Tag: stetson

Charley Crockett is Suited for Rain or Shine

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

I had never met Charley Crockett before, though a list of our mutual friends would be long — and would span the country.  I first heard his music on NPR a year or so back and was struck by his style and voice.

I figured I was picking up a soon-to-be new friend as I drove up to meet him at the Basement East in Nashville. Within moments we took off towards our location, knowing the rain would begin to fall at any moment. However when on tour and just passing through a town, that one day is often all you have for the photoshoot — rain or shine. Naturally, we got straight to work.

I count it a very lucky thing that Charley happened to have the perfect two suits to completely match the color palettes I was working with. We started with any shots we could outside, and then the rain fell just in time to fog the car windows for our interior shots. I most definitely had to stand in the rain and cover my gear to protect it all from the elements, but it was so worth it to make these images. We talked about photography, working hard, tour, and life. It was nothing short of a wonderful start to a new friendship. Charley is such a world-class person and artist, and it was such a pleasure to finally befriend him and photograph him for this piece. — Laura Partain

Charley Crockett

Charley pictured in a custom Fort Lonesome suit, vintage Stetson Rancher hat, vintage bolo, and ’70s era Champion boots.

Details of custom Fort Lonesome suit and custom CC ring by Scott James Jewelry.

Charley pictured wearing a Rockmount custom suit from Pioneer House in Knoxville, TN, ’60s Texas Imperials cowboy boots, vintage Stetson Rancher hat, and his 1930s Le Domino parlor guitar.

Detail of the Rockmount suit, chain stitching by Union Western Clothing. A custom belt by Vincent Neil Emerson, CC ring by Scott James Jewelry, and a vintage ancient falcon necklace from Dolly Python.

Vintage ancient falcon necklace from Dolly Python, CC ring by Scott James Jewelry.

Charley wearing the Rockmount custom suit, ’60s Texas Imperials cowboy boots, and vintage Stetson Rancher hat with his 1930s Le Domino parlor guitar.

All photos by Laura Partain

Gig Bag: Langhorne Slim

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a new BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. For this inaugural feature, we look at what Langhorne Slim has to have handy when he's out on the road. Check out Langhorne's picks, and scroll down to see when Langhorne Slim & the Law hit a town near you.

Martin 000-15
For years, I've been a Martin man and recently have fallen in love with smaller-bodied guitars — this one is sweet as hell and has been a great road companion.

Stetson Limited Edition Stetson x Langhorne Hat
I just had the crazy honor of designing my dream hat with Stetson. This has been amazing for many reasons — one is that it makes figuring out which hat to take on the road a lot easier. [More info on the Stetson x Langhorne hat here.]

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
On this trip, I brought The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Bob Dylan's Chronicles — it's always good to read about adventures while you're on your own adventure.

Langhorne Slim & the Law 2016 Tour Dates
1/18  Wonder Ballroom @ Portland, OR*
1/19  Neumos @ Seattle, WA*
1/31  Cayamo Cruise @ Miami, FL (Solo Show) 
2/10  TLA @ Philadelphia, PA**
2/11  Terminal 5 @ New York, NY**
2/12  House of Blues @ Boston, MA**
2/13  9:30 Club @ Washington, DC**
2/14  9:30 Club @ Washington, DC**
4/01  Savannah Music Festival @ Savannah, GA
4/30  Stagecoach Festival @ Indio, CA
 

Lede photo courtesy of All Eyes Media

Stetson and Mitra Khayyam Create Custom Waylon Jennings Hat

Posted on by Editor

Waylon Jennings devotees know that the outlaw country pioneer was a bit of a devotee himself … to Stetson hats. Now, fans can get their own recreation of the Stetson hat Jennings wore on the cover of his 1979 Greatest Hits collection.

Stetson teamed up with the Waylon Jennings Estate, clothing company Midnight Rider, and Midnight Rider's Creative Director Mitra Khayyam to create "The Lash," a custom Stetson that incorporates all of the details from that original Jennings hat. 

"The Lash" is made of 6x fur felt, a slightly upturned brim, a braided outer band, and a roan leather inner sweat band embossed with Jennings' signature and "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys." The collaboration, which has been in the works since 2012, was recently released for purchase to the public.

"Working with Stetson has been a real treat," Khayyam says. "I had the opportunity to design the hat from the ground up with their team. They were true to every detail — from the sweatband with 'My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys' stamped on it with foil to matching the leather braided hat band to Waylon's original. Stetson's team knew that Waylon's fans would want a hat they could both wear and keep as a collector's piece, and worked with me to ensure that customers were getting quality and authenticity in their product."

Khayyam, whose Midnight Rider manages all merchandise licensing for Jennings, initially connected with Jennings' team via Twitter. "I was the founder and curator of the artist-based clothing line Blood Is the New Black (since sold) and Shooter Jennings, Waylon's son, was a fan of the line," she explains. "We became 'Twitter friends' and, after a few months, he sent me a message asking if I'd be interested in being Waylon's merchandising manager."

Khayyam keeps pretty busy these days, as Midnight Rider's licensing collection continues to grow. "We currently hold licenses for Jennings, Bob Dylan, the Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Townes Van Zandt, Nudie's Rodeo Tailors, John Wayne, the MC5, Roach Studios, Billy Joe Shaver, Janis Joplin, and Woodstock. I launched Midnight Rider in 2012 with Waylon Jennings as our first licensed artist, and have added about a dozen artists to the mix. I'm a huge collector of vintage t-shirts, specifically country music ones. I was finding that it was harder and harder to nab them after a while, so I decided to make my own."

As for future outlaw-inspired projects? Khayyam has her ideas. "I would love to do more collaborations going forward," she says. "We have nothing on the books right now, but I think home fragrance is high on my list. I mean, can you imagine a Waylon Jennings- or Billy Joe Shaver-scented candle?"

Buy your own Waylon x Stetson hat here. 

Photos courtesy of Mitra Khayyam and Stetson