Singer-songwriter Tré Burt joined Midday Music host Evan Miller on October 25 for a live studio performance and interview. He released his album Traffic Fiction on October 6, his third full-length release on late singer John Prine’s Oh Boy Records. In the interview, Tré talked about how Traffic Fiction was shaped by his relationship with his grandfather, who exposed him to soul music as a child. He also talked about meeting John Prine in Nashville in January 2020, shortly before the singer’s death. Tré performed several songs from the new album live in the studio on acoustic guitar, including the title track.
Traffic Fiction is an homage to Tré Burt’s grandfather, “Pops,” the singer told Evan in their interview. When Tré was growing up, his Pops lived across the street from his mother’s home in Sacramento. He remembers spending hours together listening to artists like The Delfonics, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and The Temptations in his Pop’s car. “He gave me my love for soul music,” Tré said, “We did a lot of listening in his Cadillac on the way back from work. Just bumping.” Traffic Fiction is laden with the soulful sounds of Tré’s childhood. It is his first album to include rich orchestrated arrangements, like those employed by Detroit and Philadelphia soul giants, instead of just acoustic guitar. The album also incorporates actual recordings of Pop’s voice, such as the track “I’m Alright Pops, Just Tired,” where Pops asks in a weak-sounding voice if Tré is OK. Pops died in 2023, before the album’s release. Tré told Evan what it means to be on an album with his grandfather.
“We’re immortalized together now. That’s what it means to me. After I’m gone too, me and my Pops will be on this work of art together, forever.”
Tré also spoke about how he was signed to Oh Boy Records, an independent record label founded by John Prine in 1981. The label has released work by more than a dozen artists, including Tod Snider, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson and John Prine himself. Tré said he was scouted for the label by Prine's oldest son, Jody Whelan, executive of Oh Boy Records.
“[Jody Whelan] reached out in 2018. He found me on Spotify, and he dug it, and he showed it to John. Then I went out to Nahsville to play a show— my first show there. They kind of brought me out there to play this showcase. And they surprised me with John being in the audience… It was a 70 person room, max, and John, my idol— I could touch him. He’s like three feet away, just heckling me the whole time. It’s one of the most nerve-wracking experiences I’ve ever had. But a huge honor.”
Traffic Fiction, Tré Burt’s third album on Oh Boy Records, is out now for streaming, or for purchase on vinyl or CD via Oh Boy’s website. More information about his releases and upcoming tour dates can be found at www.treburt.com/.
Text by Peter Day, adapted from an interview by Evan Miller.
