Patty Griffin Honors Father With 'American Kid'

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on May 10, 2013 6:25PM

American Kid, Patty Griffin’s first new album of original material in six years, is another outstanding collection of personal songs rooted in Griffin’s base of country, folk and Americana. The new album, recorded in Memphis with longtime producer and collaborator Craig Ross, is given a boost from Luther and Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi All-Stars fame and her current beau, Robert Plant, sings background vocals on three songs, including the lead single “Ohio.”

Griffin said she wrote American Kid to honor her father, a World War II veteran who spent some time living in a Trappist monastery before becoming a high school teacher and raising seven children. the two songs that begin and end the album, "Go Wherever You Wanna Go" and "Gonna Miss You When You're Gone," are tender, mournful ballads directly written for her father. The rest of the album includes the desperate blues of "Don't Let Me Die In Florida," the light guitar touches of "Mom & Dad's Waltz," and the loneliness and frustration that informs "Not a Bad Man" and "Faithful Son." This latest collection of songs once again shows the genre experimentation and unpredictability that are Griffin's hallmarks — no two albums, like snowflakes, are alike.

Griffin is heading out on the road to support American Kid and her tour brings her to the Athenaeum Theater for a show 7:30 p.m. June 12. Tickets are available here.