With an intoxicating blues rock sound and a youthful energy through the roof, Nashville’s Blackfoot Gypsies have a vision of reaching the top of the Music City’s barrage of artists, with the upcoming April 14 release of their third full-length record ‘To the Top!’ via Plowboy Records.

In the past the Gypsies, led by guitarist Matthew Paige, had recorded most of their studio work live, doing their best to emulate their exuberant live personas on record. However, for ‘To the Top!’ the group sought out to craft each song, living in the studio for nearly two weeks, according to Paige.

“We decided up front that we weren’t going to try to do what we do live on every song,” Paige said. “We wanted to make each song its own piece of music, it’s own piece of artwork.”

The group underwent a major transformation prior to the release of their second record, 2015’s ‘Handle It,’ adding Zack Murphy on drums and Ollie Dogg on harmonica to round what was once a two piece into a four piece rock battalion. With ‘To the Top!’ being Paige’s sixth studio venture with the Gypsies, he says that the process is easier with each passing occasion, and the lessons learned carry into future excursions.

“You learn something new every time, then use those lessons the next time you try to record and so on,” Paige said. “That’s the never-ending rabbit hole of learning.”

The Blackfoot Gypsies recently released the first single from ‘To the Top!’ titled “I Had a Vision.” The number gets off to a fiery start with all four members colliding at an intersection of rock’n’roll as an ominous siren lingers in the background. Per Paige, the tune has a lot to do with the current makeup of our world and how it doesn’t align with what he believes it’s capable of.

“I woke up one day and had a lingering dream about life and a better way of living, which is a coincidence with how times are in the world now,” Paige said. “It’s about having a peaceful, good, respectful land to live in, but it’s a dream.”

The Blackfoot Gypsies return to Lexington on Feb. 10 at The Burl for an encore to their stop there last July, the first show in the room. For the show the Gypsies will be supported by local acts The Other Brothers and Alcatraz Shakedown.

The Blackfoot Gypsies have made Lexington a home away from home in recent months, performing at several different venues in town including The Green Lantern and Willie’s Locally Known along with The Burl. The group’s spring tour will see them circle back through central Kentucky once again in The Moonshiner’s Ball from May 19 to 21. 

IF YOU GO

What: Blackfoot Gypsies, The Other Brothers, Alcatraz Shakedown

When: Friday, Feb. 10 at 8 p.m.

Where: The Burl 

Tickets: $10-12, 21+