John R. Miller’s “Ditcher” Is A Fever Dream Ode To Avoidance – Listen
Watch a full-band live performance of “Ditcher” from the Sound Emporium in Nashville here
New album Heat Comes Down out October 6th via Rounder Records
Playing Nelsonville Music Festival this weekend, Catbird Festival in August, Healing Appalachia in September - Fall headline tour begins September 27
“A well-travelled wordsmith mapping out the world he’s seen, three chords at a time.”
-Tyler Childers
July 19, 2023 – John R. Miller leans into the avoidant side of his personality on his latest single “Ditcher,” a slow-rolling standout from his upcoming album Heat Comes Down (out October 6th via Rounder Records). “Ditcher” is a kind of ode to the part in all of us that would rather stay at home or just not deal with much of anything. In addition to the album version, available this Friday, July 21st, Miller and his band recorded a languid, dream-like version at the Sound Emporium in Nashville, TN – watch that here. The song itself came to Miller during a particularly sleep-deprived part of the Heat Comes Down recording sessions.
“’Ditcher’ wrote itself after I’d been awake for about 36 hours,” Miller explains to BrooklynVegan. “I had been in a fever, recording and working on songs for several days in the basement of the house I used to live in in Madison, TN, and I started playing a melody that knocked me in the head. The words came out in about ten minutes and I made a fully-formed demo of it right away, which has maybe only happened to me a handful of times. I don’t know where it came from, but I liked it enough that it became one of my favorites on the record, as well as the source of the album’s title.”
Miller belongs to the rare breed of songwriters whose expansive introspection uncovers many truths about the state of the human condition. On Heat Comes Down, the West Virginia-raised, Nashville-based artist intimately narrates his sleepless nights and nostalgic daydreams, existential dread, and nuanced observations of the troubled world around him. But while a number of its songs convey a certain unease, Miller endlessly imparts the kind of lovely reassurance that can only come from shared catharsis.
The follow-up to his 2021 Rounder Records debut Depreciated—an album No Depressions says “casually saunters towards a full existential breakdown that’ll leave you gasping for air”— Heat Comes Down finds Miller teaming up with producers Andrija Tokic and John James Tourville (both known for their work with artists like Sunny War and The Deslondes). Over a 3-day session at The Bomb Shelter (Tokic’s Nashville studio), Miller joined forces with several members of his longtime live band (drummer John Clay Burchett, guitarist J. Tom Hnatow, fiddle player Chloe Edmonstone) as well as bassist Craig Burletic and Jeff Taylor (a multi-instrumentalist whose credits include Willie Nelson and Elvis Costello).
Miller has extensive headline tour dates into the fall, and will hit a number of summer festivals, including Nelsonville and Catbird. He’ll also take part in the Healing Appalachia benefit show in Lewisburg, WV in September. The show raises funds for Hope in the Hills, which helps support recovery efforts around central Appalachia.
John R. Miller 2023 Tour Dates
Jul 19 - Burlington, VT - Nectar's
Jul 21 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern
Jul 22 - Nelsonville, OH - Nelsonville Music Festival
Jul 26 - Thomas, WV - Purple Fiddle
Jul 27 - Winchester, VA - Bright Box Theater
Jul 28 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern
Jul 29 - Galax, VA - The Blue Ridge Music Center
Aug 19 - Aug 20 - Bethel, NY - Catbird Music Festival
Sept 21 – 23 – Lewisburg, WV – Healing Appalachia
Sept 22 - 23 - Whispering Beard Folk Festival - North Bend, OH
Sept 27 – St Louis, MO – Off Broadway
Sept 29 – Denver, CO – Cervantes’ Other Side
Sept 30 – Boulder, CO – eTown Hall
Oct 4 – Bozeman, MT – Rialto Bozeman
Oct 5 – Columbia Falls, MT – The Coop
Oct 6 – Spokane, WA – Lucky You Lounge
Oct 7 – Walla Walla, WA – Billsville West
Oct 8 – Bellingham, WA – The Shakedown
Oct 10 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
Oct 12 – Portland, OR – Show Bar
Oct 13 – Talent, OR – The Talent Club
Oct 14 – Albany, CA – Ivy Room
Oct 15 – Mariposa, CA – The Grove House
Oct 16 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy + Harriet’s
Oct 18 – Costa Mesa, CA – The Wayfarer
Oct 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Gold-Diggers
Oct 21 – Phoenix, AZ – Last Exit Live
Oct 24 – San Antonio, TX – The Lonesome Rose
Oct 25 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
Oct 26 – Austin, TX – The White Horse
Oct 27 – Fort Worth, TX – Tulips
Oct 29 – Little Rock, AR – White Water Tavern
Oct 30 – Oxford, MS – Proud Larry’s
Nov 2 – Chattanooga, TN – Songbird South
Nov 3 – Macon, GA – Grant’s Lounge
Nov 4 – Atlanta, GA – Vinyl
Nov 5 – Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre
Nov 7 – Charleston, SC – The Charleston Pour House
Nov 8 – Durham, NC – Motorco Music Hall
Nov 9 – Richmond, VA – The Camel
Nov 10 – Thomas, WV – Purple Fiddle
Nov 11 – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant Street
Nov 12 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café
Nov 14 – Washington, DC – Pearl Street Warehouse
Nov 15 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Café
Nov 16 – Newport, KY – The Southgate House Revival
Nov 18 – Lexington, KY – The Burl
Nov 19 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley
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Download new press photos here (photo credit David McClister)
Download Heat Comes Down album cover here
For more information on John R. Miller, please contact Rob Krauser at REK Room Media, rob@rekroommedia.com or 917.703.8361.