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'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

, and

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

. He was born in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, but relocated to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

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 and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

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

Career

Picott was born in

Rod Picott @ allmusic.com Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to: Devices * Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment * Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority * Connecting rod, main, coupling ...

/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 ...

, where he played in various local bands. Picott met

Slaid Cleaves Slaid Cleaves is an American singer-songwriter born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Berwick, Maine and Round Pond, Maine, United States. An alumnus of Tufts University, where he majored in English and philosophy, Cleaves lives in Aust ...

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, 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 Denise Stiff is a manager of contemporary musicians. She was the long-time manager of Alison Krauss and was Gillian Welch's manager. She also served as Executive Music Producer for the 2000 film ''O Brother, Where Art Thou? ''O Brother, Wher ...

, 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, 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 supe ...

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