NED LEDOUX

AUGUST 15 | 8PM

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Must be 21 or older to attend. Doors open one hour prior to show start time.

Ned LeDoux’s life has been scarred by tragedy, and when faced with unimaginable losses, the singer-songwriter was presented with a choice: either drown in the sorrow, or turn these lives gone too soon into music, into song-like statues of the people he misses most. LeDoux, who has been releasing solo music since 2017 but has been a touring musician since his teenage years, has always opted for the latter. It’s what has made the songwriter and son of country legend Chris LeDoux such a worthy heir apparent as a renegade, heartfelt crooner. 

His first full-length, 2017’s Sagebrush, includes “Forever A Cowboy,” an instant classic addition to the outlaw canon which quickly became a fan favorite and a staple at his shows — of which he performs at least 200 every year. On his most recent album, Buckskin, LeDoux embraced a rollicking, freewheeling sound, a pummeling response to the hand he’d been dealt, which included tragically having to bury his beloved daughter Haven, who died at the age of two in 2019. It’s this history, filled with loss — his pops died in 2005 at the all-too-young age of 56 — that informs LeDoux’s work. But in his latest album, touchingly titled Safe Haven, he uses the memories of those he has lost to help him carry on with joy, celebration, and a faith that they are guiding his work.

LeDoux’s mission in music has always been clear, a philosophy that rings more loudly now than ever before. “I’m just trying to write my own story and I’m a terrible pretender. I can’t write a song that I have no relation with because people would figure that out pretty quick. I’ll just stick to what I understand,” he explains. It’s precisely what reveals itself on the first taste of Safe Haven, “One Hand In The Riggin’,” an old cowboy tune that LeDoux has an intimate relationship with.

There’s a singer from Utah named Brenn Hill, who asked my pops way back when to sing on one of his songs, called ‘One Hand in the Riggin’,” LeDoux explains. “It was never released with my dad’s vocals, but Hill recently reached out and asked if I wanted to sing on it, and include the vocals he recorded with my dad.” The younger LeDoux was blown away by the gesture and immediately recorded his own vocals that would be featured on the track. Even though Chris LeDoux has been gone for almost 20 years, Ned gets to sing with his pops one more time on the contemplative “One Hand in the Riggin’,” which is deeply emotional while still being an absolute rocking romp. 

Deciding to name the project itself after his late daughter is less a way to move on than to acknowledge the ways in which he’ll never be the same again. He’s bruised and battered, but unwilling to drown beneath the torrential wave of grief that comes at unexpected times — like an unexpected swell crashing violently onto shore. “I got a picture of me and my daughter hanging on the wall where I write, and I was brainstorming album titles one day. I just wrote her name down and thought that her name, Haven Jo, would be a good album title.” LeDoux explains. “Well, about three or four days later, my younger brother Will, who I was talking ideas with, texted me and asked, ‘What do you think about Safe Haven as a title?’ It was just a perfect fit.”

Though LeDoux spends time on the record singing about missing his pops and his daughter, he also dedicates some space to the ranching life he grew up with, and that he still immerses himself in when he’s not on the road or in Kansas with his wife. They spend a ton of time on the family ranch in Wyoming, which helps LeDoux remember his early years as a drummer, gigging with his dad and returning home to help the family operation run smoothly. “Those songs just come from all the years of working on the ranch, which we still have,” he explains. Though his visits aren’t as frequent as they used to be, he still considers the sprawling acreage home. “The ranch is going to be in the family as long as I have anything to do with it,” he adds.

Though Ned LeDoux has been in the music world since he was a teenager, he’s been writing and recording his own songs for less than a decade. As such, Safe Haven and “One Hand in the Riggin’” in particular are, by his estimation, far and away the artistic statements he’s always wanted to make. “My songwriting maturity is more confident than it’s ever been before,” he explains before adding that his fans will still recognize some of his signature style. “There’s also some stuff on here that relates very well with what I’ve done already, because it’s familiar and comfortable.” Safe Haven is an intoxicating blend of risk-taking, bold songwriting, and songs that find LeDoux in his familiar, comfortable territory. Both sides of the coin are equally worthy pursuits, one a reminder of where he’s been, and one an assurance that the path forward is still worth exploring.