David G Smith

Prolific Americana songwriter and guitarist David G Smith releases his 11th LP, Witness Trees on June 2nd, an album about equality, love, death and legacy. Throughout Smith’s storied career, he’s collaborated with Mary Gauthier and Grammy winner Keb’ Mo’, been covered by American Songwriter, No Depression, Music Row, The Tennesean and many more. His songs have been featured on TNT, Lifetime Network, and the Travel Channel, and he’s shared bills with folks like Justin Townes Earle, Griffin House, Rory Block, Dave Moore and Kelly Willis.

On Witness Trees, Smith moves from blues driven roots music that showcases his masterful slide guitar work, to more story-driven folk rock. It’s an album about recognizing the injustices of the world, looking to our future, and acknowledging that we can do better.

“I was thinking a lot about the next generation with this one,” says Smith. “I was thinking about Malala Yousafzai who was shot in the head by the Taliban for fighting for girls’ rights to education. I was thinking about Greta Thunberg fighting for climate justice. And… I was thinking about my own granddaughters, and the world I’m leaving for them.”

Album opener “River Gonna Talk” is a Mississippi blues call to climate action. Smith’s slapback vocals mesh with his powerful and emotive resonator slide guitar, is reminiscent of Duane Allman’s iconic slide work. It dances with Dan Mitchell’s Hammond B-3 in a way that just feels cool. There’s a universality in his lyrics, “Blue Jay he don’t know his song / Summer wind won’t keep me cool / Mother Earth what are we doing to you,” that reflects our symbiotic relationship with our planet.

“Weight You Carry” channels the raw delta blues energy of Blind Willie Johnson or Skip James, but with a bigger, more modern production brought to life by Smith’s twanging resonator guitar and Alicia Michilli’s haunting backing vocals. It’s a song that imagines the difficulty of coming out as LGBTQ+ to friends, family and others that might not take it well, and the weight that’s lifted when you’re able to live as your true self.

“How do you let people know?” asks Smith. “What’s that journey? I heard someone say during an interview, ‘You don’t know the weight you carry before you come out.’”

The title track “Witness Trees” carries the album’s theme of egalitarianism and fighting for the rights of the disenfranchised. The symbology of a tree looms large in the U.S. through the civil war, to lynchings, to modern day Jim Crow and the continuing fight for racial justice.

“Some trees have root systems that have lasted over 10,000 years.” says Smith. “How much of mankind’s poor treatment of each other have these trees witnessed?”

“Give Us Free” was inspired by the late civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis’ posthumous essay ‘Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation,’ and the provocatively titled “Women Are Not Equal” supports female equality.

“The album is a plea to recognize the past and, in many cases, the present, and own up to it,” says Smith. “We need to evolve into something better than where we’ve been and, in some cases, where we are. We can envision a better future.”

For “None of Em Dead” Smith relays, “We lost songwriters Bill Withers, David Olney and John Prine in 2020. This song is my offering to honor those songwriters who’ve come before me. I’m a link in a chain and happy to be a part of it.” 

Smith may belong in the pantheon of the great storytelling songwriters that he sings about in this ballad. Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and John Prine may no longer be on this Earth, but they live on through their songs. “Gone” was inspired by the Henry Van Dyke quote, “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” Smith found the quote on a pamphlet that he picked up at a friend’s funeral, and he has carried it with him for years.

The meditative and therapeutic “To Be Human” lightens the mood with an easy, lilting tune reminding us that we’re all human, that we should build bridges instead of looking for differences. 

The only song Smith did not write for this album came from his friend Dave Moore, artist and leader of the Prairie Home Companion band in its early days. “Let’s Take Our Time and Do It Right” brings some levity to an album full of heavy songs. It’s about not getting caught up in the rat race, slowing down and taking the time to take care of each other. That appropriately leads into the gentle soft-rocker “Some Love,” about finding that classic love story.

Album closer “I Wanna Go Out,” co-written with Smith’s frequent collaborator Tom Favreau, is about doing what you love until your last breath. The song touches on the death of beloved songwriter David Olney who suffered a heart attack while performing on stage in 2020, and country legend and yodeler Jimmie Rodgers who passed away 30 hours after recording his last song. Its foot-stomping cadence is anchored by Smith’s signature dirt-funk style guitar lick, and interlocks with Michilli’s gospel backing vocals and Mitchell’s playful piano lines.

Smith played in bands for decades before going solo. He’s been a professional songwriter in Nashville, a full-time artist and family man in Colorado, and now is based out of his native state of Iowa. He’s voraciously recording and touring, frequently visiting his 2nd home of Nashville to write, record, and organize shows at The Bluebird Cafe to play music with his friends. This journey has led to collaborations with his heroes, and to playing his song “Doesn’t Take Much Light” (written with Dean Madonia) to an arena of 5000 Eagle Scouts. Smith says, “You never know where a song is gonna take you.”

“I want to make quality material and honor my own life,” says Smith, “while being as truthful and authentic as possible. That’s part of paying it forward.”

Paying it forward is at the core of everything Smith does, particularly with his Give-Back Series where he donates a portion of all money that comes in to local charities like homeless shelters and national charities like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Witness Trees asks us to question our intentions in life. It’s an album about social justice, our time on this planet and what we leave behind. As Smith says, “It’s about our life, our contribution, our legacy.” Smith will continue touring until he can no longer, all the while giving back to the communities he visits, both financially and through mentorship programs. He’s a juried artist on Music for Life run by Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul & Mary) and his daughter, Liz. Witness Trees is built with the intention to inspire the next generation through music, and Smith is an artist who puts his money where his mouth is.

“People helping people may be the most important work in anyone’s life. I know it is for me,” says Smith.