Review: Jack Grelle the Traditional Country Crooner with a Twist

With the Rolling Stone dubbing him as a ‘progressive honky-tonk hero,’ it is no doubt that Jack Grelle embodies the image of a traditional country crooner with a suave of the current times.

Jack Grelle’s Style

Jack Grelle bursts into the country music scene armed with a suave voice and a traditional honky-tonk vibe. His unmistakably country voice carries out messages that you don’t really expect to have on the dance floor.

But Grelle breaks ceilings for singing about progressive politics with his two-stepping tunes. Grelle magnificently blends the social awareness that ‘woke country’ tries its best to embody the classic country twang and a thick dose of southern charm.

Got Dressed Up to be Let Down

Jack Grelle’s new album, “Got Dressed Up to be Let Down” came out on October 2016. It perfectly blends the traditional roots of country honky-tonk as well as huge doses of Americana influences. But don’t be fooled by its overarching narrative. Deep within each song casts diverse flavors such as Tejano, Rock and Roll, folk, and Cajun. That mix creates an impossibly passionate interpretation of what we usually get from any artist.

What’s more impressive is the deep insight that can be derived from the lyrics. It’s completely diverse. From the cycle of life and death, romantic adventures in South America, to progressive ideas about socio-cultural statuses, Grelle takes hold honesty in his lyrics and makes a run for it.

In an interview, Grelle had shared some experiences about singing these kinds of songs for some of his fans. He shared that the general attention is mixed, but have gotten a lot of positive feedback throughout his career. But with regards to the perspectives in his songs, especially with a song entitled “Changes Never Made,” as a white man, he knew he had to be careful.

“The last thing you want to do is be another white man up there claiming to have the answers and co-opting the moment. The song is written to the white country audience. And I wanted it to be in a way that addressed it matter-of-factly — not preaching. When you play to the hillbilly crowd, they’re not gonna listen if I go about it in a certain way.”

Grelle is a perfect example of using their platform to get an important message across. He’s arguably a game changer. He has promise and we can’t wait to see more from him.