man Like Me, is the result of a lifelong journey of his nearly 30 years of performing in venues and as a beacon of the Louisville music community where he continues to reside today. The collection of songs developed over the past decade and documented on Man Like Me, is a deeply stirring reflection of Cotton’s own experiences which explores connection, loss, hope and resurrection, punctuated by a voice that is hauntingly evocative yet equally warm and alluring.
The title track is a stunner: “Man Like Me” is melancholy, dark and haunting as Cotton’s rich vocal shrouds the opening line. “I understand you’re afraid / And you don’t want to get mixed up / With a man like me / Rumors follow me wherever I go / You better watch your step / You might learn something you don’t want to know”. Producer Josh Kauffman’s production throughout is impeccable in both its restraint and expanse, which is no surprise given Kauffman’s prior production work with artists such as The National, Bob Weir, Anais Mitchell and Josh Ritter.
His own writing is deeply personal and pulls from those influences and embodies a vast landscape of soul, folk, blues, jazz, and rock n roll. “I’m working on new angles and approaches to songs. I’m intrigued by the process of having a story already in place and chiseling it into a song; looking outside but still looking in.” says Cotton.
Cotton has toured throughout the United States and overseas but it’s in his hometown where he’s played hundreds, if not thousands of shows at clubs and festivals. He also retains residencies at several senior living centers where his vast knowledge of
repertoire is showcased through performance every week which span 70 years of contemporary music. Soon, Man Like Me will have its moment to join the canon of those celebrated contemporary works.