Today, Charles Wesley Godwin unveils the 19-track Family Ties, his most intensely personal and accomplished album yet. Godwin’s third album, and first for Big Loud Records, Family Ties showcases a tunesmith at the peak of his powers — melding melody with memories, workmanship with wisdom.
Godwin demo’ed the songs that would become Family Ties on a Tascam 4-track (thanks to his love for Bruce Springsteen’s seminal Nebraska) and then recorded them at one of his dream studios, Echo Mountain in Asheville, North Carolina before he signed a record deal. He recorded the album with his long-time band, the Allegheny High, and long-time producer, Allegheny High guitarist Al Torrence.
“I decided I was going to write about my life and my family,” explains Godwin. “It’s where my heart was guiding me: to be super personal and dig right into the weeds of my life.”
The songs that comprise Family Ties are themselves portals into Godwin’s life — tuneful tales of the native West Virginian’s friends, family and foundation. Family Ties is an intimate affair — images set to tune, so many of them specifically created for his own family members. There’s the unflinching “Miner Imperfections,” penned for his father; the mournful and contemplative “The Flood” for his mother; the beatific “Gabriel” for his son; the mournful yet hopeful “Dance in Rain” for his daughter; and the love letter that is the slow rolling “Willing and Able” for his wife.
Godwin has worked hard to get to this day, but hard work is not something he’s ever shied away from. It continued this week. After returning to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry on Wednesday night in Nashville, Godwin awoke on Thursday morning prepared to fly home to West Virginia to perform at Healing Appalachia, a benefit for Hope in the Hills, which helps support recovery efforts around central Appalachia. Instead, for reasons that are still unknown, Godwin’s ticket was canceled at check-in. Unable to rebook on such short notice, and with no rental cars available, Godwin rented a U-Haul truck and drove seven hours to Lewisburg, WV so he could make the show last night.
Godwin is currently on the front end of a Fall headline tour that runs through the end of the year. Many of the shows are already sold out, including Godwin’s first-ever headline shows at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. on Dec. 7 – 8, and four shows in his hometown of Morgantown, W.V. Dec. 14 – 17. In 2024, Godwin will join Luke Combs on 12 dates of his Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old stadium tour. Godwin is also confirmed for the 2024 edition of Stagecoach and the first date of the two-day Buckeye Country Superfest on June 22, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio alongside Zach Bryan, Billy Strings, Turnpike Troubadours, and Charley Crockett.
Charles Wesley Godwin 2023/2024 Tour Dates
Sept 22 – Norfolk, VA – The NorVA
Sept 23 – Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat – SOLD OUT
Oct 10 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville (Handle with Care: Tom Petty Tribute)
Oct 11 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom
Oct 12 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom – SOLD OUT
Oct 13 – Ashland, KY – Paramount Arts Center
Oct 19 – Baton Rouge, LA – Texas Club
Oct 20 – Fort Worth, TX – HWY 30 TX Music Festival
Oct 21 – New Braunfels, TX – Gruene Hall – SOLD OUT
Oct 22 – New Braunfels, TX – Gruene Hall – SOLD OUT
Nov 8 – Columbia, SC – The Senate
Nov 9 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre – SOLD OUT
Nov 10 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel – SOLD OUT
Nov 11 – Greenville, NC – The State Theatre – SOLD OUT
Nov 16 – Mobile, AL – Soul Kitchen Music Hall
Nov 17 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
Nov 18 – Huntsville, AL – VBC Mars Music Hall – SOLD OUT
Dec 7 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium – SOLD OUT
Dec 8 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium – SOLD OUT
Dec 14 – Morgantown, WV – The Metropolitan Theater – SOLD OUT
Dec 15 – Morgantown, WV – The Metropolitan Theater – SOLD OUT
Dec 16 – Morgantown, WV – The Metropolitan Theater – SOLD OUT
Dec 17 – Morgantown, WV – The Metropolitan Theater – SOLD OUT
Apr 12 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Field^
Apr 19 – Buffalo, NY – Highmark Stadium^
Apr 28 – Indio, CA – Stagecoach Festival
May 3 – Jacksonville, FL – TIAA Bank Field^
May 10 – San Antonio, TX – Alamodome^
May 17 – San Francisco, CA – Levi’s Stadium^
May 31 – Phoenix, AZ – State Farm Stadium^
June 7 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rice-Eccles Stadium^
June 14 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium^
June 22 – Columbus, OH – Buckeye Country Superfest
July 19 – New York, NY – MetLife Stadium^
July 26 – Washington, DC – FedEx Field^
Aug 2 – Cincinnati, OH – Paycor Stadium^
Aug 9 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium^
^ with Luke Combs on Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old stadium tour
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