(The Life and Times of) Johnny Moonshine

Step inside any dusty ol’ dive bar or tavern across America, and chances are there’s a fella in there telling stories. The reality of the tale is usually not the most important – or entertaining – aspect of the experience, and neither is how that legend got passed on to the storyteller in the first place. What matters is the people, the situations, and the tribulations, and how we react to what we’re told says more about us than it does the parties involved.

Dirt Road Souls have their own tale to tell, and it’s one with a deliberately uncertain sense of reality and a timeline that stretches back to when our ancestors ruled the roads. It’s the story of Johnny Moonshine, the type of reckless Midwestern rebel we all once knew, and the type of kid we, at one point, at least, always wanted to be.

The titular character now finally gets his flowers, and the excesses of his legend are brought into the modern-day through the Boston-based Americana trio’s ambitious and eclectic roots rock opera (The Life and Times of) Johnny Moonshine, due out Friday, April 3.

Marking Dirt Road Souls’ debut album, (The Life and Times of) Johnny Moonshine is a sonic story wrapped in restlessness, rebellion, love and loss. Chronicling the rise, fall, and enduring spirit of a small-town rebel with big dreams and a bigger heart, told through the lens of a close friend and narrator, the record follows the mythic arc of our anti-hero Moonshine — a backroad dreamer, moonshine runner, hopeless romantic, and overall tragic figure.

And it’s told through the wistful, panoramic lens of Dirt Road Souls, a new band composed of Boston music scene veterans Davis Black (vocals and guitar), Rick Weden (drums), and Brian Sargent (upright bass and mandolin).

“Johnny is a charismatic kid in a small town,” says Black. “He could really do anything he wants. But he runs moonshine in Choctaw, Oklahoma. There are epic dirt road parties. Boy meets girl. Boy has dreams. Boy gets himself into trouble… then it may or may not go downhill from there, with moments of hope sprinkled in, because y’know, it’s not over ’til it’s over. Johnny Moonshine reminds me of a couple of friends from my small town who had incredible potential and lost it all.”

Across 12 tracks, each with its own chapter and personality, the legend of Moonshine unfurls as a poetic odyssey of freedom, failure, and attempts at vindication, all wrapped around the Boston trio’s knack for yearning Americana, melodic country rock, story-based Southern gothic, and even some ‘50s-era Sun Studio vibes permeating through.

“Johnny always stays a step ahead of the law and in a short time he's attained near-legendary status,” Black adds. “A smart kid, who could succeed at anything he wanted, dreams of a life in New Orleans making the myths on the casino boats. His girl Jenny has other plans. What follows are tales of bad decisions, consequences and ultimately a chance at redemption.”