"the songs hold up well, as does McNally’s vocal performance, a testament to her strength as a singer, considering that Jennings had one of the best voices in country music” —Texas Music

Checking in with the top-notch songsmith about taking on Jennings’ country classics

“She was very intelligent about her approach to the project,” Colter says “The sounds, the drums, the beat is what caught my ear because that’s all almost impossible to really capture. For Waylon that all came from his own feel, his rhythm playing. Many have tried. I was thrilled to hear ‘I Ain’t Living Long Like This’ because after I listened, I thought, ‘Okay, this is really good.’”

In the liner notes on Shannon McNally’s new record, the singer confessed that she’s had a long fascination with Waylon Jennings’ music…

"McNally realized her dream, sang her heart out surrounded by an elite group of musicians and guests, and delivered her career-best project, evident from the very first note she sings. "

by Peter Blackstock

Shannon McNally isn't an Austinite, but the singer-songwriter who currently calls Nashville home has ties to the Live Music Capital. She's spent much of the past few years singing Texas songwriter Terry Allen's band alongside prominent Austin musicians such as Lloyd Maines and Charlie Sexton. And South Austin venue Sam's Town Point has became a local home base of sorts for McNally, a place for her to work out new material with her band in an intimate setting.

Our guest this hour is Shannon McNally, who dropped by to chat about her upcoming record, The Waylon Sessions, a covers album of Waylon Jennings songs which she recorded with an all-star band and special guests like Jessi Colter, Buddy Miller, Rodney Crowell, and Lukas Nelson. McNally’s put together an album of classics that challenges our perceptions and assumptions about just what made them classics in the first place, providing a feminine perspective that only a restless, and truly creative spirit like hers could conjure.

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Shannon McNally is a honky tonk hero on her new album, a dream project comprised of classic outlaw country anthems and personal favorites from the catalog of Waylon Jennings.

The prolific Singer/Songwriters latest album, a unique spin, and tribute to Waylon Jennings reimagines the classics with McNally providing a completely new and original take on the songs we all love for a new generation of music fans.

Join us, as McNally provides a unique insight into the making of the album, as well as other topics including the era of promotion on Social Media, the unexpected creative blessings of 2020, the all-star band that helped bring this project to life lots more.

No two ways about it, but the name Shannon McNally just rolls off the tongue as one of legitimacy: kind of like Reba, Tanya, or Martina. Or perhaps.. kind of like Waylon, that of the rugged outlaw country icon of whom she is covering on her upcoming LP The Waylon Sessions—a collection of songs from Waylon Jennings and his outlaw cohorts. This highly anticipated album will be released on Compass Records on May 28, 2021.

Today we premiere the wry, playful video for “Black Rose” which complements McNally’s warm, winning take on the tune.

This is a craft, with Shannon’s expressive voice

Singer/songwriter/painter Terry Allen holds a special stature among Texas singers and songwriters. With a career that dates back more than 40 years, he’s established himself as an iconic artist whose work entails a fine Texas tradition, one made famous by such peers as Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Robert Earl Keen, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and other individuals whose wry wit and keen sense of observation reflect a sound and sensibility informed by both insight and intelligence.

Allen can't take all the credit for the fun, as it's a friends and family affair: Jo Harvey Allen, Bukka Allen, Bale Allen, and Kru Allen, not to mention co-producer Charlie Sexton, co-writer Joe Ely, and vocalist Shannon McNally, who steals the last leg of the show as she soars above the big top in "City of the Vampires," a carny polka stomp that creeps through the shadows like an inverted "Wonder of It All."

With the help of collaborators, the 76-year-old songwriter takes what would be another great, narrative album set to the familiar rhythms of a country waltz and brings it to new places.