The timing could not have been better for all involved. I was getting ready to lock the script for String episode 268 with Charlie Worsham when news broke that he was being made a member of the Grand Ole Opry. I was able to include the moment in the opening of the show. How it unfolded said a lot.
Charlie, you see, has parallel lives as an artist/frontman and as a guitar-playing, award-winning sideman. And on a recent Friday night, he was in his comfortable spot on stage behind Vince Gill, who was playing a positively Springsteenian three-and-a-half-hour show at the Ryman Auditorium. During a pause in the action, Gill told the audience that he was about to “fulfill a dream for someone (who) deserves this more than anyone I know.” Worsham had to unstrap his guitar to walk the 20 feet to center stage to embrace Gill and receive his ovation. Worsham’s voice trembled with emotion as he said that his plan was to follow words that Vince himself had said upon entering the Country Music Hall of Fame: “Now I’m gonna go earn it.”
One nice thing about this Opry invitation is that it wasn’t sparked by country hits, because Worsham’s personal but classic country sound hasn’t been widely embraced by narrow-minded commercial radio. Instead, the Opry was recognizing something more enduring and true to the spirit of Music City - Worsham’s all-around nimble and creative musicianship, his songwriting, his voice, his guitar playing. He’s the kind of music-maker that keeps Nashville honest and moving forward, even if he’s not a household name.
When we talked, Worsham didn’t know he was about to get the Opry nod of course, but he addressed his famous versatility head on. “You know, for a long time, being a multi-hyphenate, I felt like (that) maybe worked against me,” he said, referring to the singer-songwriter-producer-player construction that often attends his name. (His industry peers recognized him in 2024 with an Academy of Country Music Award for Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year and two Country Music Association awards - including the prestigious Musician of the Year prize.)
“But after Covid, I found that it helps me in a very meaningful way, in that I'm able to pivot and entertain all of these parts of music that intrigue me and that I love to get involved in.”
When Charlie Worsham first appeared on The String in 2017, we talked about his upbringing in Grenada, MS, his early ties to Marty Stuart, who became an early champion, and his years studying at the Berklee College of Music before he came to town. Now, as he approaches 20 years as a versatile Nashville professional, we focus on his recent (amicable) departure from major label Warner Nashville after a 12-year relationship and the release of his newest project Once Upon A Second Time Around, which is now out through the distribution company ONErpm.
The title track comes from a number of years back, a song he wrote with his friend Jay Knowles that sat unheard and unused until Worsham’s song publisher pulled it out during an A&R session for this project. It certainly deserved a prominent place on a quality country album, with writing that captures abundant scene and character in a few carefully chosen words and details. It was inspired, Charlie says, by his night-time walks to the studio in Boston years ago, seeing folks in recovery standing outside a church at night smoking and talking after a meeting. In the song, two foundering souls meet, find something to talk about, adopt a dog and remake their lives. It’s profound and easy on the ears all at once.
“I've always loved when country music shines a light on people who've been through it. You know?” Worsham says. “It's certainly true of my life that if you're really out there living, chances are you're going to have to start over at some point and reinvent yourself. And there's a real beauty in that. There's a beauty even in the sadness of it and parting with the old version of yourself. There's just a real grace you can give yourself (about) swinging that bat at life again.”
The other song playing a central role on the record is “Wrap My Porch Around,” a Worsham collaboration with Jaren Johnston and Jesse Frasure. It captures the domestic bliss he’s enjoyed with his wife (whom he married in 2018, soon after our first interview) and his two kids. On one hand, it’s a list song, which is so common and kind of worn out, but the tropes are charming and authentic, and the song gets two treatments - a country studio side and a bluegrass take with the Travelin’ McCourys, which ends the album with an extended guitar jam between Worsham and the great Cody Kilby.
We talk about bluegrass for sure, because it’s central to Worsham’s journey (he was a banjo picking champ who took his victory to the Grand Ole Opry stage at age 12) and his heart. And because it’s clicking in the marketplace along with some excellent country and Americana crossover music from the likes of his album guests Stephen Wilson Jr, and Laney Wilson. I half joke in the setup of Episode 268 that Worsham is my “Music Row whisperer” who keeps me reassured that the burning heart of the industry is heading in the right direction.
“I think it's a great time. I think we're going to look back at this moment as a real high water mark for the industry, not just in how great the music's being made, but our audience is bigger than ever. We're growing the borders of country music around the globe,” Charlie says, pointing to the famous Chris Stapleton performance on the CMA AWards with Justin Timberlake in 2015 as an early harbinger of change. It just took years for that spark to work through the system.
“There have been these great authentic artists here all along, but the moment finally caught up to them. And boy, what a gift to get to be here.”
