Phillip Lammonds

Decades after carving out the reputation of a songwriter’s songwriter – a dedicated country tunesmith with as much poetic skill as commercial common sense – he’d settled in to his role as a behind-the-scenes hit maker paid to do what he loves … and if he’s honest, that was enough.

Combining an insightful creative spirit with a love of Southern sonic tradition (and a bit of meandering good ol’ boy whimsy), his world revolved around the twin poles of penning tunes in Nashville, and then heading home to fish and raise a family. But even so, the results were undeniable. Success came with cuts by Hootie & the Blowfish (“One Love”), Lee Brice (“Best Part of Me,” “My Carolina”), Craig Morgan (“Love Loves a Long Night”) and many others, and over the years, many of those collaborators had turned into close friends. Best of all, he didn’t have any of the hassle that came with being an “artist.” No interviews. No travel. No ego driven power struggles. … No drama.

Looking back now, it’s actually kind of impressive he pulled it off for so long. But after more than 4,000 songs and decades of under-the-radar appreciation, Lammonds has been pushed out his shadowy comfort zone. The rootsy-yet-refined Cowboy Things marks his long overdue album debut – and the rare moment an unsung hero steps up to the mic.

He blames it all on Brice, the multi-Platinum country star (and good buddy) who became the project’s producer. The two had a brotherhood born of shared loves – songwriting and the outdoors – and Brice had cut many of the songs he and Lammonds co-penned together. Then he decided to turn the tables.

“I just hadn’t done [my own album] because I didn’t want be that guy,” Lammonds explains. “I didn’t want to be in the spotlight or in the middle of it – because I was feeling pretty cool where I was. It was like ‘You’re the racehorse, I’m the jockey’ [laughs] … But Lee is like Santa Claus. I mean it.” He may see the project as a personal gift, but it’s everyone else who gets to enjoy it.

Inspired by “the big three” – Randy Newman, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bill Monroe – the North Carolina native began his career with a homespun Americana roots outfit called The Blue Dogs. By the ‘90s he was in South Carolina, and began visiting Nashville for regular writing sessions. Scoring cuts with everyone from country hitmakers like Kip Moore and Josh Turner to progressive bluegrass stalwarts like The Infamous Stringdusters and Steep Canyon Rangers, he did it for the love of the craft, and other milestones followed. Charity fundraisers, a gig as the host of the Hope Town Rum Music Festival in the Bahamas – even an ongoing songwriting series on Instagram, the BedHead Sessions.

By 2017 Lammonds was in Music City full time and writing 150 songs each year … with no thoughts of messing with the gravy train. But in 2021, Cowboy Things began to coalesce – pulled together by a bit of cosmic magic and his pushy friends. As Lammonds recalls, Brice had just finished building a home studio at his Tennessee farm, and wanted to start producing. All he needed was a guinea pig to break it in, and luckily, he knew a guy. One with insightful vision and authentic style, who’d never been put in the spotlight.

“I said, ‘Look Lee, I’m not ready to do that. I’m flattered, but I don’t know,’” Lammonds explains. “And he said, ‘Fuck yeah you are. Let’s do it.’ He just pushed me over that edge and made it too easy.”

Meanwhile, Lammonds had a friend on the industry side who’d been standing by for just such a moment, and she jumped at the news. Then, days after Lammonds reluctantly agreed, another longtime buddy called to say he was retiring – and that all he wanted to do was make a record for his friend, just like they always dreamed. Suddenly the tunesmith had production, promotion and proceeds all lined up, without even trying.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Cowboy Things came out with that same sense of ease.

Choosing 11 heartfelt, plainspoken tracks from across his career, Lammonds shows off his well-established penchant for worldly wisdom and casual country-boy flair – boiling the big picture down to bitesized chunks of unadorned truth, and featuring his A-list group of friends. Along with Brice, Darius Rucker, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and even actor Bill Murray get involved, all helping showcase Lammonds’ unique spark in unfiltered style.

“This album is everything I can’t write for radio,” he says with a laugh.

Recorded live over two laid-back days in Brice’s new space, dubbed Pumphouse Studio for its rustic barn setting, the set also comes with a loose, organic sound – and the weathered (but tender) vocal of a million songs sung. Working in full takes and without a click track, each tune started off with Lammonds’ voice and guitar, and was then filled out with an earthy, “red dirt gypsy wagon” arrangement courtesy of the Klien Brothers and their musical wizardry. It ebbs and flows with a down-home vibe perfect for the country songs of a “brand new” artist, who has nevertheless seen it all.

“It feels like it [was recorded] in your den,” Lammonds describes. “I didn’t know that’s what we were doing, and I didn’t know that’s what would happen. But when it did happen, I guess I’d have to admit that I love it.”

Imparting each song with playful passion, the set begins with an inclusive opener full of empathy, as country star and Hootie & The Blowfish front man Darius Rucker jumps in on the serene “Love Is Love.” Co-written with Hannah Dasher and Tiffany Gross, it’s a colorful, matter-of-fact anthem of diversity – and a slow build of country, rock and roots spirit. Rucker drenches his verse with effortless South Carolina soul, offering a stunning intro to a no-nonsense project.

“I know Darius would come running if I was going to fight, and that’s what he did,” Lammonds says. “I just turned him loose. And it’s real honest. I love the message in that one.”

Likewise, ‘90s hit maker Pam Tillis adds a touch of open-road optimism to the well-traveled country rocker, “Forever Ain’t That Far Away,” and the honesty often comes from enlightening everyday circumstance. The reflective “Cowboy Things,” for example, was inspired by his young son’s Halloween costume, and ends up following an old rough rider not long for the trail, taking comfort in the things that make us feel alive. Meanwhile, Lammonds relates a gritty tale of rural realism in the brooding “Hell’s Kitchen” – a based-on-a-true story opus of modern day moonshiners, going too far in meeting their dry county’s black-market demands. That one features ZZ Top front man Billy Gibbons on a devilish lap steel.

Not to be outdone, “Supposed to Fall In Love” was penned with Bill Murray, the legendary actor who’d never written a song, but always wanted to. After attending The Blue Dogs’ annual show in Charleston (and hearing “Love Is Love”), Murray figured Lammonds was the guy to learn from – and their quiet contemplation on romantic destiny is just another example of why this album needed to happen. The stories are just too good.

Others like “Coffee Black” strut with simple-life soul and a rusty sense of tried-and-true pride. “Light at the End of the Tunnel” buzzes with bluesy distortion, a timeless story of hard-times hustle. And “Train of Tomorrow” rolls on with steady forward momentum and a rootsy Americana sound, an encouraging reminder to keep your bags packed, for nothing in this life lasts long.

In many ways, that may be a fair shorthand for this album as a whole. Lammonds didn’t see this coming. And he isn’t trying to get famous – but he does intend to enjoy the ride.

“It’s been cathartic, and I don’t feel like it’s the last time I’m going to do it,” he says. “I think that’s the point. Worrying about what everybody thinks of me? That never mattered. But making a record is a good feeling. And I like doing it so much.”

Formed in 2012 by frontman and multi-instrumentalist C.J. Benoit, Los Swamp Monsters is an eclectic and electric band that fuses Rock and Roll, Cajun, Blues, Tejano, Soul, Zydeco, Honky-Tonk and Swamp Pop for a unique sound that’s right at home in the Cowboy Bars, Juke Joints, and Punk Clubs where they cut their teeth as they are at the Street Festivals and Stages alongside both icons like DC Blues legends the Nighthawks, Alt-Country hero Jason Ringenberg, Gulf Coast icon Nick Gaitan (Los Skarnales, Umbrella Man, Billy Joe Shaver) and Art Punk icons Half Japanese to up and coming artists like Marshall Falcon, Catfish Seminar, Shantelle and the Juke Joint Band, Andi Jane & the Honky-Tonk Cabaret, Tennessee Troubadour Rabblers, Blackwater Down, and more . . . and with fans and friends including Wild Bill Perkins (Rumen Ramos & the Mexican Revolution), Shawn Sahm (Texas Tornados, Shawn Sahm and Friends), and Randy Lee Ashcraft, the boys are showing no sign of slowing down!​

Los Swamp Monsters also has appeared in the Studio too, being one of the first (if not the first) Tex-Mex band to record at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, joining such icons such as Aretha Franklin, Duane Allman, Wilson Pickett, and Jason Isbell as well as releasing live bootlegs independently on livestreaming and Bandcamp (their most recent streaming bootleg, Live in Texas, is compiled from the five-record series available on Bandcamp, recorded live on their January tour of the Lone Star State joining a studio record, two eps, a single and three full-length bootlegs . . . not bad for an independent band) and achieved chart success in France and Belgium and Radio play as far out as Australia!​

But LSM’s sound isn’t some run-of-the-mill sound. Fusing Saxophone, Harmonicas, Maracas, and the occasional Rubboard as well as C.J.’s trusty Hohner Accordions alongside Rock and roll Guitars, Bass, and Drums, the band’s “Swamp Tejano Boogie” sound brings comparisons to the Texas Tornados, NRBQ, and the Grateful Dead. If you’re looking for a rockin’ good time, Los Swamp Monsters is here!