The past decade has been anything but dull for Chris Holt.
The Dallas-based singer-songwriter and guitarist released his last solo album, Stargazer, nine years ago. In the span of time between that record and his just released fourth and latest solo album, Across the Milky Way, Holt has performed with global (Don Henley, Mike Campbell, the Eagles) and local (Bastards of Soul) talents. Those commitments, while fulfilling, also proved a bit stifling to his own solo career.
“There’s my job world, which is all the touring gigs and sideman work that I do,” Holt said during a recent conversation. “Then there’s the side of me that’s the fledgling songwriter trying to be an artist. It’s nice to get back to doing my own thing again after so long.”
Befitting someone with his resume and Rolodex, Holt has assembled an extraordinary group of musicians for a one-night-only album release performance at the Kessler Theater on May 16. Holt will be joined by Big Mike Richardson, Eric Neal, Paul Averitt, Bill Porter, James Driscoll, Graham Norman, Tom Bridwell and John Dufilho — and for now, this date is the only one Holt has planned to promote the record.
I spoke with Holt about the perspective a supporting role provides, just how revealing his songwriting really is and why he keeps pushing himself to create. The following conversation has been lightly edited and condensed.
Being part of Bastards of Soul, supporting others on the sideman gigs — does that give you a different perspective on your own work? That’s another big shift for you from Stargazer to Milky Way. You’ve had so much more exposure to all this stuff.
Holt: Yeah, it’s just interesting seeing how other people approach production and other people approach songwriting. Some people are really good at writing songs face to face together, or some people were like Mike Campbell. What Mike does now is he writes his own songs, because he no longer has Tom [Petty] as a songwriting partner. The way he used to do it, he would just write music and then give it to Tom, and Tom would pick and choose which ones: “Oh, I like this one. I’m going to write ‘Here Comes My Girl’ over the top of this guitar thing you’ve done.” My songwriting process hasn’t really changed all that much, but what I’ve learned from other people that I’ve worked with in the studio is the way they produce — there’s a ton of restraint. They tend to remind me that less is more.
“I Can Only Be Myself” feels like, of all the songs you’ve written, probably the most mission statement-type of song. I know it’s probably not explicitly about you as a creative person, but I feel like it certainly pops out as a kind of statement of intent, if nothing else.
Yeah, I agree, and it is autobiographical in the sense it stemmed from a conversation I was having. I won’t call anybody out for it, but it was a creative conversation and the argument was, “It sounds too much like you,” and I literally said to this person, “I can only be myself — I’m not gonna apologize for that.” This was equals sparring over a song and an arrangement and a composition, but that just stuck in my head for a few days. I was like, “Why can’t I be me? Why can’t I play the way I play? Why? I’m good at what I do.” That was where the song was born from — it came about right at the time when I reigniting that flame for making a solo album.
Something that strikes me is that, considered from one perspective, you could shelve all this. The day job could be the fulfillment, what satisfies that creative impulse. But you still feel the need to push yourself — do you ever stop and go, “Why am I putting myself through this?”
It’s never really been a question as to why I would write a song. I’m not a very disciplined writer. I just wait for that moment where I hit a chord, or sometimes I’ll just hear a little melody in my head and then I’ll walk over to the piano and be like, “What is that?” There’s always got to be some sort of spark for me, but I do find those things come pretty regularly. So, it’s not ever torture for me to have to sit down and do it. I don’t ever think of that as a burden.
Christopher Holt at Kessler Theater, Dallas. 8 p.m. May 16. Tickets are $25-$360.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
