John Moreland will perform at Hancher Auditorium on September 25 as part of the weeklong Infinite Dream festival. Other acts include noted experimental artists such as Patti Smith (as a poet and as a musical performer with a band), Meshell Ndegeocello, Andrew Bird, Madison Cunningham, and many others. All seats are general admission, and several happenings are free.
Moreland will sing and play unaccompanied for an onstage audience. The distance between him and the crowd will be minimal. “I play solo most of the time, just me and my guitar and my singing,” Moreland said over the telephone from his Oklahoma home. He said it really doesn’t matter where the audience is or what the venue looks like. He approaches each concert the same way, whether it’s held at a church, a bar, a school, or a concert hall.
Moreland frequently performs by himself. He said this works to his advantage because he sees himself primarily as a songwriter. Being able to deliver the material directly plays to his strength as both a lyricist and a vocalist because it compels people to listen to his words. The singer has a gruff and raspy voice that demands attention through its sheer emotionalism. You feel what he is singing and believe the artist must be sincere.
The Okie is also an expressive guitarist, especially on his most recent album, Visitor, his 11th full-length release. The album is a sonic departure of Moreland’s more Americana or electronic endeavors. It has an interesting creation story. Moreland purposely shut himself off from the world for a year (2023) and disengaged from technology as much as possible. This was well after the Covid crisis. The acoustic Visitor emerged from that isolation. While Covid once quarantined him in a negative way, his recent retreat mentally and spiritually refreshed him.
During his year off from using technology, Moreland listened more to nature, and to his own voice. He even took some field recordings, which he later incorporated into songs on Visitor, released this year. The album has received critical acclaim for its stark beauty and creative intelligence.
The celebrated TV host and political commentator Rachel Maddow has said of him: “If the American music business made any sense, guys like John Moreland would be household names.” Moreland said he enjoys the praise. “She’s got good taste. I feel proud that she likes my music!” Moreland’s songs may not necessarily seem political, but they have a serious edge. They are songs that may appear innocuous on the surface until one considers the implications, such as the tune that warns “The Future Is Coming Fast.” The future, in this case, is the end of the world.
The Oklahoman takes pride in being known as a weighty artist because of the seriousness of his topics. He deftly expresses his concerns about the environment, the state of politics, and other important matters. “My songs are all heavy—that’s pretty much true—but they are not all sad. That’s an oversimplification,” Moreland said. He’s happily married now, but when he was younger, he wrote more romantically somber songs. “Now the world makes me angry with all the terrible stuff going on,” he explained. “I’m sad about the way things seem to be going, but I also have a lot of gratitude for the good things in life. It’s not all bad!”
He eloquently expresses his personal frustration in songs with titles such as “The More You Say, The Less It Means” and “Ain’t Much I Can Do About It.” He also has written instrumental interludes that capture his mix of feelings.
That said, Moreland warned that he may tell a joke or two onstage, even though he’s never sure if the audience will get it. He said there’s nothing worse than having a joke flop because the audience doesn’t know he’s kidding. During our conversation, Moreland was very friendly, but he admits to having a scary and serious persona. This can create a mixed message.
As a musician, Moreland has performed alongside many of his alt-country contemporaries as part of a mutual admiration society. These include Jason Isbell, Lucero, and Patty Griffin. He has also collaborated with fellow Oklahoma guitarist John Calvin Abney for many years.
Despite Moreland’s appreciation of being onstage alone with just his guitar, he confessed he would love to team up with Bruce Springsteen. “There’s just something special about him,” Moreland said in a fanboy voice. Indeed, there are many similarities in the two artists’ songwriting styles. They write stories that convey the quotidian beauty of ordinary life and its hardships, the importance of people looking out for each other, and the value of doing the right thing. One might think of Moreland as the Oklahoma version of the New Jersey artist, who sees his state and its people as a synecdoche of the American dream.
“I got one speed. I know what I do and I know how to do it,” Moreland said with Popeye-like wisdom. He’s modest about his musical gifts and writing ability, but proud of it at the same time. He looks forward to coming to Iowa and connecting with the onstage crowd.