The funny, never-ending tour of Steve Poltz

Lauded folk singer, humorist, songwriter and guitarist Steve Poltz is perfect for lightening the load of those who feel the heavy burden of the world. For decades, he’s been touring, writing songs, and basically going around cracking people up.

“I’m excited for the upcoming tour,” Poltz said. “I guess it’s a never-ending tour…I’ve been on it since the 1980s.”

The pickin’ is strong, and the songwriting is great, but Poltz is unique because one of his sets also feels like a stand-up routine. It makes you want to dance. Smile. Laugh. Cheer. It makes you love Steve Poltz.

“Some people are drawn to just staying home and writing songs for other people. Others are road dogs,” he said, describing his life.

Don’t be fooled. Poltz loves barking down that road, but he’s also sat down long enough to pen songs for – or with – some of the biggest names in roots music. Jewel. Billy Strings. Molly Tuttle. Sierra Hull. Mojo Nixon.

Perhaps his most notable songwriting credits are numbers on Jewel’s debut album, “Pieces of You,” including the hit song “You Were Meant for Me,” which hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

He loves collaborating with others but is most driven to explore every nook and cranny. It’s what keeps him going.

“I’m a true rambling folk singer,” he explained. “I just remember, as a little kid, looking at a map and thinking, ‘What are people like over THERE?’”

He’s discovered that despite the continued homogenization of the American landscape, where the same Cracker Barrel appears everywhere, “every town has its own special funky vibe.”

He said an “energy exchange” happens between audience and performer—a kind of synergy. He dishes up humorous folk with a rebellious spirit—almost punk-folk, if you will. Between songs, he tells engaging, side-splitting stories. In return, the audience gifts Poltz with genuine, uproarious laughs.

In addition to thriving on this change of place, he thrives on changing up what he does every single day. Each performance is a one-of-a-kind experience of humor and heart.

“What I love about travel is I’m anonymous every night in a new town,” he said. “I can be who I want.”

“I think what keeps it fresh for me is, for better or worse, I never use a set list,” he said. “It’s just unadulterated thoughts coming out of my head. It’s kind of shambolic and haphazard. I know it’s gonna be like a science experiment, and I hope the energy causes an explosion onstage. I hate to overthink it,” he added. “It’s a magic trick, and the magic involves energy.”

Poltz said he strives to create a space where people might “forget how awful the world can be.” He wants to manifest a “short sonic journey” where he and the audience can “throw our worries out the window.”

Poltz said he has “17 or so records.” Once, he was signed to Mercury Records, but it sounds like he’s more about doing exactly what he wants as an artist.

“I think they wanted me to be more serious,” he said. Talk to the thoughtful but lighthearted Poltz for even a few minutes, and it’s clear that playing it “serious” would be an unreasonable, perhaps even impossible, expectation.

“One of my superpowers was sort of the gift of gab,” he explained when asked what makes his personality so much fun. “Humor has always been a part of who I am.”

He said he was picked on a lot when he was a kid and could somehow talk himself out of trouble by being verbally sharp. Combined with an interest in music – and discovery of songwriters, storytellers and performers who influenced him – people such as Bob Dylan (“I became a Dylan-ologist!”), Jerry Garcia and Louden Wainwright III – his talents eventually coalesced onstage to create something rare.

“It’s hard to find your voice as a performer,” Poltz explained, but he said he took some cues from these guys. (“Loudon…he had humor and pathos.”)

Poltz said he might put another album together soon. It will consist of songs he recorded live in Nova Scotia.

“I’m still excited that I get to do this…I can’t BELIEVE I get to do it,” he said of his hilarious, decades-long tour.