“Another Town” was written by Tom T. Hall, the country songwriter whose narrative-driven style earned him the nickname “The Storyteller.” Hall recorded it himself in 1973, including it on his album The Rhymer and Other Five and Dimers.
The song carries the close observation typical of Hall’s writing: a portrait of restless movement, of leaving one place behind for the next, that reads as both a literal traveling song and a study in not being able to settle. That economy of storytelling has long made Hall’s catalog attractive to bluegrass singers.
The flatpicker and singer Josh Williams recorded “Another Town” on his 2016 album Modern Day Man, one of several bluegrass artists to take up the song. Tom T. Hall’s material crossed into bluegrass so often, and he became such a friend and patron of the music, that songs like this one feel native to the genre.
