Larry Keel and Jon Stickley – Larry Keel and Jon Stickley (self-released, 2025)
Veteran guitar flatpickers Larry Keel and Jon Stickley have released their first duo EP on September 5. The eponymous, self-produced set captures two long-time collaborators trading rhythm and lead on acoustic guitar with clear, uncluttered arrangements grounded in American roots music traditions.
The five-track release presents three songs with vocals and two instrumentals. Keel contributes two originals and revisits “Sailor Suit,” written by Acoustic Syndicate’s Steve McMurry, while Stickley contributes both instrumentals.
Track highlights show the project’s range. “Future Ghost” opens the album. It is a tightly woven instrumental written by Stickley during early parenthood, urgent in motion yet ultimately hopeful. Stickley
calls this piece “very freeing and exhilarating…I wrote this song shortly after becoming a dad. I was
trying to process the enormous weight of responsibility and reflections of my own mortality while in the
depths of the joy and chaos of living with a newborn. It’s a somewhat tense composition, but the overall
mood is hopeful.”
“Sailor Suit” features Stickley on lead vocal, paying homage to a formative influence. The song was written by longtime friend and colleague Steve McMurry and originally released by his band, Acoustic
Syndicate, on the album Tributaries in 1999.
“I was fired up to learn Jon wanted to cut Steve’s ‘Sailor Suit’ as one of our tracks on this EP,” explained Keel. “For one thing, I love to hear Jon sing, and this was such a unique and surprising choice that I couldn’t wait to hear how he wanted to present it with two guitars. It came out so great! Jon’s voice is full of purity and abandon, capturing the spirit of adventure and imagination that Steve wove into the story of his boyhood daydreams as a sailor on the high seas. And I love the big, open, syncopated rhythm of the
song.”
Stickley added, “Acoustic Syndicate has been one of my favorite bands since I heard them in high school,
and over the years they have become good friends. Larry and the McMurrys have always been close, and
Larry even played on the original album that this song was on. I thought it would be very full circle to
record this song that I’ve always loved so much.”
Larry continued, “I’ve known Steve McMurry and the Acoustic Syndicate family band since their inception
in the mid-1990s. We were all playing similar circuits around the country and especially in the South.
Promoters liked putting us on the same bill because we all love each other and would jam together on
stage (and off) at every opportunity. It’s a lot like what my band and Jon’s have experienced together over
the last 20 years or so—being together at so many of the same events, teaming up on stage and at
campsites or dressing rooms or hotel rooms—and just enjoying playing and sharing ‘the road’ with each
other… definitely like a musical family. Steve’s songwriting has always been a huge inspiration to me in
my own endeavors as a songwriter, and his writing and singing, always make you see and feel the story.
Jon achieves the same connection with his handling of this song. It was such a pleasure to record it with
him and take part in paying tribute to our friend and fellow musical hero.”
Keel’s “Pioneers” reflects miles logged along the Oregon Trail corridor in the late 1990s.
Keel says “Pioneers”, “There was lots of time to take in the landscape and get inspired by the route taken long ago by settlers looking to find their place in the new American West. My song is an account of some
features of these travelers’ experience: the rough and challenging landscape, the hope of new
opportunities and planting roots, and the living and the dying as they staked their claims.”
The song originally appeared in 1999 on Keel’s album The Sound. Stickley says, “This is one of my
favorite songs of all time, so when we got together for this project, it was my first suggestion. It’s an
absolute classic Larry vocal tune.”
“Stylistically, the song really came together as I performed it live on many occasions with Tony Rice, who
really dug playing it. He stamped his signature on the kick-off, and it’s what I play to this day,” added Keel. “I picture him every time I perform this song, the stance of a man with a determined, strong, iconic Wild
West vibe about him. I wish Tony could hear Jon play. They’re both pioneers, in my book.”
“Take the Air” settles into an unhurried 7/4 groove shaped by the spirit of bluegrass musicians David Grisman and Tony Rice. Stickley conveyed, “I wrote this tune around a riff that I kept coming back to during the pandemic. It always helped me relax and get my head into a more positive space. I love listening to what Larry does on this one!” The song was originally released by Jon Stickley Trio on their 2023 album, Meantime’s Up.
Lastly, “Starborn” closes as Keel’s tribute to the late Jeff Austin, underscoring the importance of mental health. Larry commented, “It’s about the performing life of a very dear friend and groundbreaking musical artist who inspired me and countless other people, but who ended by taking his own life. The shock of losing him in such a devastating way brought the importance of mental health into sharp focus for me. I wrote this song in tribute to his amazingly bright and engaging outward persona and also to his broken inner spirit whose cries for help we never heard. I hope my sentiments can help him in his journey ever after. Rest in peace, friend.”
Stickley added, “I was so happy when Larry brought this song to the table. Jeff Austin was a close friend of
ours, and Larry and I both played in his band at times. He was a very strong presence, and his energy
could be explosive with a tinge of darkness. We were devastated to lose our friend in 2019, but I’m so
glad this song exists because it really captures his spirit.”
I had a friend one time
Had such a troubled mind
Whose light burned bright
On everyone in sight
And we all thought that we knew him
But always saw him in the light
His soul goes running through the night
Keel shared about the album, “I’ve wanted this project to happen for so long! Jon and I have been on many of the same bills all over the place for so many years, teaming up in jams, sit-ins, and campfire pickings, and yet we’ve never gotten our fill of playing together as guitar players—which we both seem to crave. So, now we’ve put this guitar duo act in motion, playing shows and making a record, and it feels great getting to scratch that itch.”
“The music flows out so naturally when we jam together,” said Stickley. “From the moment I sat down
and started trying to flatpick the guitar, Larry has been one of my biggest inspirations. We’ve become
friends over the past 20 years, and I’m thrilled and honored to have this opportunity to collaborate on a
deeper level. As soon as Larry and I started playing shows as a duo, we knew it was something special,
and we started talking about recording. We have both worked so hard to follow our own unique paths and
create our own original styles, but this project has given us a chance to get back to our roots in the style
of Norman Blake and Tony Rice, Doc and Merle Watson, and the Monroe Brothers.”
Years of shared stages at Strings & Sol, Jam Cruise, DelFest, Hulaween, Suwannee Spring Reunion & Roots Revival, Hoxeyville, The Bender Jamboree, WinterWonderGrass, and Billy Strings’ Renewal have influenced the duo’s rapport. The recording distills that history into an intimate conversation between two guitars and two voices. It is focused, agile, utterly delightful, and unmistakably theirs.
Keel added, “This project with Jon Stickley is a very progressive collection; we wanted to really challenge
ourselves, and see how these original tunes would come out with just the two-guitar treatment. Jon’s
composing and his playing techniques make me rise to my best, most concentrated self. I mean it with all
my heart when I say he is a true inspiration to me as a guitarist and as a human being. I am honored to
have created this unique piece of art with him.”
Buy Larry Keel and Jon Stickle.
Author: Ryan Emmert
