Turnpike Troubadours
The Price of Admission
Album · Country · 2025
In recent years Evan Felker has transcended his role as the Turnpike Troubadours lead vocalist, representing for his legion of fans something more like a saint than a singer. Since he found sobriety after time off from music in the early 2020s, Felker and his redemption arc have influenced and inspired a number of today’s biggest and brightest country up-and-comers, including Zach Bryan, who wrote a song, 2019’s “Felker,” about the enigmatic musician and references the band in fan favorite “East Side of Sorrow.”
That this follow-up to 2023’s A Cat in the Rain arrives after just two years is a welcome development given the drought of new Turnpike music between 2017 and 2023, and the relatively short period between LPs also, fortunately, does not point to hasty writing or half-assed recording. Instead, Felker and company sound invigorated as ever, with producer Shooter Jennings returning to lend his light but capable touch to 11 new tunes. The Price of Admission opens with “On the Red River,” a vivid and contemplative co-write with Old Crow Medicine Show lead singer Ketch Secor. John Fulbright lends his pen to “Searching for a Light,” a fiddle-heavy exploration of redemption. Other highlights include “Be Here,” an old-timey jaunt complete with gang vocals, and “Leaving Town (Woody Guthrie Festival),” a road song with a heavy dose of reflection.
The Price of Admission
Turnpike Troubadours
In recent years Evan Felker has transcended his role as the Turnpike Troubadours lead vocalist, representing for his legion of fans something more like a saint than a singer. Since he found sobriety after time off from music in the early 2020s, Felker and his redemption arc have influenced and inspired a number of today’s biggest and brightest country up-and-comers, including Zach Bryan, who wrote a song, 2019’s “Felker,” about the enigmatic musician and references the band in fan favorite “East Side of Sorrow.”
That this follow-up to 2023’s A Cat in the Rain arrives after just two years is a welcome development given the drought of new Turnpike music between 2017 and 2023, and the relatively short period between LPs also, fortunately, does not point to hasty writing or half-assed recording. Instead, Felker and company sound invigorated as ever, with producer Shooter Jennings returning to lend his light but capable touch to 11 new tunes. The Price of Admission opens with “On the Red River,” a vivid and contemplative co-write with Old Crow Medicine Show lead singer Ketch Secor. John Fulbright lends his pen to “Searching for a Light,” a fiddle-heavy exploration of redemption. Other highlights include “Be Here,” an old-timey jaunt complete with gang vocals, and “Leaving Town (Woody Guthrie Festival),” a road song with a heavy dose of reflection.
