Jake Smith, better known as The White Buffalo, is set to release his first-ever live album, A Freight Train Through The Night, on September 20. This Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter-guitarist, originally from Oregon but raised in Southern California, has built a reputation as a powerful and prolific storyteller through his music. Now, he’s capturing the raw energy of his live performances in this new release.
Smith describes A Freight Train Through The Night as a reflection of his entire career, which spans over two decades of songwriting and performing. “This album spans my entire career, over 20-plus years of writing and performing songs,” he shares. “With more than a hundred songs to choose from, some of these tracks I wrote in my 20s, and others were born just years ago. We selected crowd favorites and some deep cuts to give them a new life.” He adds that the album also features a completely reworked version of “House of the Rising Sun,” which he wanted to make distinct from the well-known rendition featured in the TV show Sons of Anarchy. “This album has all the emotion and passion of the live experience. It’s visceral, in a way that can’t be attained in the studio. What we do live is wildly different than studio albums. Pure and raw, no backing tracks, no auto-tune, not perfect. It’s the three of us giving it our all in our purest form.”
Recorded live on March 1 and 2 at the Belly-Up in San Diego, A Freight Train Through The Night sees The White Buffalo reuniting with his bandmates Christopher Hoffee (bass/keys/guitars) and Matt Lynott (drums). The trio brought in Mike Butler, known for his work with The Rolling Stones, Reba McEntire, and Phoebe Bridgers, to record and mix the album. “You can feel the energy of the audience, that circular push and pull, between crowd and stage,” Smith notes. “It’s unique every night, every show. It’s that love and flow that feeds all of us. We are in it together, and you can really feel it in these recordings. We have a long history with the Belly-Up and brought in Mike Butler to capture the audio and mix, so this album sounds like you are in the room.”
The album, named after a line from the song “How the West Was Won,” encapsulates the nomadic life of a traveling musician and the band’s gloves-off approach to live performances. With A Freight Train Through The Night, The White Buffalo offers fans a raw and unfiltered experience, bringing the intensity and emotion of his live shows straight to their ears.
