Rod Picott (born November 3, 1964) is a singer-songwriter whose music incorporates elements of

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

, and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

. He was born in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, but relocated to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 1994. After several years of playing local clubs and supporting such acts as

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...

, he released his first album in 2001. As of 2023, he has released 15 albums.

Career

Picott was born in

, Rod Picott @ allmusic.com/ref> but grew up in

South Berwick, Maine South Berwick is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,467 at the 2020 census. South Berwick is home to Berwick Academy, a private, co-educational university-preparatory day school founded in 1791. The town was s ...

, where he played in various local bands. Picott met

Slaid Cleaves Richard Slaid Cleaves (born June 9, 1964) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has been performing extensively and recording albums in the Americana genre since the early 1990s. Raised in South Berwick, Maine, he has lived in the Austin, ...

on his first day of second grade and the two became lifelong friends and even wrote several songs together. After a period living in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

, where he busked and studied the art of songwriting, Picott moved to

in 1994, where he spent a number of years playing local clubs. He began to make a name for himself as a songwriter, which grew when he co-wrote a song on

Fred Eaglesmith Frederick John Elgersma (born July 9, 1957), known by the stage name Fred Eaglesmith, is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. He is known for writing songs about vehicles, rural life, down-and-out characters, lost love and quirky rur ...

's album ''50 Odd Dollars''. In 1998 he signed a deal with the management company operated by Denise Stiff, who also managed

. He initially worked as the driver of Krauss's merchandise truck, but was called upon to fill in when an opening act was needed, which led to a series of support slots with Krauss. Picott finally released his own debut album in 2001. ''Tiger Tom Dixon's Blues'' was named after his great-uncle, a boxer during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and featured his version of "Broke Down", a song he co-wrote with long-time friend

. A year later he released the follow-up disc ''Stray Dogs''. Two years later he released his third disc, ''Girl from Arkansas''. In 2005 he released a live album ''Travel Log'' that featured his friend, dobro-player Matt Mauch. In 2014, Picott released ''Hang Your Hopes On A Crooked Nail'', which includes the song, "I Might Be Broken Now". Picott said in an interview that the song was co-written with

Amanda Shires Amanda Rose Shires (born March 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player. Shires has released seven solo albums starting in 2005, her most recent being '' Take It Like a Man'' in 2022. In 2019, she founded a country music super ...

and is about their breakup as a couple. Picott's version of "That's What I'm Gonna Do" appears on Eight 30 Records' ''Floater: A Tribute to the Tributes to Gary Floater'', a satirical album released early in 2018 on Austin-based Eight 30 Records.

Discography

Albums

*''Tiger Tom Dixon's Blues'' (2001) *''Stray Dogs'' (2002) *''Girl From Arkansas'' (2004) *''Travel Log Volume One'' (2005) *''Summerbirds'' (2007) *''Sew Your Heart With Wires'' (2008, with

) *''Tiger Tom Dixon's Blues'' 10th Year Anniversary Acoustic Edition (2010) *''Welding Burns'' (2011) *''Hang Your Hopes On A Crooked Nail'' (2014) *''Fortune'' (2015) *''Out Past the Wires'' (2017) *''Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil'' (2019) *''Wood, Steel, Dust & Dreams'' (2020) *''Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows'' (2022) *''Starlight Tour'' (2023)

Personal life

Picott was previously in a relationship with fellow musician

References

External links

Official websiteMySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Picott, Rod American male singer-songwriters People from South Berwick, Maine Living people 1964 births Singers from Maine Songwriters from Maine