Some albums hit and fade out quickly, while others have a long shelf life, slowly revealing themselves over repeat listens, accompanying the listener across extended periods of time, seasonal changes, and life’s ups and downs. 

Fort Worth, Texas songwriter Keegan McInroe‘s Dusty Passports and Empty Beds was released in 2024, and I wrote about the single ‘Traveler’s Wind’ when I premiered the clip earlier this year, describing it as “a drifter, a languid, poetic sway of a song that gently rises and falls like its namesake winds.” Now McInroe reveals the wonderful video for the album title track.

The song is one of those loping country rock gems, with harmonica, supremely lyrical guitar lines, and a beautifully laidback rhythm section that hits one hell of a sweet groove. With mentions of John Prine, Paul English, Billy Joe Shaver, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Charley Pride, the song remembers lost friends and mentors amid the cruel yet unavoidable passing of time.

The animated video (by Nick Potts) perfectly captures the essence of the song with cosmic backdrops of long desert highways, big skies, as it illustrates the journey of a travelling troubadour.

Keeping in spirit with his aforementioned predecessors, Keegan has spent the better part of the last two decades traversing the roads, wildernesses, and cities of the Old World and New, weaving the resulting experiences and observations together with varied influences from folk, country, and the blues to create an original and evolving tapestry of story-driven American roots music. 

McInroe has shared the stage with Leon Russell, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Willis Alan Ramsey, Otis Taylor, Shovels & Rope, Kaitlin Butts, Charley Crockett, and others. 

Dusty Passports and Empty Beds is out now on Bandcamp and streaming services.