Midwest State Of Mind: Kevin Morby Explains 'Sundowner'

XPN | By John Myers,

Published March 23, 2021 at 3:00 PM CDT

Would you call yourself a country person ... or a city person? Even if you are a city person, there might be times you wish you could get away, slow down the pace, listen to the crickets and watch the fireflies. That's where Kevin Morby's new album, Sundowner, takes you.

Kevin Morby has lived in the biggest cities in the country – in New York, in Los Angeles – but a few years ago, he settled back down in Kansas City, where he lived for part of his childhood. In this session, Morby gives us a look into how living in Kansas City shaped that album, and he'll play you some of the songs from Sundowner, beginning with one called "Valley."

John Myers

Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.

See stories by John Myers

Raina Douris

Raina Douris is the host of World Cafe.

See stories by Raina Douris