John Moreland “Regrets” Comments About Turnpike Troubadours: “My Problem Is With Kyle Only”

John speaks.

Oklahoma singer/songwriter John Moreland made headlines yesterday when he called out the entire Turnpike Troubadours band (minus steel player Hank Early), following a bar fight with fiddle player Kyle Nix at the Mercury Lounge in Tulsa.

As first reported by Whiskey Riff, Nix and Moreland allegedly got into it in the early hours of Friday morning, following performances from Jamie Lin Wilson and others. A source told Whiskey Riff that John and Kyle were talking near the bar, and John allegedly struck Kyle, who responded by pulling him off his barstool. John got up and the fight continued until it was broken up.

Early Friday morning, Moreland shared (and then relatively quickly deleted) a video to his Instagram story, confirming, in part, some of those details:

“Hey guys, little Texas country fun fact. If you ever happen to get in a fight with Kyle Nix, the tiny fiddle player from the Turnpike Troubadours…uh, and he pulls you out of your bar stool and starts kicking you in the head a few times…

Don’t worry because he’s four feet tall, and it’s just going to feel like a f***ing third-grader is kicking you in the head. And then you can get up and start wailing on his face, and it’s all good. F*** that guy.”

He followed up that video story with two more that featured simple text.

“F**k that whole band honestly… “

And…

“Except Hank.

It’s unclear what started the physical altercation. We reached out to reps for both artists and neither have provided comment. We’ll update if they do.

But then, John took to Instagram afterwards to walk back his comments towards the whole band. He also alluded to Turnpike fans coming after him (he deleted that story as well), and then put out a follow up post where he said:

“Ok, even though this is kind of hilarious, I’d like to say I regret bringing anybody else in the band into my issue. I was just angry and being an a**hole, I’m sorry to those guys. My problem is with Kyle only.

And honestly, it’s not even that much of a “problem,” we just got in a bar fight and I think he sucks now. I think that’s reasonable.”

As two legendary acts from Oklahoma, and two of the most talented acts in the music business in general, you hate to see them getting into it like this. And John even covered a Turnpike song on his Instagram earlier this year, so it seems like this particular incident has sparked the bad blood.

And not to make light of what may have started it, but if we’re being honest, who hasn’t thrown hands a time or two, even with a friend, late at a bar and then patched it up the next morning or in the coming weeks? It seems to come with the territory when you spend a lot of late nights drinking in bars. Of course, Kyle Nix has been on a journey of sobriety in recent years, not without admitted slip-ups, so you’re hoping for the best for him in that regard too. It’s a tough battle, one that is made entirely more difficult when your job as a musician has you constantly surrounded by alcohol.

Nevertheless, it sounds like John is still pissed at Kyle, but hopefully these two can squash the beef sooner rather than later. Country music will be better off with these Okie boys on the same team.

John Moreland Joins Zach Bryan On “Memphis; The Blues”

This kind of artist spotlight gets me fired up for The Great American Bar Scene.

Zach Bryan‘s highly anticipated album is out in full, and one can only imagine that the music scene will be buzzing about the record as fans and media platforms like ourselves sort through the tracklist, picking out early favorites and diving deeper into lyrics that resonate with us.

Bryan noted prior to the album’s release, as he reflected on moments that led to the album’s creation, that he does not care if the songs do not strike a chord with every listener. But the creation of this record was healing for himself, and he hopes someone can appreciate it.

“I wrote and produced all of these with the help of some truly great friends. I finally felt like I’s making music again. If you don’t like it, I assume it’s not intended for you. Grab your beers through tears & fears, The Great American Bar Scene.”

While it is still early on for my personal dissection of the record, one song immediately grabbed my attention off the tracklist, “Memphis; The Blues,” because of the featured artist… the legendary John Moreland. Zach Bryan began teasing this song at the end of 2023, posting a video of him sitting at a public picnic table, strumming the song with one of his friends.

The track highlights a love story with the tagline showing that the narrator needs his person in his life just like Memphis needs the blues. The song was a solid acoustic jam session, and then Zach Bryan enlisted help from the Bixby, Oklahoma (right outside of Tulsa, OK) songwriter extraordinaire, John Moreland.

Moreland is a hidden gem in the country music scene (while also being a highly respected songwriter), and those who champion him know this feature will bring Moreland’s hypnotizing vocals to the limelight. Put it this way… think of your favorite songwriter and there’s a good chance that John is one of their favorite songwriters.

Moreland’s verse is expertly delivered, with flawless vocal inflections on words that need to cut deeper. You hear the tenderness in his voice as he sings about how badly he needs this great love in his life.

“Cracked up skies tried on a couple lives to find the one that fit

Cold wind comin’ and the heat quit runnin’, but you keep my candle lit

Pictures on the wall say it all with the kind-a-conviction make a river burn

You got a skeleton key on a chain around your neck, I got a chain around my heart

Church bells ringing in the air down the hill from the house where you were born

I said baby don’t you think we aught to live a little bit before Gabriel blows his horn…”

When the two come together for the repetitive yet straightforward chorus, it leaves a lasting impression on the listener’s mind.

“I need you like Memphis the blues

I need you like Memphis the blues.”

ZB, good on you for this feature. “Memphis; The Blues” is easily an early standout on The Great American Bar Scene.

This one deserves to be played at max volume.