“Where words fail, music speaks” is an oft-used saying (credited most often to Hans Christian Andersen) and it speaks volumes to the missions that Joe West feels he’s been called to carry out.
From a longtime weekend gig at Carmen’s Taqueria in Murfreesboro and being a resident performer at the Nashville Airport to celebrity encounters, huge crowds, new music and back again, West has had a wealth of adventurous musical experiences. He’s humbly dubbed himself with the title of “the richest man” (also the name of one of his songs, and his website)—but money has nothing to do with that moniker.
“I’m not a star. I’m not a celebrity,” the grateful West said zestfully. “But I’m wonderfully, wonderfully busy. It’s happening right now. It’s a dream come true. I literally feel like I’m walking through a dream.”
You don’t need money, you don’t need fame. That’s the power of love.
“And I love it. To play music is the greatest gift ever and at the level I’m able to do it right now is a miracle. I mean, I’m not this young guy just coming to town to figure out how to do this industry, I’ve been here for 22 years now,” West told the Pulse. “I was a retail manager for 27 and had a dissected aorta in a store and almost died. And that gave me the courage. I could go back and do that job but I had to do the other thing that I was designed to do, and that was music.
“That’s all I’ve done now . . . since 2007 is when my world really started to take off here in Nashville. I love my job, I love the people I get to work with and I love the people I get to impact.”
Every day West’s “Richest Man” title is on full display. He’s no ne’er-do-well. He is a do-gooder, however, and as many do at one of his official in-airport performances, it could do well for a would-be passerby to stop and give him a good listen.
“‘A Song Can Change a Life,’ that title is exactly what I believe,” the artist said. “I have a card I laminated in my wallet that a guy put in my tip jar where he wrote ‘Your music may have saved me.’ And I keep it in my wallet at all times. He impacted me as much as I impacted him.”
A song changes everything.
Song Can Change a Life Documentary show at The Local Nashville
“Warren Matson, the producer of our film A Song Can Change a Life, he came up after I played the airport Tootsie’s stage and introduced himself. My parents are believed to be America’s first black Country & Western music duo. He talked to me about why I was playing country music and the story of my parents came up. And he was just captivated from the very beginning and asked me, ‘Hey, how would you like to have a documentary done about your parents’ story?’ Of course I was blown away. He and his team worked on the documentary for about two and a half years. We were on the road for about two weeks interviewing people, visiting my hometown and different places, you know, gathering information . . . and then he and his team just put the whole thing together.”
West refers to his dad and mom as his heroes.
“I watched them go into these redneck bars . . . [filled with] people who thought they would hate my parents. And by the time my parents walked out of those rooms, I watched the whole color of the room change. And that’s been my mode of operation. Because of my parents,” West said. “I know there’s people that will not expect me to play what I play, sing what I sing and say some of the things I say but . . . music just breaks down walls. My parents did that and that’s the main reason I do what I do now, because my parents set it up for me that way. In my mind they are legends. They laid the foundation.”
Whether it’s an intimate songwriter’s night, a BNA spotlight, opening for Sara Evans or other big-name artists, or an opportunity to personally share the story of his music-making, barrier-busting parents Sarge and Shirley, West remains grateful and keeps an every-day-is-a-blessing attitude.
“I’ve played Carmen’s [Taqueria] for a zillion years. My good friend Carlos, who runs the restaurant, started booking me to play there and then he wanted me there every week. So that’s how I first ended up in Murfreesboro, and I love that restaurant. I love his team,” West said of his Carmen’s residency. “During COVID he even set me up in the parking lot. People brought their cars and parked around and tailgated and I could still play music.”
Lately he’s been spending time in the studio to track not one but three albums with varied leanings: one with a country bent, another a more songwriting-focused project, and the third a “groove sort of record.” Acclaimed keyboardist Gordon Mote is among the assembled musicians joining in on the projects (which West intends to begin rolling out soon).
The Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp is another piece of the puzzle that has allowed West to make a musical impact. In addition to being BNA’s house band, he has opened shows including downtown’s Fourth of July festivities and classic-rock mainstay The Steve Miller Band, private events for his mentor Naomi Judd, appeared with The Wooten Brothers and opened for the Opry’s newest member, Sara Evans, by her personal invitation. He is currently touring with the Black Opry Revue (having contributed to a panel discussion and performance with the Black Opry at the Country Music Hall of Fame in August) and helped raise awareness for efforts to save downtown Nashville’s historic Morris Building with a special performance at the nearby National Museum of African American Music. West is even in talks to have a feature exhibit about his parents placed at the CMHoF.
You may catch him at Carmen’s again, but in the meantime, West is scheduled to perform at a couple of the upcoming Re-Invintage Home experiences this fall. There’ll be an array of local crafts on display, decor, food and other vendors to peruse as well at the free events.
West said those browsing the craft and furniture booths at the Re-Invintage events can expect him and the piano player set up in a small cleared-off area to the side.
“It’s perfectly situated for a very intimate performance and we get to play some cool songs that draw people in. We like to play songs from Kenny Loggins, James Taylor, Charley Pride, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers . . . that’s an idea of [the vintage vibe] they might hear,” he said.
Joe West plays Re-Invintage Market Days from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30, and on Saturday, Nov. 4. Admission is free and Market Days are pet-friendly. Re-Invintage is located at 3781 Franklin Rd., Murfreesboro. Keep up with other upcoming Joe West happenings at hestherichestman.com/shows.
