Graham and The Band Upstairs channel Classic Americana on album, "Turning Magic On Its Heels" - Interview
There’s a kind of record that feels less like a collection of songs and more like a conversation with a trusted old friend — honest, unhurried, soulful. Turning Magic On Its Heels, the latest full-length from Atlanta’s own Graham and The Band Upstairs, is exactly that. It’s a record that, in the best tradition of Americana’s great storytellers, captures life’s tender, restless, and triumphant moments with disarming clarity and warmth.
Led by singer-songwriter Graham Waldrop, the band has long been a beloved fixture of the Southern Americana scene. With this record, they’ve delivered what feels like the culmination of years of playing smoky bars, front porches, and late-night festival stages — a collection of songs that wear their influences proudly while forging a distinctly personal identity.
From the first few strums of the opening track, you can hear the DNA of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and The Band swirling in the mix. Yet it’s not imitation; Turning Magic On Its Heels is a living, breathing homage, one steeped in reverence for the past but unafraid to push into its own spaces. This is Americana as it’s meant to be: rootsy, reflective, and brimming with soul.
In our recent sit-down with Waldrop ahead of the album’s release, he spoke candidly about the album’s creation — a project born out of restless inspiration, late-night writing sessions, and a deep desire to honor the music that raised him.
One of the most rewarding aspects of Turning Magic On Its Heels is the sense of community woven into its fabric. Waldrop was quick to credit the album’s collaborators — a rotating cast of local Atlanta musicians and old friends who dropped in during the sessions.
What elevates Turning Magic On Its Heels beyond mere homage is its attention to emotional detail. These are songs that move through heartbreak, joy, uncertainty, and nostalgia with natural ease. Lyrically, Waldrop leans into introspection without veering into self-indulgence, offering reflections on love lost and found, the weight of memory, and the simple grace of everyday beauty.
At a tight but fulfilling runtime of 45 minutes, Turning Magic On Its Heels never overstays its welcome, yet leaves you wanting to live in its world a little longer. It’s feel-good music, not in the vapid sense, but in the way great records lift the spirit, ease the burden, and remind you why you fell in love with songs in the first place.
Waldrop and company have crafted what might be their finest work yet — a record that manages to both tip its hat to Americana’s towering greats and carve out its own place in the lineage. It’s a love letter to the genre, yes, but also to the act of creating, collaborating, and chasing whatever little bit of magic might still be out there.
Please check out our interview with Graham, but don’t forget to listen in, follow along, and of course to stay tuned for more.
Listen to “Turning Magic On Its Heels”
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