Our good friend Travis Talbert, known as Mavis Guitar (and you’ve seen him perform with other incredible Cincy acts like Wussy, Arlo McKinley, Jeremy Pinnell, and Frontier Folk Nebraska) is set to release a series of pedal steel covers starting tomorrow, November 26.

“These tunes are all covers of songs that mean a great deal to me, mostly for the people they remind me of, and the goal here was to create versions that encompass all those thoughts,” Talbert says of the series. “There are many great pedal steel records already and I am not looking to recreate those, because they are already great. All I want to do is play a feeling. Hope y’all enjoy.”

Photo by Ben Gastright

First up in the series, a vibrant rendition of “Stars,” by Hum, which you can check out here first thing tomorrow morning.

Featuring Travis’ brother Wil on drums and long-time musical foil Matt McCormick on bass, each cover will bring something unique to your speakers and/or headphones.

Mavis guitar will also have new MG Pedal Steel shirts, designed by fellow musician, long-time collaborator, and Frontier Folk Nebraska’s Michael Hensley. The new tees will be available on Bandcamp for December's Bandcamp Friday, Dec. 6, where all proceeds from purchases on that day go directly to artists. But if you want to order one ahead of time, just reach out to Travis directly. He’ll cover shipping, and if you’re local, he may even just hand-deliver your shirt.

Check out the design below and set a calendar reminder now, y’all, for the new t-shirts to drop on December 6, and, of course, for the new tracks on the way every two weeks through January 1.