Chance McCoy Chases Dreams while Hitting the Road with Old Crow Medicine Show
- Jason Young
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
“You’d think you’ve hit the jackpot—you’re on a tour bus, and everything’s gravy. But it’s far from it. It’s intense,” McCoy admits during an interview.
Leaving The Old Crow Medicine Show to pursue his own creative path in 2019, McCoy once again rejoins the band as a multi-instrumentalist.
“I just finished up a new record with Old Crow, so I've been in Nashville all week doing music videos for that,” shares the Grammy award-winning solo artist. “They’re promoting the album, and they have a new booking agency, too.”
McCoy reflects on a tour that will take him and his bandmates across the United States and then to Europe where they will perform in the Netherlands and Spain.
“I feel like the hardest thing about a tour is your health. It is a brutal business. ‘I didn't realize I was signing up for a 60-year bus ride,’” McCoy says, quoting country legend Merle Haggard.
Despite apprehension, he knows it’s necessary. “I'm still pretty much a working-class West Virginian; it just happens that my job is music, but I haven't gotten wealthy doing it.”
Tonight’s show is at the Grand Ole Opry, then off to MerleFest.
“I've been thinking about MerleFest a lot, because we're going to [play there]. That’s one of the first places I went to when I was starting to learn old-time music,” recalls McCoy.
“I was 20-something years old and just starting to play mandolin. Seeing people like Nickel Creek and Doc Watson on stage was a really cool experience!”
While playing with the country-flavored Old Crow Medicine Show, McCoy remains committed to studying old-time musicians like Doc Watson.
“I spend my free time learning new music. You can't give up on that, or else you die as an artist.” He rediscovered “Shady Grove.” “I'd heard Doc Watson's version, and I was like, man, this is so cool—this is the version I want to learn.
“He's doing these licks that I've never really thought about before,” explains the native West Virginian.
“I'm thinking about folks like Doc and thinking about his story and his buddy Clarence ‘Tom’ Ashley,” shares McCoy. “How much would we have missed if these guys didn't have the longevity they had?
“The most important thing in my life is to go study with the generation that's left,” explains McCoy. “People like Gerry Milnes and folks like that. I want to document them and learn as much as I can from them before they go so I can be the next person to pass it on.”
As a solo artist, McCoy wants to tell the stories behind the songs.
“How cool would it be to get a banjo, sit down, and play a show focused on Appalachian music, storytelling, and ballads? Part of that experience is listening to the performer tell stories about his life, or the history behind the tunes.” Says McCoy.
“My biggest touchstone for this is the Hammons Family recordings. Half of the record is songs, and the other half is stories—and the stories are absolutely amazing!”
He’s building a fan base. “I am in phase one of a multi-phase career revival,” explains McCoy. “I just announced my first solo show in five years.” Like most artists, McCoy stopped performing during COVID.
“I took a step back from live music during the pandemic, built a studio, and became a music producer for five years.”
“The idea is that at the end of that year, I will have rebuilt a fan base that is sustainable enough to start releasing solo music again. If everything goes right in 2027, I'll start releasing a single every two months.
I know it's good not to have expectations," says McCoy, keeping a realistic attitude, “But I need dreams. I absolutely have to have something to look forward to. I'm a dreamer, 120 percent.”
McCoy believes there’s a bright future ahead.
“I feel very good about reigniting my career as a traditional solo musician. I want to make my own music; Joining Old Crow gives me the space to do that.”
Going on, “I'm at a time in my life, [when] if I can grab an opportunity by the horns—I'm going to!”
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