Americana Music Magazine – Bluegrass, Roots, Folk, Blues, and Old-Time
As the “baby” of his musically-inclined family, Kansas City singer-songwriter Bill Abernathy recalls being “the little eight-year-old kid that was hanging around watching my brother sing folk music…with a bunch of his friends in the living room.” Music became an important part of his life, as well.
But despite performing throughout his youth and into adulthood, Bill opted for the “practical” approach: “I decided…that raising a family as a singer-songwriter sitting on a chair in the corner of a coffee shop was maybe not the best way…” He spent 43 years living the American dream—but never stopped playing and writing music in his spare time. And after getting his kids off to college successfully, Bill turned his focus back to the music.
In about 2014, Bill says, “I looked in a drawer one day and saw a whole bunch of ideas for songs I’d written down, and sat down and started finishing them up.” Despite cutting what he considers a “rough” record with some friends, “…there were a couple of songs on that album that got some attention, and the process began.”
Fast-forward to 2024 and Bill’s musical dream continues rolling out nicely, with four albums, ample streaming chart success and radio airplay as proof. His latest album release is More, which dropped in September 2023.
“I’m a lyrics-first guy,” says Bill. “…I write the story, I write what I want to say, and then I figure out what genre of music would maybe be best to make that palatable…” The result is an eclectic mix: “The More album actually has about six different genres of music in it, which is kinda cool…everything from rock to pure acoustic…”
About More, Bill continues, “It’s fun to get in the studio and just turn the guys loose…and say ‘What do you think about this? What would you do here? That’s where some of the more interesting songs [come from]…On the title cut, there are some things on there that we did with guitars that actually sound like…whale songs…That’s what makes it fun.”
To find out more, visit www.billabernathy.com. Listen to the interview here.
By Dan Walsh