Living the nomadic troubadour lifestyle has had its perks for Tré Burt, whose history in blues and soul has led him to where he is now.
Growing up in California, Burt spent his time back and forth between the houses of his divorced parents in Sacramento and the Bay Area. Despite the separation that permeated his life, he found solace in occasional drives to work with his father. Burt fondly recalls listening to the likes of Otis Redding, The Temptations, and The Delfonics in his father’s 1975 Cadillac Seville, lending their influence to his growing passion for music.
As an adolescent, Burt began his career in the less-than-glamorous realm of a traveling guitar picker, playing his unique style of music for anyone who would listen. Building upon his love of folk, soul, and blues, Burt’s first proper album, Caught It From The Rye, debuted in 2020.
Dropping October 6th via the late John Prine’s Oh Boy Records is Burt’s latest and third album, Traffic Fiction. Merging soul, dub, folk, and even punk, this album is a departure from Burt’s originally acclaimed knack for acoustically-charged protest songs, yet his fiery bold songwriting style remains.
Born from solitary sessions with rented equipment, his humble production methods add a certain authenticity to each melody within the project. In this age of uncertainty, Burt allowed himself to just have fun and eliminate restraints, and he hopes that these tracks will offer a similar lifeline to listeners.
An honest prelude to this release, his single, “Piece of Me,” transforms the pain of a breakup into a spiral of wishful thinking, swirling with an organ and guitar melody that pleads with the universe on Burt’s behalf. He candidly delivers poignant lyrics like, “You like me better when I’m in pain… Well, baby, just look at me now.” This soulful track boasts a vintage feel, emphasized by the style of his music video and reminiscent of the soul artists Burt loved so much as a kid.
“‘Piece of Me’ is about the feeling you get when you end a relationship with someone, but there still seems to be more of the story left to tell, like waking up out of a love hangover,” Burt states.
Central to this forthcoming record release is the relationship between Burt and his beloved grandfather, who shared an ardent love of music with his grandson. As his health steadily declined, Burt began recording some of their precious final conversations, which now add another layer of soul to each track. In early 2023, Burt’s grandfather passed away, but his spirit lives on in the legacy left by his grandson’s music.
Traffic Fiction promises to be a version of Burt “confidently bending a sentimental past to his present will.”
