| The material on ‘Love Hope Trust’ was culled from a collection of songs Roger wrote during the pandemic and onward. The title track opens the record with a lone roots-rock shuffle riff played on an acoustic guitar. Then, as if a camera pans to a widescreen shot, the full band enters with a nuanced rhythm section groove, and Larry Campbell’s elegant, rockabilly-esque lead guitar figures, and Jason Crosby’s organ fills weaving in and out. Down the center, Roger’s vocals cut through, rhythmic yet melodic, stating the facts of this frightening time while also dishing out some hope. He sings: Let’s go back to the beginning/Time to pay some rent/all this time we’ve been moving/Hard to believe where we went/Troubled hearts and spinning wheels/Trouble blowin out and in/The butterflies in my stomach/Wonder when this too shall end. ‘Love Hope Trust’ is the fourth installment in a second chance-era of musicality. Roger left music behind for 25 years before resurfacing with his acclaimed 2014 debut, The Waiting Sky. He returned to music after experiencing a series of seismic life changes, including the deaths of his father and mother, marriage and, later, the births of his two children. Today, with a well-received album catalog, an engaged fanbase, and a lot of road work under his belt, Roger has created a robust and respected artist profile. “I feel like I’m on the right path, and I’m still growing. I think it took me longer to get smart enough to write these songs,” he says with a good-natured laugh. “Now, I get to make up for lost time, and I am really lucky because I don’t have a lack of inspiration—something always comes to me when I sit down with my guitar.” Stay tuned for continued updates. | 
