Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on April 21, 2022.

A full house of family, friends and fans came out to The Floyd Country Store on Saturday to hear a home-coming performance by Floyd’s own rising star, Morgan Wade, who was fresh off her Grand Ole Opry debut in Nashville.

Billed as a Meet & Greet, it was a surprise event and tickets sold out in minutes. “I had to keep my mouth shut. Even my grandma didn’t know,” Wade said from the stage, speaking directly to her grandmother.

Floyd Country Store co-owner Dylan Locke introduced the 27-year old and referenced her interview with the Rolling Stone in which she spoke about coming to the Floyd Country Store as a young girl and falling asleep in her grandpa’s lap as the music played.

Wade has performed at the FCS’s Americana Afternoons in the past and played in the Warren Lineberry Park for Floyd Small Town Summer, which Locke organizes for the town. That was before her career took off after a 2018 performance at Floydfest that led to her being discovered by Sadler Vaden, the Nashville-based guitarist for the Grammy-winning Jason Isbell band who produced and co-wrote some songs for Wade’s widely acclaimed album, Reckless.

Wade did a four-song acoustic set, telling stories to the friendly crowd in between songs. She spoke about finishing Reckless with Vaden at the same time that the pandemic lockdown happened and the fear of the project being shelved. But it turned out well in the end.  “I got signed with a major label and got my first top 40 hit.” Wade said to applause.

Introducing the song Wilder Days, Wade said, “This one is my radio single. It’s actually climbing up the charts.” She expressed her appreciation for the turn-out and spoke about the hard work of recording and getting radio play, giving credit to her “great team” including Vader, who took her under his wing. “I don’t think I’d be doing any of this without Sadler. He’s become a best friend,” she said.

Wade is set to be on the road till November with a tour (morganwademusic.com) that includes shows in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain and Amsterdam, along with an appearance on Austin City Limits and U.S. shows with Brooks & Dunn.

“I’m hitting the road with a guy name Luke Combs. At the end of the month, I’ll be doing a benefit show with Matthew McConaughey,” she said about the rest of this month, later adding, “I’ll be back here in July with my full band at Floydfest.”

Following her performance, Wade chatted with attendees, 175 ticket holders and 25 guests and family members. She signed CDs, vinyl records and posters and posed for pictures with fans.

Locke later said, “It was exciting to see and feel the support and care for Morgan from the Floyd community, as well as folks from far away. It feels important to acknowledge one of our own and encourage others who want to pursue their creative goals. I was happy to see so many young people excited to spend time with Morgan.”

Read my 2019 Floydfest interview with Morgan HERE.