Kevin Morby breaks Little Wide Open ahead of his Uptown show
Kevin Morby. // photo credit Chantal Anderson
Kevin Morby plays the Uptown Theater on Friday, May 29, with support from Liam Kazar. Details on that show here.
Musician Kevin Morby is a hometown favorite, but his appeal reaches far beyond the borders of Kansas City. His latest album, Little Wide Open, sees Morby collaborating with the likes of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Lucinda Williams, and more on his eighth studio album, produced by the National’s Aaron Dessner.
Widely compared to Tom Petty’s seminal Wildflowers, the album is calm and poetic, but no less powerful for it. Falling in line as the third installment of a trilogy with 2020’s Sundowner and 2022’s This Is a Photograph, Little Wide Open is the kind of record made equally for Sunday country drives with windows down, and all your friends singing in the backseat or a quiet listen alone.
Ahead of his hometown stop at the Uptown on Friday, May 29, we spoke with Kevin Morby via email about all things Little Wide Open.
The Pitch: What did moving back to KC allow you to do, musically? It seems like you’ve really leaned into the Midwest with the trilogy of albums, which concludes with Little Wide Open.
Kevin Morby: I think the biggest gift was that, compared to being in NYC or LA, where I had been living, Kansas City just inherently offers fewer distractions. Less to do, so less temptation. Those cities are amazing, of course, but it’s easy to be too social for me, and being back in the Midwest, for lack of a better word, brought in a certain sense of boredom that I’ve been able to wield into creativity. Boredom gets a bad wrap. Boredom can be amazing.
Where do you see collaboration in all of this? You’ve worked with so many people, up to and including Justin Vernon on this album’s “Badlands.”
Collaboration is the best part of making anything. I live for it. All these people who guest on my albums are just friends of mine who happen to be incredibly talented. I’m so blessed to know them. It comes very naturally – I’ll be working on something and think “you know who could really help bring this part to life?” and then we’ll make it happen. Collabing is usually just a great excuse to hang out and create some memories.
Speaking of “Badlands,” did releasing a single with the same name as a Springsteen classic that includes a Belinda Carlisle reference give you any trepidation?
Nope! I never set out to write anything. I just sit down and what comes out comes out, and I always try to honor that. First thought, best thought, kind of approach. Springsteen and Carlisle put some words and images into the songwriter’s tool belt, and I just reached out and grabbed them.
Why did you want to work with the National’s Aaron Dessner on Little Wide Open? It seems like you work with new people every other album, and Sam Cohen in between.
Again, it just sort of happened naturally. I opened for Aaron’s band, The National, in London, and Aaron reached out after offering to work together, and it felt like a light bulb going off. I had been searching for a producer, and it really just fell into place. I was excited, as a big fan of his work, and just him as a person. It was so wonderful getting to make this with him.
“Javelin” is a remarkably thrilling song, aided and abetted by the wonderful music video. Do you have any stories about riding on a four-wheeler with Caleb Hearon?
Is Caleb apparently a comedian? I didn’t know that until we posted the video, and it started getting all these comments about him being famous and having a podcast, or something. Caleb is my neighbor and offered to lend me his ATV for a music video but only if he got to drive it. He said he doesn’t trust anyone else behind the wheel. Nice guy! I’m excited to check out his stuff.
You made your late-night debut on Jimmy Kimmel’s show almost four years ago and returned to perform “Javelin.” Where does a TV performance allow you to go?
Who knows what being on TV actually does for your career in 2026? I know it’s not like it was in the 90s, but I grew up watching all the talk shows and it’s how I found out about a lot of my favorite bands. So I hope that being on one of these shows turns some people onto me. Regardless, though, it’s super fun to be in that environment, and I really love doing it. Long live late night TV!
How does a hometown crowd differ from places elsewhere, if at all?
More family, more friends, more ghosts! There’s, of course, always an added pressure to performing in the town that raised you. It feels like more work somehow, but with a bigger reward.
Kevin Morby plays the Uptown Theater on Friday, May 29, with support from Liam Kazar. Details on that show here.
