There ain’t many better than Ryan Bingham.
The country artist turned Yellowstone star has made his mark by crafting stories of heartbreak and hope, love and loss, mixing them together in beautiful songs sung from an achy heart.
His performances of “Hallelujah” and “Wolves” for Yellowstone are him at his best.
During Covid quarantine, like most artists, Ryan was looking for a way to stay connected and play a little music so he came up with the Cantina Sessions, where he post an acoustic song or two a week to YouTube to give the fans something to get them through.
He started with his own, but once it became clear this thing was going to be around a bit longer than expected, he started diving into some covers.
Most people would whip out some old country classics, keep it simple, but not Ryan. He went for some deep ones and honestly, I would have been disappointed if it were any other way.
Here’s five of Ryan Bingham’s best covers
John Prine – “Illegal Smile”
Posted the day after John Prine passed away, Ryan summed it up perfectly…
“Well you guys, some days I don’t really have the words. Maybe it’s best we let John do the talking today.”
Bruce Springsteen – “Atlantic City”
In my opinion, this is by far the best Springsteen song. Riley Green also did a hell of a cover on his Country Line EP, safe to say this one makes the transition to country quite well.
Guy Clark – “Dublin Blues”
Guy Clark is one of those songwriters that’s had such an influence on music as a whole it’s hard to fully grasp. This song was the title track to his 1995 album, and one of his most popular to this day.
Brandi Carlile – “The Story”
Brandi Carlile is an artist I need to get more into this year. Everything I’ve heard from her so far has been incredible, including the story (pun intended) of this one. Truly a heartbreakingly beautiful piece of writing.
Jimi Hendrix – “Voodoo Child”
Talk about a cover I did not expect. This would fit right at home in a Yellowstone cut scene and honestly I’m surprised at how well he pulled it off.
Ryan is obviously no slouch, but it’s Jimi freakin’ Hendrix… well done sir.
