Free at Noon Flashback: Jeremy Ivey introduces himself with thoughtful folk rock

Today’s Free at Noon was a journey in musical discovery courtesy of singer-songwriter Jeremy Ivey, who just released his debut album The Dream and the Dreamer. The Nashville-based performer is relatively new to the spotlight, after spending his career as a behind-the-scenes fixture in bands like Secret Handshake and Buffalo Clover without thinking he’d ever make his own music.

It was encouragement from his wife, the country artist Margo Price, that convinced Ivey to make a go of his solo career. Price also produced The Dream and the Dreamer, and the multi-talented pair have collaborated on each other’s music. “I want to prove that you can be in your 40s and be at the peak of your creativity,” Ivey said in a statement about the new record. “Not a has-been, but as an ‘is-being.’”

Backed by his band The Extraterrestrials, Ivey gave us a taste of the new record today. Playing harmonica and acoustic guitar, Ivey’s songs are sometimes sparse and laid-back, while others surge into dynamic full-band territory. He introduced the contemplative “Greyhound,” inspired by a cross-country bus trip, played the despondent “Falling Man” solo, and closed with album single “Diamonds Back To Coal.”

Amid all the new album tracks, the set’s highlight may have been a brand new song, which Ivey co-wrote with Price; called “Someone Else’s Problem,” it required a close and thoughtful listen as Ivey tackled timely social and political issues, and was met with thunderous applause. Cheered on for an impromptu encore, the singer’s first-ever, Ivey pulled out another unreleased tune, “All Kinds of Blue.”

The Dream and the Dreamer is out now on Anti- Records, and Jeremy Ivey plays a sold-out show at MilkBoy tonight with Ian Noe and Dylan Jane. Revisit today’s Free at Noon performance in the photos below.