Lalanea Chastain will celebrate the release of her long-awaited album “Lucky One” on Sunday, Aug. 17, at Barleycorn’s.
The show begins at 2 p.m. and will feature short sets from the many musicians who made guest appearances on the recording, including Wayne Gottstine and Jamie Briggeman, Dennis Hardin, and Dustin Arbuckle and Wayne Long. It will culminate in a performance of material from the LP.
Using a core band of top-notch musicians, namely bassist Brody Wellman (who also recorded and mixed the material), drummer Scott Taylor and guitarist Alex Nordine, Chastain showcases her musical diversity, moving between blues and Americana and several other spaces in between.
Her vocal prowess will surprise no one who has caught her live over her years in the Wichita music scene, where she has performed in a variety of groups. Her writing, which is on full display throughout, proves equally powerful.
The record has had a long gestation period with various starts and stops as Chastain navigated a new career as a therapist and the COVID-19 pandemic. But in early 2025, she found herself determined to release the recording and celebrate it with her collaborators and friends.
Sunday’s performance will also serve as a kind of going-away party for the veteran singer as she’ll relocate to North Carolina late in the month to be close to her two sons.
She spoke with KMUW about the making of “Lucky One,” some of her guests on the disc, and the support she’s received from her musical community throughout the project.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I’m glad to be talking to you about this record, and it’s funny because I think you said to me earlier this year, “OK, it’s happening.”
[Laughs.] [Sings] It’s happening.
[Laughs.]
It has to happen. I thought about a posthumous release, which would have been really cool, too. But I decided to finish it before I died. We started in 2019 and then COVID hit. The amazing Brody Wellman produced the album, recorded it, plays bass on the album. [But he was] on tour with Pretend Friend. I started my new profession, and eventually my own private practice, and that’s been my focus. It’s just been a sustained adventure, and finally this year we pushed through, and we got ’er done.
You cover a broad range of moods and styles on the record. … I know that you like a lot of different types of music and that’s evident here. Was that always part of the plan?
I’ve always longed to be one of those musicians who can just say, “I’m a blank musician; I’m a jazz musician; I’m a jazz musician.” I’ve been inspired by so many different kinds of music and have been blessed to play with so many different genres of musicians that it’s tough to nail it down. So, there’s some bluegrass happening there … I’m rooted in blues as we know, so there’s definitely some blues in there. I don’t even know how to describe the other stuff. Singer-songwriter? It’s just sort of a conglomeration of everything that I’ve played.
You have this amazing cast of musicians with you on the album. I’m assuming that these are players you’ve encountered over the years and at some point, you said, “If I’m going to make a record, I want Dennis Hardin to be part of this.”
We don’t get anywhere on our own. We get where we’re going with the love and support and adventures of the people around us. These are people who have been part of my musical journey, my musical life, and some my personal life. Wayne Gottstine and Dustin Arbuckle and Jeff Corbett and I, we were all kids together and playing as kids together, so it’s been a long relationship with those cats. And then there’s some newer cats, like Jamie Briggeman and Madeline Selby. They’re relatively newer friends to me but have been really important on the journey, too. All people that I’ve played with and that I like so much as humans and [who] I definitely wanted to be a part of this production.
You have this duet with Wayne, “I Don’t Know,” and it’s like your voices were born to be together.
[Laughs.] I agree. Every time I listen to that track I giggle, cause let’s be honest: Like every Gen X girl, I’ve had a crush on Wayne Gottstine since I was 18. So, it’s a real exciting duet for me. It’s thrilling to sing with him. I’ve always loved it.
You’d probably sung together before the recording of that tune or was this really the first time where it was just the two of you?
I don’t know that Wayne and I have ever done any gigs together, but we’ve been jamming together since ’90 or ’91 maybe, around campfires and house parties and the boys in Split Lip Rayfield and Scroat Belly got me up on stage over the years. We’ve just been loosely intertwined for decades, but I think this is the first time we’ve ever really dug into something.
Let’s talk about “Jolene.” People will see the title and get this sense of familiarity but when they hear it, they’re in for a surprise.
Instead of beggin’ we’re fightin’. I love the flavor of that. I didn’t write those lyrics but the person who did wants to stay anonymous. On the album they are listed by a letter. The letter V.
You also have a song by Maria Elena Silva, “A Love Like This.”
I could go on and on about my love and respect for Maria; she’s one of my very favorite songwriters. I was able to support her vocally on one of her albums with this song and then she gifted it to me. She said, “I’m not going to do this song again, and I want you to have it.” I’m super honored any time I get to play it and really honored to be able to record it. It’s a beautiful sad song.
You close the record out with what is one of my all-time favorite songs, “Sitting on Top of The World.” You’ve got Wayne Long and Dustin Arbuckle on that song and not only is it a great combination with the three of you, but it’s also a perfect way to end the record.
Thanks for saying so. Brody and I were listening through, and it was just crystal clear that that’s how that record needed to end. I love the intimacy of that track; it’s the only track that we recorded in the same room live, all together. I really dig the vibe of that.
You have this show coming up on Sunday to celebrate the release of the record and my understanding is that the show will kind of mirror the record in terms of who’s playing.
Everybody’s showing up. Everybody’s coming to perform the album. I couldn’t be more honored and grateful for their enthusiasm in participating. It’ll be all day long and everyone who is participating will do short sets and then we’ll all get together for the album. Madeline Selby isn’t on the album, but she’s singing harmonies to most of the songs. [Saxophonist] Jason Whitmore isn’t on the album, but he’s adding his brilliance to the music.
Wichita has been your home for a very long time and now you’re about to go away. But before you do, you’re putting out this record and doing this gig, surrounded by friends. A couple days out from this, I would be an emotional wreck.
[Laughs.] You don’t know me, Jedd! I have been deciding about 50 times a day to not melt down. So far, so good. Just kind of doing the next right thing and then I’m so loved and so supported by the people around me. It’s OK. It’s a lot and, boy, am I blessed.
