NFV Songs Spotlight: Austin Stambaugh's Nightwalk (Less or More) and Ain't That Like It Is

Nashville based musician Austin Stambaugh dropped on by Club Tee Gee for a Back in the Garage night. He was at the end of a tour that took him from Texas to New Mexico to Arizona with two stops in California via San Diego and Los Angeles. The tour was to promoted his just released  Speechmythology: The Musical Short Stories of Austin Stambaugh album. I will admit that my going out to Club Tee Gee was not due to knowing anything about Stambaugh. I noticed that Rosy Nolan was on the bill and the last time I saw a full set was back in September 2023. It sounded like a good time to head out and catch another set. 

Austin Stambaugh at Club Tee Gee

That Rosy Nolan decision resulting in me getting to catch Stambaugh's set. His Instagram page states that he's an "American Balladeer and Story Writer." A balladeer sings and composes ballads. I don't think I need to define what a story writer is. His new album is a fascinating combination of the two. In some ways, listening to his set was like getting to sit inside a radio station and watching a live radio program from the 1930s - 1940s. At least, I imagine it being like that.

Austin Stambaugh at Club Tee Gee

The album is nine stories against the backdrop of his guitar playing and other musical country instruments. For the Club Tee Gee set, it was just his storytelling skills and his guitar. By storytelling, he isn't singing tunes, but instead performing via the spoken word - he used the words "story song" to describe it. One of those spoken word stories that entertained the audience on this night was "Nightwalk (Less or More)." Using descriptive words such as night bus, honky-tonk is pure, man in the black hood, dead in the suburbs, he tells the story of taking a late night bus and being tracked by a man as he gets off the bus to head to his house (was it just coincidence of where the two were both heading after getting off the bus or was it a truly dangerous situation). 

Austin Stambaugh at Club Tee Gee

The set was not fully dedicated to the spoken word. Under the golden yellow stage lights of the venue, he also sang songs such as his 2024 folk release "Ain't That Like It Is." The song is part of another 2024 album that is a collaboration with fellow Nashville singer Chris Emmert. That album is simply titled Emmert & Stambaugh. The song is about life not always being exciting and new and sometimes moments that are just plain dull.

Waiting for a friend.
Feeling all alone.
Ain't that like it is. Out there on your own.

Two album releases in 2024 -- talk about having a productive year. 

As an addendum: he told an amusing story of how he told his father he was old enough to watch horror flicks and so his father took him to see The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. He wasn't old enough.