See William Michael Morgan Take a Trip to ‘Lonesomeville’
We’ve all been there, that sad little place you land with a thud after a break-up. Newcomer William Michael Morgan has given that not-so-safe haven a name — “Lonesomeville” — and a melancholy theme song to accompany the tearful sojourn that happens there.
From his recently released self-titled EP, “Lonesomeville” conjures Morgan’s traditional country heroes, as the Mississippi native wallows in the bleakness of his broken heart, crooning of his solitary home, “It’s a small community/population me.” In this performance video premiere, Morgan sings the song with just his acoustic guitar in Music Row dive bar Bobby’s Idle Hour.
The song is in line with the artists the 22-year-old singer-songwriter discovered after his parents bought him his first guitar at age 11. “As crazy as it sounds I just locked myself in my room and looked up old YouTube videos on Keith Whitley and Merle Haggard,” Morgan tells Rolling Stone Country.
A few years later he had a deal with Warner Brothers and the powerful backing of his co-producers Scott Hendricks and Jimmy Ritchey.
The EP features contributions from A-list writers like Sam Hunt and Shane McAnally, who penned its first single “I Met a Girl,” as well as songs like “Lonesomeville,” which Morgan co-wrote with Mark Sherrill, Ash Underwood and Trent Tomlinson.
“I’ve been dreaming of Nashville since I was about four, so to finally see music that I’ve put my heart and soul into writing and performing, take off and be accepted by so many is heartwarming,” Morgan says of the EP. “It makes it feel like the blood, sweat and tears haven’t gone to waste.”