I never thought I’d see the day…
Tyler Childers and Elle King teamed up for a live duet of “Jersey Giant,” a formerly-unreleased Tyler gem, which has been a fan-favorite for many years.
Tyler used to perform it here and there at live shows, but had never included it on an album or officially cut it in the studio. He retired it a long time ago before he ever did much with it, but last year, he gave the tune to Elle and she included it on her debut country album, Come Get Your Wife.
Like most of us, Elle of course loved the song from the first time she heard it, and was ecstatic that Tyler gave it to her to cut:
“Tyler Childers is not too far from where my family lives and he’s a legend. The life of a song is something so beautiful to me, and country music has taught me to see that the opportunity to sing a song written by someone else, is nothing short of a gift, a blessing.
When you hear a song and say ‘I wish I wrote that’ you know it’s a good’n. I was humbled and so excited that Tyler gave his song to me. I tried to blend the two worlds of honoring traditional bluegrass and what country music is to me.
Thank you, Tyler, for your music, and thank you for entrusting me with this gift. I’m so excited for everyone to hear it.”
Tyler added that he wrote the song over 10 years ago, noting that it has a rare bridge we don’t typically hear on any of his other music, which is kinda neat to listen to if you’re a music nerd like me.
He says he wore it out pretty fast, though, and didn’t play it very long, so he was excited to hand it over to Elle to breathe new life into the track:
“I wrote ‘Jersey Giant’ over ten years ago and only performed it for a short period of time. I was pleased with how it turned out structurally (it even has a bridge, which is rare for me), but I was over performing it pretty fast.
I reckon that’s just how songs go sometimes. They can be like that coat you saw and had to have, only to get it home and think, ‘Why gah, I ain’t never gonna wear this thing.’ Or, one that you got from an ex which you would rather just toss out.
But that’s not saying anything against the coat, it just doesn’t fit me anymore and hasn’t for some time.”
And lucky for us, they got together to sing it live on stage at a show in Lexington, Kentucky the other night.
At a stop for her A-FREAKIN’-MEN tour at Manchester Music Hall on Sunday evening, she brought Tyler out to sing with her, which I can only imagine was a helluva surprise for the fans at the show in his home state of Kentucky:
Now all I can think is that we need a studio duet of them singing together, and while it feels like Tyler might be reluctant to do so, Elle got him on stage to sing the song, so hey, never say never…
Elle will also open for Tyler on his 2023 Send in the Hounds tour at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on August 2nd and 3rd, and his tour officially starts on April 14th.
Elle’s studio cut:
Send in the Hounds tour dates:
December 10—Asheville, NC—Harrah’s Cherokee Center (SOLD OUT)
February 9—London, UK—Islington Assembly Hall
February 10—London, UK—Islington Assembly Hall
April 14—New Orleans, LA—The Fillmore*
April 16—Georgetown, TX—Two Step Inn (SOLD OUT)
April 20—Irving, TX—The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory†
April 22—Rogers, AR—Walmart AMP‡
April 24—Phoenix, AZ—Arizona Financial Theatre#
April 26—Santa Barbara, CA—Santa Barbara Bowl#
April 27—Berkeley, CA—The Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley#
April 30—Indio, CA—Stagecoach
June 6—Detroit, MI—Masonic Temple Theatre+
June 8—Chicago, IL—The Salt Shed^
June 9—Maryland Heights, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre St. Louis^
June 11—Cleveland, OH—Jacobs Pavilion+
June 14—Minneapolis, MN—The Armory~
June 15—Kansas City, MO—Starlight Theatre~
August 2—New York, NY—Radio City Music Hall×
August 3—New York, NY—Radio City Music Hall×
August 5—Boston, MA—Leader Bank Pavilion
August 6—Portland, ME—Thompson’s Point**
August 10—Philadelphia, PA—The Met
August 11—Columbia, MD—Merriweather Post Pavilion††
August 13—Raleigh, NC—The Red Hat Amphitheater‡‡
August 15—Charlotte, NC—Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre##
August 16—Charlotte, NC—Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre##
August 18—Wilmington, NC—Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park‡‡
August 19—Charleston, SC—Credit One Stadium‡‡
September 27—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre‡‡
September 28—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre++
*with special guest Wayne Graham
†with special guests John R. Miller and Wayne Graham
‡with special guests Charley Crockett and Wayne Graham
#with special guest Charley Crockett
+with special guest Miles Miller
^with special guests Marcus King and Miles Miller
~with special guest Marcus King
×with special guest Elle King
**with special guest Margo Price
††with special guests Drive-By Truckers and Abby Hamilton
##with special guest S.G. Goodman
‡‡with special guests S.G. Goodman and Abby Hamilton
++with special guests S.G. Goodman and Wayne Graham