Winston Balman is an extremely soulful musician whose songs mix stories with hillbilly blues to create melodies worth singing along to.
He has multiple incredible tracks up his sleeve but some of his best work is on his EP – Marijuana Highway.
Life on the road, booze, women and heartbreak are his constant lyrical accompaniments.
The women were nice
And so was the booze
Let the good times roll
As long as I got the blues
Carefree singing, great guitar playing, soft rises, beautiful silences pervade throughout the EP. Winston’s ability to convert life into stories for all is a forte that sets him apart from most others.
I ain’t on a mission
I don’t have a plan
I gotta head out
Get there as fast I can
An air of reminiscence is ever present in all of his songs. Nostalgia is a crucial element. Youth flickers yet the remnants remain still.
The beauty rests in his power to capture that which we have all felt. It’s a simple song that doesn’t try too hard yet achieves in simplicity what most fail through grandiosity. Twice Shy is a heartbreak song. The cliches are all we can write about but prowess matters and Winston is as well versed as he is well prowessed.
There’s a touch of youthful exuberance and glory to all of his music as it recalls youth, debauchery, love lost, times gone.
Hot Mama Blues is a banger. If it doesn’t make you dance to its groove… It sounds like something Kings of Leon made but never released during the early 2000s.
Why is everything so complicated
I wish I could take it back to the old days
Small Town Style is the last song on the Marijuana Highway EP, and it is a good summing up…
Outlaw on the Run is an interesting fusion of Cowboy Western with Rajasthani Folk and also the singer’s latest outing.
The sound of bike revving leads to folk instrumentation that breaks into chorus.
Lyrically the song is about being bad yet good. It’s a tried and tested tale. An outlaw who’s actually nice at heart is trying to make it out of a big mess.
I’ve got across that border
I am an outlaw on the run
I can see them chase me down now
With fire and smoking guns
The guitar parts are clean and exceptional. There’s a tonal quality to Winston’s voice that is irreplaceable. He has that quality which makes the words appear in front of your eyes.
I am a bad man on the loose
…
I am a poster boy in every song
Outlaw on the Run is a very cinematic track that unfurls like a cowboy flick. Winston is a beautiful storyteller who weaves imagery heavy stories inside of his sonic landscapes effortlessly. The rock energy meets soft country textures.
The outlaw falls for a girl who he describes as: –
She’s a mermaid of the desert
Eyes were blue
Her stories were enchanting
Sounded so true
Only to be betrayed by her whereupon a beautiful guitar solo climaxes the song to its end just as the bike revs up again…
In 2025, not many are making this kind of country music anymore and this is hillbilly done right. The music makes you smile, groove, sigh…
Winston Balman is on a run!
You can find him on Instagram @winstonbalmanmusic
