“I met a woman at a coffee shop I frequented in Paris, Tennessee” Fate McAfee recalls. “She was a bit older than me, but we hit it off and talked for a while. She was a preacher and had children. Suffice it to say: I was ill-suited to court her, being an itinerant musician and all. Nonetheless, we had sparked each others’ interest, and I left the encounter with a challenge from her: if I could write a song, then I should write her a sermon. So, I went home and wrote the song.”
Following the release of 1 March’s Diesel Palomino, the folk-rocker is making a splash with the debut of a music video to accompany its latest single. “Preacherwoman Blues” features melodious finger-picking courtesy of McAfee at its musical forefront, all while he recalls such a standout moment in his travels in vivid, piquant fashion.
For an artist who started his career busking the streets of Denver, Austin, New Orleans, and Nashville, writing and recording a song centered around such a recollection and promise feels like stepping into the troubadour’s shoes and walking in them for a while. It’s an inviting look through a coffee shop window that feels all too natural for a songwriter like McAfee to effortlessly relay. Featuring shots of McAfee and actress Melanie A. Davis wandering a church and its wooded surroundings, the picturesque video is just as captivating in accentuating the story as it is woven.
“Preacherwoman Blues” is from McAfee’s latest LP, Diesel Palomino, which is out now via Slough Water.