Nashville guitarist William Tyler has strong ties to the Triangle: He plays on Hiss Golden Messenger albums and joined Nick Sanborn’s “Lend Me Your Voice” presentation at Duke last year. He’s played often at The Pinhook and Duke Coffeehouse, and his new LP, Impossible Truth, and forthcoming EP, Lost Colony, are Merge Records releases.
On this Friday evening in Saxapahaw, he opened for Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen at the spacious Haw River Ballroom. Tyler debuted a song called “Highway Anxiety,” written for anyone who becomes hypnotized by the drone of the interstate and needs a melody to push them along. The looped instrumental—like never-ending white and yellow lines on the highway—was as spacious as the room itself.
Tyler played, “We Can’t Go Home Again” from his 2013 Merge release, too. And he told stories of the support he received from Phil Cook during his early visits to the Triangle, as well as traveling throughout Ireland with Hiss Golden Messenger. Below, find a few clips of Tyler’s performance.
William Tyler, “Highway Anxiety”
William Tyler, “We Can’t Go Home Again”
William Tyler, “Missionary Ridge”
