"It's all about places, faces and feelings… Now, 'TTFP': Take the … 'Fffff—-fantastic' Picture!" (Friend and Photographic Mentor, Monte Zucker 1929-2007)
There’s a certain kind of hero who never looks the part. He spills the kibble on his pants, shows up late to the dance, and somehow wins your heart anyway. That’s the spirit running through my new album, My First Rodeo.
It’s a collection of nine songs about life’s crooked lines, where humor and tenderness live side by side. These are stories of small-town detours, unexpected brushes with fame, cheeky misadventures, and the kind of love that finds you in the middle of the mess.
One of the tracks closest to my heart is Late to the Dance. It tells the story of a guy who means well but always gets caught in the details — walking Mama’s dog, fixing her TV remote, listening to her read from Reader’s Digest — until he finally shows up to the dance a little behind schedule. It’s funny, it’s tender, and it reminds us that sometimes the latecomer sees the night in a way no one else can.
The rest of the album follows in that same wry spirit: from the big buckle bravado of My First Rodeo to the comic wisdom of Zip It! to the warm domestic humor of This Calls for Coffee. There are brushes with luck, stories of legacy, and plenty of pedal steel and close harmonies to carry the ride.
If you’ve ever felt like the stumble-bum who somehow stumbles into grace, this album’s for you.
🎵 Listen to Late to the Dance here: Track Link 🎶 Explore the full album My First Rodeo: Album Link
I’m excited to share my new 10-song album, The Winner’s Curse, now streaming on Bandcamp.
What It’s About
The Winner’s Curse is a set of small victories and near misses—moments when luck, timing, and human nature twist the outcome just enough to sting. These songs capture the irony of wanting something just out of reach, the humor of good intentions gone sideways, and the quiet grace of letting go.
The Journey Track by Track
Here’s how the album unfolds:
Shut It Quick – When silence makes you irresistible and speaking up breaks the spell.
Wrong Side of Right – No matter what he tries, love keeps flipping the script.
Big Peccadillos – A sly confession of big-little flaws and guilty pleasures.
Missed It by a Mile – Close enough to taste it, too far to hold it.
Shot Right Up to the Middle – Aiming high and landing squarely in life’s perfect nowhere.
Part-Time Hero – Right place, right time, accidental heroism with a humble shrug.
Guess I Shoulda – Small hesitations that ripple into lasting what-ifs.
Breakin’ a Lucky Streak – Catching a sudden run of fortune, knowing it can’t last.
Toronto Layover – A fleeting airport romance that turns into a lesson in grace.
Round and Round – Life’s lessons looping back on themselves with a knowing smile.
Why It Matters
These songs live in the everyday choices that shape us: – The wave you don’t return. – The hero you never meant to be. – The love you almost had but never owned.
If you’ve ever felt like you “won” only to realize there was more to the story, you’ll recognize yourself in these tracks.
In small towns, the real stories don’t happen under stage lights. They unfold at the bingo hall, the burger bar, the quilt raffle, the hardware store aisle, and even at the post office window. They’re ordinary places — but they hold the kind of moments that stick with you.
A Small Town Diary, Vol. 2 continues the path started in the first diary: nine new songs that turn everyday errands and events into little love stories. Some are playful, some tender, and some downright surprising.
You’ll hear brass knuckles at bingo, a clumsy step in a line dancing class, a kiss stolen in the Tunnel of Love at the county fair, and a goodbye at the train station that turns into a beginning. Each song is a diary entry in its own right, built from small-town humor, close country harmonies, and a wink at how life rarely goes as planned.
These aren’t just songs about small towns. They’re about the way love sneaks in when you aren’t looking — while buying groceries, mailing a letter, or waiting for a train that may never take you away.
1. Bingo Night Breakdown A night meant for daubers and cards turns into chaos when gossip flies and brass knuckles make an appearance. Amid the uproar, sparks of romance sneak through the noise.
2. Line Dancing Lessons Sometimes two left feet can lead you right where you need to be. A clumsy turn on the floor becomes the start of something warmer, proving love doesn’t care if you miss a step.
3. The Pickup Came Through Again Trucks break down, tempers flare, but connection happens in the unlikeliest places. Even when the engine stalls, love finds a way to carry you home.
4. The Quilt Raffle Patchwork fabric stitched by many hands becomes a metaphor for life and love: frayed, imperfect, yet strong enough to bind strangers together in warmth.
5. Nuts and Bolts Romance in the hardware aisle. What starts with the wrong-size screws and a borrowed hand turns into something fastened tight — proof that love is built from the smallest pieces.
6. The County Fair Kiss Fireworks, teddy bears, the Tunnel of Love — summer nights don’t get more poetic or more surprising. A kiss at the fair outlasts the rides and games.
7. The Grocery Line Smile From peaches at the Piggly Wiggly, to a bottle of wine at Kroger, to a note at the A&P checkout, this one is about how romance keeps slipping into the basket when you’re just running errands.
8. Post Office Window Borrowed pens, numbered tickets, and overheard grumbles — even here, love can find its way, stamped and sealed in the unlikeliest of lines.
9. Train Station Goodbye The closer. What begins as a farewell beneath lanterns and steam turns into a beginning when she stays behind. A cinematic ending that proves sometimes goodbye is just love in waiting.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed producing it!
That old feeling starts at about this time of year – when August becomes a memory and the air begins to chill in the mornings. I find myself anticipating the coming season.
Every Christmas tells a story. For me, those stories take shape through music — sometimes playful, sometimes bittersweet, always rooted in love, memory, and tradition. This year, I’ve gathered three albums together as a kind of Christmas series, each with its own voice, but all connected by a search for warmth and truth in the season.
The featured album, Christmas in Mascoutah, is a collection of eight original songs drawn straight from small-town Midwestern life. From the laughter of a parade to the reverence of a midnight service, from the mischief of a yard display war to the tenderness of an empty chair by the tree, it’s a blend of humor, nostalgia, and heart. It’s Americana storytelling with pedal steel, Telecasters, and close country harmonies — a reminder that even in life’s changes, Christmas traditions hold us steady.
Alongside it, A Pedal Steel Christmas shines the spotlight on the instrument that can make a guitar cry and a heart soar. It’s a pure celebration of sound — the pedal steel weaving through carols and originals alike, giving the season a voice as timeless as the instrument itself. I’ve always admired this instrument and the way it can evoke emotion.
And Carols at the Hearth brings things closer still — intimate, candlelit, and inspired by mid-century jazz harmonies. It’s music for gathering by the fire, where songs feel less like performance and more like presence. I guess the inspiration comes from my early introduction to the wonderful carols of Alfred S. Burt and knowing his surviving family. In their home, Christmas came alive with decor, gatherings of friends and plenty of food and cheer.
Now, the Americana genre may not be for everyone, but I’d like to think that Toby Keith would have enjoyed Christmas in Mascoutah— for its honesty, for its humor, and for the way it carries a sense of place.
Each of these albums approaches Christmas from a different angle, but together they form a series — three ways of telling the same story: that Christmas, wherever you find it, is about connection, gratitude, and the kind of memories that keep us warm long after the snow melts.
Note:
Mascoutah is a charming small town in southern Illinois surrounded by family farms where life still moves at the pace of the seasons. Main Street has just one traffic light, and every storefront feels like part of the family. When you shop at the grocery, the hardware store, or the diner, chances are you’ll run into lifelong friends — people who know your history as well as your name. It’s the kind of place where Christmas isn’t just a holiday on the calendar, but a gathering of memory, community, and belonging.
Bill Leyden's Blog 