May 6th, 2022 6pm Stage 1
Couldn't Be Happiers
The Couldn't Be Happiers are a married, songwriting alt-country/Americana duo from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The duo draws its Texas country vibe from Jordan Crosby Lee (guitar and vocals), a Texas native who decided he was supposed to have been born in North Carolina. Jodi Hildebran Lee (vocals, percussion, and harmonica) was born and raised in North Carolina.
The duo’s first full-length album, "Songs for Butchie" is being released in three parts, with the first four songs having been released on November 3, 2021, the second four songs having been released on December 3, 2021, and the last volume (consisting of four songs and a bonus track) scheduled for release on March 23, 2022. The album is named in honor of Jordan's late father, John Lee, who passed away on November 3, 2020, from a rare, but aggressive brain cancer. "Butchie" was a nickname Jordan gave his dad years ago that just stuck. He was undoubtedly the band's biggest fan, and his faith in Jordan and Jodi is what drove them to finally write and release this album. Even while he was lying in his ICU bed, Butchie would ask Jordan's sister, Casey, to stream Couldn't Be Happiers songs for him. The first volume featured four songs, including "November," a song Jordan wrote for Butchie. The third volume is extra special because it includes “Restless in Texas,” a song Jordan wrote at the age of 18 – a song Butchie heard hundreds of times at Jordan’s earliest gigs in Texas. Butchie never missed a gig. And he never hesitated to help break down and haul equipment. So, it is only fitting that we include it on the album. But, the third volume has another special song: “Gone Squatchin’” – a song about a man who leaves his career and family to search for Bigfoot. That song was the one song that the late Dr. Billy Hamilton, Jordan’s music mentor (and so much more), always asked Jordan to sing for him. Dr. Hamilton passed away just 11 months after Butchie did.
The duo was blown away by the love the first two volumes of their album received from fans, friends, family, and music blogs. They are so happy to share the final volume with the world. “Mid-Size City” is the lead single off the third and final volume of “Songs for Butchie.” The song pays homage to mid-size cities everywhere, using the duo’s own adopted home city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as the vehicle. That song is followed by “Frankie Silver (Take It to The Grave),” a ballad in the Appalachian tradition about one of the first women hanged in North Carolina for the alleged ax murder of her husband. Their retelling of the story is a not-so-subtle commentary on the powerful role men played in her life and death. The third song on the album is “Restless in Texas,” a song Jordan wrote after barely escaping a card game gone bad in Texas. The last song on the third volume is “Gone Squatchin’.” And just because they could, as a bonus track, they recorded a special version of “Restless in Texas” – “Butchie’s Version,” as they call it – in the style he would have known and loved.