You might not recognize the name Billy Conway or know of his ties to some of our local musicians, but I’m willing to bet that you have heard him play before. Conway, who passed away in 2021, is probably best known as the drummer for the Boston-based bands Morphine and Treat Her Right. But he also worked with singer-songwriters, and that’s where the local connection comes in. He drummed with Chris Smither of Amherst and Kris Delmhorst and her husband, Jeffrey Foucault, from Shelburne Falls.

“Billy and I started working together in 2009, on the first Satellite record, and he played on everything I made since,” Foucault wrote in an email about his long-running and close relationship with Conway. “We were on the road intermittently from 2010 to 2012, and on the road together full time as a duo (scaling up to full band for release tours and festivals) starting in 2013. We played about 120 to 130 nights a year from 2013 until the pandemic.”

In addition to being bandmates, Foucault and Conway were best friends. So when Conway passed away from cancer in 2021 at the age of 65, Foucault and Conway’s partner, singer-songwriter Laurie Sargent, decided they would put together a record of some of his songs as a way to show their love and deal with their grief.

While Conway made his musical mark as a much-admired drummer, he was also a songwriter who wrote throughout his life. As a result he left behind a collection of songs that ranged from old four-track cassette demos in the 1980s to the newer songs he wrote, recorded on his phone, and sent to his friends when he knew he was dying.

With the songs in tow, bandmates and friends gathered to record them. Unlike most tribute albums, made by musicians who don’t usually know the songwriter, this album was recorded by people who had worked with and were close to Conway.

“The primary tracking took about a week, up in New Hampshire at the house Billy and Laurie bought when he knew he wouldn’t get better and he wanted to be sure she was near family,” Foucault said about the process of making the album. “I bought a week’s worth of groceries and everyone took turns making dinner and cleaning up. We had basic tracking, then horns, then various overdubs of vocals and such. There might have been a part or two done remotely, but I’d say 95% happened there and then.”

The finished product is called “Further On: The Songs of Billy Conway” and was released on Jan. 20. This collection of 15 songs features performances by the aforementioned local musicians and Caitlin Canty, Jeremy Moses Curtis, Jabe Beyer and others. In addition, a group of talented backing musicians provides horns, guitars, drums and more. Most of the participating artists covered two songs each.

“Further On” is a labor of love and their warmth and respect for Conway shine through in these performances, but perhaps more importantly, this is an album of excellent songs.

The disc opens with “Love Ain’t Around,” sung by Foucault, backed by a horn section and some stripped-down drumming provided by Jeff Berlin. When he sings a line like “Love ain’t around when you’re gone,” it carries an extra level of sadness considering the circumstances of how the album was made. However, the infectious melody surrounding the words works to lift the sadness. It’s the perfect song to launch the album.

From there, Smither takes on “Inside Outside,” a song about self-reflection that was the title song of an album that Conway released in 2020 that featured his own material.

Delmhorst’s vocals add to the overall beauty of “Came to Me,” while Foucault’s 14-year-old daughter, Hazel, proves she inherited her parents’ musical talent on “Trouble in Heaven.” Her pure, expressive voice makes this one of the standout tracks here.

Canty’s version of “After All,” a song about properly arranging the priorities of life, tugs at the heartstrings.

But it’s not all introspective singer-songwriter fare here. Conway had a wild, adventurous side, and his Morphine bandmate, baritone sax player Dana Colley, expresses that on the disc, especially on the spacey instrumental track “Walking in the Daylight.” Colley’s sax also lends a haunting quality to the quirky tune “Like Annette,” which features Sargent on vocals.

The disc concludes with the title track sung by Beyer. On this song that deals with looking back and moving on, Conway asks “Did I give back what I took?’”

These musicians couldn’t have found a better way to honor their friend than by putting these songs out to the world, where they will hopefully gain some much-deserved attention. You can hear the album on all streaming services, and CDs can be purchased at SongsofBillyConway.com or on Bandcamp. Proceeds from CD sales will benefit the Billy Conway Artist Fund.

In other news, look for a new record from Jeffrey Foucault later this year. You can hear him play at Floodwater Brewing Co. in Shelburne Falls on Friday, Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. There is no cover for this show, but there is a $10 suggested donation to the Franklin Land Trust. He will also appear at The Drake in Amherst on Saturday, April 15 at 8 p.m. More information at thedrakeamherst.org.

Kris Delmhorst will also be part of the John Prine Tribute at the Academy of Music in Northampton on Friday, March 3. The Back Porch Festival has expanded this year and will feature more than 50 bands and eight different venues over the weekend of March 3 through 5. The schedule includes some of our finest local talent. For more information, visit backporchfest.com.

GZA at Hawks & Reed Friday Night

It’s a big weekend coming up at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield. The Main Street venue has a full roster of activities planned to celebrate Winter Carnival, everything from Fire and Ice Bowling to a winter jam on Saturday night to celebrate Bob Marley’s birthday. But it is incredibly excited to welcome rapper GZA, aka the Genius, to itsstage, for a sold-out show on Friday at 8 p.m.

GZA was one the founding members of the legendary New York rap collective Wu-Tang Clan. GZA helped define the Wu-Tang sound with his cerebral lyrics, complex rhyming structures and vocal dexterity. He went on to pursue a successful solo career and in 1995 released “Liquid Swords,” a critically acclaimed and platinum-certified album that today is considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.

“This is a big show for us, and we are really excited about it,” said Hawks & Reed manager Ben Goldsher, adding that a previous show with Wu-Tang member GhostfaceKilla is the venue’s best-selling show to date.

“There’s a buzz around town about this show, so we expect it to do as well,” added Goldsher. “We are hearing from so many people looking forward to this show; it brings a good energy to the town.”

Another interesting fact about GZA is that he is passionate about chess and plays the game every day. On this tour he is offering 10VIP spots at each stop the opportunity to play chess with him. These have already been snapped up for the Hawks & Reed show.

Kittel & Co return to Watermelon Wednesdays

Watermelon Wednesdays is back. The Whately organization will host a show with Kittel & Co. on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. This show isn’t on a Wednesday and it’s not watermelon season and it’s not at the West Whately Chapel but it will be the same great music you’ve come to expect from this series. Kittle & Co. is back for its third time in Whately. The band is known for its boundary blurring sound that covers a mix of styles. Tickets at watermelonwednesday.com.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at Soundslocal@yahoo.com.

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