Oscar Winner Ryan Bingham Releases ‘Junky Star,’ Performs At Street Date

It’s not every day that we host an Oscar winner for a musical performance at Street Date. It’s even more rare that an artist shows up with a batch of new songs produced by T-Bone Burnett, and stories from the year that changed this young man’s life forever.
Ryan Bingham‘s new album is called Junky Star and it’s his first effort since rising to fame on the back of his tune “The Weary Kind” – last year’s Oscar winner for Best Original Song. Check out his song “Depression” below, and click through to hear the rest of the acoustic studio session.

Ryan Bingham has been creating gritty, haunting alt-country songs for years, both as a solo artist and with is band The Dead Horses. But he didn’t get his star turn until last year, when he was asked to submit some music for a new film that was being produced, about a down-and-out country singer given a second shot at life. Bingham wrote the song “The Weary Kind” after reading about the character (played by Jeff Daniels) and the rest is history. Soon Bingham found himself working with super producer T-Bone Burnett, learning the ropes of Hollywood music-making, and crafting additional songs that would be used in the movie. Bingham and members of his band even appear in the film, at one part taking the stage as a backing band for Daniels’ character.

Ryan Bingham Photos“Depression” is one of the new songs on Junky Star, and it’s a song Bingham says came to him as he’s traveled around the U.S. over the past few years, noticing the poor state that many of our cities and rural areas are in. Though not an intentionally political song, it nonetheless serves as a comment on contemporary times. According the Bingham though, “it’s not about being depressed – it’s a love story.”

“Hallelujah” is a different type of song, one that Bingham wrote to shed some light on the homeless community in the U.S., a topic that he feels most people overlook. The idea came to him after an encounter in a Chicago alleyway, where he and a band-member were nearly robbed by a homeless man outside the back door to a bar. The song reflects on the life of the man in that alleyway, and the fears and motivations of everyone involved in that incident. Take a listen to “Hallelujah”:

The final song that Ryan Bingham performed for Street Date was the one that made him famous. Click play below to hear this amazing solo rendition of “The Weary Kind.” If you’ve seen the movie, this will put you right back into the shoes of Jeff Daniels and his character, living out his wasted days and bearing his pain on stage. Check back next week for video of Ryan Bingham performing these songs live at Street Date.

The Poet
The Wandering
Strange Feelin’ In The Air
Junky Star
Depression
Hallelujah
Yesterday’s Blues
Direction Of The Wind
Lay My Head On The Rai
Hard Worn Trail
Self-Righteous Wall
All Choked Up Again (w/ T-Bone Burnett)