Live on Red Barn Radio I & II
combines two EPs -- one released in 2013, the other in 2014 -- from
Tyler Childers
, both capturing his on-air live performances at the Lexington, Kentucky staple Red Barn Radio. He had previously self-released the Bottles and Bibles album, so these EPs didn't mark his debut, yet this stripped-down setting helped emphasize his earnest, clear-hearted delivery and sturdy songwriting. Listening to this record in the wake of
Purgatory
, the
Sturgill Simpson
-produced 2017 album that brought this Kentucky native to a wider audience, it's possible to hear the foundation of all of what
Childers
achieved in the years to come. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine