If Tomorrow Never Comes: Todd Snider

When you say the word “troubadour,” images are conjured of wide-open highways, dusty landscapes, empty stages and unknowns spaces with hopes of a crowd, maybe even a few shady characters in dark corners of situations you somehow found yourself in — unsure of what’ll happen next, let alone if you’ll be lucky enough to see the sunrise of tomorrow.

But, when you ask just what the definition of a “troubadour” is, well, singer-songwriter Todd Snider immediately comes to mind. A ragtag pied piper of sorts, Snider has remained (subconsciously and purposely) on the fringe of the music industry for most of his 51 years on this earth.

Born in Oregon, raised in Texas, Snider dropped out out of high school — dropped out of what one could label “a normal life,” really — and hit the road, eventually with guitar in-hand, unsure at first of how to play and sing, but never questioning once his true path — standing up there on one side of a microphone, ready to happily surprise any and all on the other.

Smoky Mountain Living recently caught up with Snider while he was barreling down the road to the next gig, next chance to prove to those willing to simply listen, that his music and presence is something of a blessing in this wild, wondrous, and sometimes unmerciful world of ours.

Interview with Todd Snider (Part #1):

Interview with Todd Snider (Part #2):

(Editor’s Note: Todd Snider will be performing at 7 p.m. Friday, April 27, at the Salvage Station in Asheville, North Carolina. Rorey Carroll will open the show. Tickets are $20. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on www.salvagestation.com.)