Lathemtown

Lathemtown is the name of the north Georgia rural community where artist Kurt Lee Wheeler was born and raised. It is where Wheeler taught himself the guitar and began making his own music as he grew. In the 80s, he joined the Air Force and expanded his musical influences. He took some time off from music in the 90s to focus on teaching and raising a family. He came back to music in 2010 and now has developed an acoustic style that showcases his songwriting.

On this new album, Wheeler, who plays guitar and sings, is joined by Jeff Partin (producer, guitar, resonator guitar, bass, vocals), Aaron Ramsey (mandolin, banjo), Jake Stargel (guitar), and John Rice (fiddle), along with guest Jesse Williams (vocals).

This project is a featured collection of original tunes written or co-written by Wheeler and includes a couple of covers. There is a cover of the Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These” written by David Grohl, and a really nice cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.” Wheeler’s songs include “Bus Depot,” “Faces,” “First Choice,” “Tin Buckets,” “Can’t Fool Fate,” “Cactus Flower,” “Portland,” “Girl From California,” “Too Much Time,” “Cherokee Country,” and “Hesitant Father,” co-written with Wayne Bagwell.

This is a very nice project from Wheeler that showcases his writing and features some great playing and arrangements from the musicians.