Michael Lee & the Wartime Limousine Cut Their Debut Where Leon Bridges Started in Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth, Texas blues singer Michael Lee has a new band and a new chapter. Michael Lee & The Wartime Limousine release their self-titled debut album Friday, Oct. 30, on Skylark Soul Co., and they cut it at Niles City Sound, the Fort Worth studio known for helping launch Leon Bridges' career, according to Grateful Web.

From a three-chair turn to the B.B. King Blues Band

Lee earned a three-chair turn on NBC's The Voice with B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone" and joined Blake Shelton's team. Fort Worth Weekly reported in 2019 that he auditioned in Houston five days after his wedding and lasted 15 episodes before going out in the live playoffs.

His goal going in was modest. "Man, my whole goal was to just go on TV and not suck," he joked to Fort Worth Weekly. Lee always wanted to be a guitar player; he only started singing at 17, when the singer he was backing lost her voice.

The TV moment opened a big door. Lee recorded "The Thrill Is Gone" with The B.B. King Blues Band for their 2019 album The Soul of the King, and the band brought him on the road that year. Grateful Web notes the pandemic cut that tour short.

A band with serious credits

This isn't Lee's first record. He released a self-titled solo album on Ruf Records in 2019, produced by Nick Choate and Nick Jay, which he described to American Blues Scene as "retro-Texas rhythm and blues with a helping of rock 'n' roll."

The Wartime Limousine is a fuller machine. Lee handles vocals and guitar alongside keyboardists Chad Stockslager (of Joshua Ray Walker's band) and Jordache Grant (of Abraham Alexander's band), pedal steel player Will Van Horn, a frequent Khruangbin collaborator, bassist Daniel Balis and drummer Matt Trimble of Bastards of Soul, per Grateful Web.

Love, lost and won

"The core of this album is love, lost and won," Lee told Grateful Web. New single "Drowning" hits close to home: "I've been down this road myself, so this one comes from a very real, heavy place," he said.

The 10-song set opens with "Starlight," runs through "Lesser Than A Better Man" and "End of the Line," and closes on "I Am Yours."

The band previewed the material Sept. 17 at Visit Fort Worth's Cowtown GitDown showcase at Tennessee Brew Works in Nashville during AMERICANAFEST, a fitting stage for a Fort Worth group with a Niles City Sound pedigree.

Where to listen and follow

Pre-save and stream through the album link from the band's announcement: ffm.to/pnkjkne.

Sources

Grateful Web — "Michael Lee & The Wartime Limousine Announce Debut Album"
Fort Worth Weekly — "The Thrills Are Just Beginning"
American Blues Scene — "Michael Lee To Release Debut Album on Ruf Records"