BAKER: Scott Tournet has spent his life chasing music. From the woods of Vermont to stadium stages across the world, his journey has always been about finding a sound that speaks to him, and now he has found a new sound with his latest solo album, "Home". I'm Preston Baker for Delmarva Public Media. I spoke with Scott about his life, his influences, and the moments that led him to his musical career today.
TOURNET: My wife and I bought a home on having two children, and so more of a sense of home and watching my kid get on the school bus or making lunches or very simple things like that, which I never thought I would have. Musically I knew that I wanted to be like a troubadour singer songwriter guy. And then one day I woke up and I was like, now's the time.
BAKER: That stripped down honesty didn't happen overnight. Tournet grew up off grid in rural Vermont where creativity filled the silence.
TOURNET: I grew up in Vermont. I lived without electricity for a pretty large portion of it, so there was a lot of time in the woods by myself and with a little Cassio keyboard, [and] it was battery powered, so there was nothing to do except for be creative.
BAKER: From those woods Tournet found his way to Goddard College where his world opened up.
TOURNET: It was a bit of a culture shock. It was very unique and it was different musically as well. There was crazy avant-jazz. It just kind of opened a lot of doors for me and showed me that no path is closed. That was the gift it gave me among some other things.
BAKER: That freedom eventually led to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, the band that brought him to Coachella, Lollapalooza and beyond.
TOURNET: We traveled around the country in an RV and a van and drove 20 hours straight, missed weddings and birthdays and completely committed to a pretty radical lifestyle and got to play at Big Lollapalooza and Coachella and Japan and Australia and found tremendous success.
BAKER: But success also raised questions.
TOURNET: It was really fun for the first couple shows to play in a football stadium, a pretty cool experience. Then after 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 shows and I just felt really, really disconnected from it and I was like, why are we doing this? And is that always the answer to everything? To always just get bigger at any cost? So I decided to step away and do something different.
BAKER: Stepping away meant rebuilding; from playing in bars to experimenting with new bands, to eventually coming back to the East Coast during the pandemic. That's where he found his footing again and the inspiration for his latest album "Home".
TOURNET: I moved back to the East Coast and I wanted to play rock and roll music again and acoustic guitars, and it was crazy and I felt the season and felt more like connected to my roots again, like I had scratched the itch of music and wanted to do what was more in my blood I guess.
BAKER: Now, that journey is bringing him to Delarva. Scott Tournet will take the stage at The Room, and he says the set will have something for everyone.
TOURNET: I will be playing. Songs like Jeff Tweedy, Neil Young, "roots" music I would say... a little bit of everything in there, but I'll be also playing [songs from my album] so go listen to that. You might like it. If not, that's okay too.
BAKER: From the backwoods of Vermont to festival stages, from rock bands to solo troubadour, Scott Tournet has never stopped evolving. His new album "Home" captures that journey. Soon, audiences here on the shore, will get to hear his new singles and more live at The Room at Cedar Grove in Lewes, Delaware. I'm Preston Baker for Delmarva Public Media.