BONNAROO SPOTLIGHT: Charles Wesley Godwin

Today starts the beginning of Nashville.com’s “Bonnaroo Spotlight” series. From now until we get to the Farm we will be spotlighting various artists making 2024 performances.

Our first artist is Charles Wesley Godwin. A native of West Virginia, Godwin makes cinematic country-folk that’s as gorgeous and ruggedly raw as his homeland. It’s Appalachian Americana, rooted in Godwin’s sharp songwriting and backwoods baritone. With 2021’s How the Mighty Fall, he trades the autobiographical lyrics that filled Seneca — his acclaimed debut, released in 2019 and celebrated by everyone from Rolling Stone to NPR’s Mountain Stage — for a collection of character-driven songs about mortality, hope, and regret. The success of How the Mighty Fall led to a year of touring with GRAMMY-nominated breakout Zach Bryan, where the two quickly formed a close friendship. The result was a number of collaborations, including standout duet “Jamie,” and two features on Bryan’s live album. Godwin ended 2022 with a string of sold-out headlining shows, spurring a wave of touring momentum moving into 2023, with notable sellouts at venues like Stage AE in Pittsburgh, Penn., and The Bluestone in Columbus, Ohio. He’s performed at festivals like Two Step Inn, Railbird, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Farewell Fest, and this year he’ll play Bonnaroo on 6/16.

Today, Charles Wesley Godwin releases the Live From Echo Mountain EP via Big Loud Records. (Watch a performance of “Dance In Rain” from the EP above) After recording their breakout album, and Big Loud Records debut, Family Ties at the revered Asheville, NC studio, Godwin and his band the Allegheny High returned to Echo Mountain to reimagine eight songs from the album, stripping things down and putting a new spin on each track.