Exclusive: Pokey LaFarge Shares His New Single, “End of My Rope”

Singer-songwriter Pokey LaFarge shares his new single “End of My Rope” via Paste today (Feb. 6). “End of My Rope”—the second single to be released for LaFarge’s first new album in over three years, Rock Bottom Rhapsody—brings folk music and rock ‘n’ roll together in a way that feels fresh.

“I like to think of ‘End of My Rope’ as kind of a Charlie Feathers meets The Everly Brothers meets T-Rex kind of sound,” LaFarge tells Paste, continuing:

For me, the foundation of the song’s meaning is in the opening line: “Growing up was easy for some, but not me, and getting older is the same old story.”

So we have a subject who is looking back over all the years that have passed, and feeling all of his mistakes turned into haunting memories—memories of missed opportunities, and all the friends and acquaintances that have become so distant over the years. He has a flood or a confluence of emotions, feeling like everyone and everything has seemingly slipped through his fingers. He’s overwhelmed, but he knows there’s only one thing for a singer to do: get back up on stage and “let the spotlight shine the skin off my bones.”

A collection of 13 tracks produced by Chris Seefried (Fitz and The Tantrums), Rock Bottom Rhapsody is set for release on April 10, LaFarge’s New West Records debut.

“The man singing these songs isn’t exactly the same man that wrote them,” says LaFarge in a statement. “This album is about the story of who I used to be.”

In 2018, LaFarge experienced a complete downward spiral into a dark place of self destruction and anxiety. “It’s a case of me writing the story and writing the song, and then unfortunately living it,” he reflects. “I was going towards the darkness. Destruction definitely ensued; self-sabotage and self-destruction definitely happened.” 

In fact, his darkness, temptation, and what he calls “evil spirits and demons” took over his life.

Rock Bottom Rhapsody comes from the perspective of a soul in crisis, but shortly before the recording of the album, LaFarge experienced a spiritual awakening—what he recalls as “finding God.”

His newfound faith pushed him to finish recording the album and to make a piece of art with dark tracks that eventually found their light at the end of the tunnel.

Check out the Paste-exclusive track below, along with LaFarge’s 2017 Paste Studio session. LaFarge has also announced his tour in support of Rock Bottom Rhapsody, which starts April 24 in Rotterdam and begins in the U.S. on May 8 in Asheville, N.C. See all tour dates below. You can preorder Rock Bottom Rhapsody here.

Pokey LaFarge Tour Dates:

April
24 – Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Maasilo 
25 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso 
26 – Berlin, Germany @ Roadrunners Paradise 
29 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie 
30 – Antwerp, Belgium @ De Roma 

May
01 – Lessines, Belgium @ Roots & Roses Festival 
02 – London, U.K. @ Islington Assembly Hall 
08 – Asheville, N.C. @ The Grey Eagle 
09 – Mt. Airy, N.C. @ The Earle
10 – Charleston, W.V. @ NPR’s Mountain Stage
13 – Lexington, Ky. @ The Burl
15 – St. Louis, Mo. @ Off Broadway
16 – St. Louis, Mo. @ Off Broadway
17 – Nashville, Tenn. @ 3rd & Lindsley (Lightning 100) 

June
02 – Maquoqueta, Iowa @ Codfish Hollow 
03 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ Fine Line 
04 – Chicago, Ill. @ Thalia Hall 
05 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Pyramid Scheme 
06 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ HiFi 
09 – Cleveland, Ohio @ Beachland Ballroom 
10 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Thunderbird 
11 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ World Cafe Live 
12 – Annapolis, Md. @ Rams Head Live 
13 – Jersey City, N.J. @ White Eagle Hall 
16 – Fairfield, Conn. @ The Warehouse 
17 – New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom 
18 – Boston, Mass. @ Sinclair
19 – Burlington, Vt. @ Higher Ground 
20 – Albany, N.Y. @ The Egg 
23 – Rockport, Mass. @ Shalin Liu 
24 – Portsmouth, N.H. @ Prescott Park 
26 – Toronto, Ont. @ Horseshoe Tavern 
27 – Toronto, Ont. @ Horseshoe Tavern