Miles to Go

Miller goes full Levon on his latest solo album, singing from behind his kit on a sleeper record that stands among the year's best

When Miles Miller kicked off a fall tour as a bandleader and frontman singing from behind a drum kit, he was breaking new ground for himself, so he came up with a simple measure for the audiences’ response. “If girls start shakin’ their asses, you’re doing something right,” Miller deadpans. He’s talking to me in late September, days after he premiered music from his album Mr. Runaway during a set at the behemoth Bourbon and Beyond festival in Louisville.

Miller had been close to this position before, with an important distinction. The 11-track Mr. Runaway marks the second solo project for the Kentucky native — whose job playing drums for Sturgill Simpson often casts a shadow over Miller’s own career. He recorded and released Solid Gold in 2023 with a solo tour that included dates opening for Tyler Childers and featured Miller in a traditional frontman spot, playing guitar and singing at the center of the stage. However, Mr. Runaway is full of musical and melodic curveballs. Miller decided any shows in the wake of the record needed to be full-band experiences led by him from behind the drums.

“The only thing I really had to compare all of this to was — well, it was a couple of things,” Miller says. “One was Sturgill’s world, but the other one was my first record and touring off it. I was out front with a guitar, which is all well and good. That’s the way you sing a song. But I struggled to find a groove with all that. This time around, I was singing and playing drums. I don’t know why I put that off forever.

“Just immediately, I think the fans’ perspective was, ‘Oh, wow! How can he do that? It’s incredible.’ I think that when I see some shit like that, too. You’ve got the wow factor. You have to sing completely different. You have to play completely different. I don’t even really get to enjoy it because I’m just working so damn hard to play the show.”

When Miller released Solid Gold, Simpson was on a hiatus. He’d taken a break from touring in 2021 and Miller considered pivoting to a solo career. But when Simpson returned in 2024 as Johnny Blue Skies, Miller remained behind the kit. It was a blessing for Miller. He and Simpson are close friends, and Simpson produced both Mr. Runaway and Solid Gold.

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Miller played drums on Simpson’s 2024 Passage du Desir record as Johnny Blue Skies. Around that time, he started writing a series of his own tunes, heavily focused on a recent breakup. Simpson took interest.