When it comes to down ’n’ dirty roots ’n’ roll, nobody in the
wide world of Americana music today does it better than
Ray Wylie Hubbard.
From his humble beginnings as an Oklahoma folkie in the ’60s to his wild ride
through the ’70s progressive country movement, and onward through the
honky-tonk fog of the ’80s to his sobriety-empowered comeback as a songwriter’s
songwriter in the ’90s, Hubbard was already a bonafide legend by the
time he really found his groove right at the turn of the century. Beginning with
2001’s aptly-titled Eternal and Lowdown through to his latest and greatest
release, 2015’s The Ruffian’s Misfortune, he has spent well over a decade
now chasing hellhounds through muddy waters and deep into the underbelly
of the blues, with a Lightnin’ Hopkins gleam in his eyes and a Rolling Stones
swagger in his step