In this session, I linked up with my good friend David over at Truthful Sessions and we finally got to catch up with The Jack Wharff Band—an awesome up-and-coming group out of Richmond, Virginia that I’ve been following for over a year. These guys are as humble and down-to-earth as it gets, and we filmed this one in Jack’s family backyard, which just made the whole thing feel even more real. That’s always what I’m chasing with these Appalachian and Americana sessions: real music, real people, real culture. The song is “Washed,” and Jack told me it’s about their imperfect nature, the struggles of life, and the grace and forgiveness of Jesus loving them in spite of their shortcomings. You can hear that story all through the lyrics—waking up with a pounding head, cigarette smoke in the bedroom, “stacking empties,” temptation creeping in, and that feeling of not being able to escape it. But the hook turns it around: “Kept on running but he washed my sins away.” It’s honest, it’s gritty, and it’s hopeful—exactly the kind of songwriting that hits home around here.