The Reverend of the Road: To Hell and Back

An unmarked white van pulls into the parking lot of an old warehouse building in New Orleans’ lower ninth ward. Out steps a tattooed, six-foot-something bearded man who would look at home brawling in any biker’s bar.

Except this man isn’t here to raise hell. He’s here to tell the story of how he left it behind.

On the final day of his short stint in New Orleans, Justin Hylton, aka Reverend Hylton, stopped by Third Coast Studios to perform a song called “Heaven Seemed So Far Away.” An honest account of his battle with drug addiction and coming out the other side.

In the tradition of great Americana troubadours, Hylton’s scar-laden songs recall the lessons he’s learned in the school of hard knocks. “That song is the story of my twenties,” Hylton explains, when he battled an addiction to heroin and “anything that came my way.” In the song, he sings “Hell was always in my backyard, so I didn’t have to go that far.” Hylton recollects, “growing up, it seemed easy to find ways to get into trouble, and I found those ways pretty easily.”

Reverend Hylton at Third Coast Studios. November 2018. // Photo by Achilles Lawless

Hylton spent the majority of his twenties traveling the country and living everywhere from a car in San Francisco to a boat in the Florida Keys. A visit to an influential uncle in northern Idaho after high school planted the desire to explore the expanses of the American continent. “We did a trip up to Banff National Park and spent a couple days camping and hiking. Coming from the suburbs of Atlanta, seeing the Rocky Mountains, the glaciers and rivers and peaks... That was it, I’ve had wanderlust ever since.” Upon returning to Atlanta after an itinerant decade, Hylton got into a little trouble with the law. “The state of Georgia asked me to stick around for a few years, so I did,” He says with a wink in his voice. After a decade on the move, he says staying put was the best thing for him, allowing him the chance to build some stability and set some roots.

“Coming from the suburbs of Atlanta, seeing the Rocky Mountains, the glaciers and rivers and peaks... That was it, I’ve had wanderlust ever since.”

But ultimately, Hylton couldn’t resist the draw of the road...he just needed to find a way to survive it. A month before his 30th birthday, Hylton got sober. “My thirties haven’t seen a fucked up night. Which is incredible for me.”

The Reverend quit his job and went back to playing music full-time, started touring, and spending half the year on the road. A rigorous touring schedule for any musician, but for Hylton, it wasn’t enough.

In late 2017, while driving in the mountains of Montana, he made a fateful decision. “I was driving through Paradise Valley, south of Livingston, where the Yellowstone River heads into Yellowstone National Park. One of the most beautiful places in the country.” But the view was short-lived, as Hylton had to drive back to Atlanta to play a show. “This is ridiculous, I thought, I’m on the road but I’m really just seeing the country through a windshield.” Hylton decided to live on the road full-time, buying a white 2017 Ford Transit 250 van which he’s christened “Levy Jean” and converted into his home. Since then, he’s been on the road non-stop, playing 15-18 shows a month and spending the rest of his time exploring what America has to offer.

With the religious imagery in his songs and the ‘Reverend’ handle, one might think Hylton has a religious agenda. But his gospel is that only of his own experience, not the words of anyone else. “I’m a spiritual man. I’m not a religious man,” he says. Hylton grew up in a Christian household and was involved in church as a teenager, but it got to a point where there were “too many questions, not enough answers.” “Now I just try to keep it as simple as possible… there’s something out there and it’s pushing me forward, but if you ask too many questions, it ends up not making sense.”

Reverend Hylton and Justin Dye during his interview for the Third Coast Studio Session. // Photo by Achilles Lawless

As for being a Reverend, he’s an internet Reverend for the internet age. “I was ordained 10 years ago because my brother and his wife asked me to marry them, and I did it online,” he recalls. “The wedding was one of the most nerve wracking things I’ve ever done.” Three years later, when asked to put a band together for a festival in north Georgia, the experience came back to shape his future. “The guys found out I was a reverend, even though I wasn’t really a reverend but I could be.” They suggested the name Reverend Hylton and the Heads, and from there, the Reverend tag stuck. Hylton makes sure to stay true to the name. “I’ve done 25 weddings since then… it’s wonderful. It’s a beautiful service I get to provide.”

“I’m a spiritual man. I’m not a religious man…There’s something out there and it’s pushing me forward, but if you ask too many questions, it ends up not making sense.”

It’s these sorts of intimate interactions with other people that really drive Hylton. He writes what he knows, and his personal songs open the door for connecting with others struggling with the same demons he’s faced. With the nation in the throes of a decade-long opioid crisis, Hylton hopes that his experience can help others to walk away with a little bit of hope. “I’ll have shows where someone comes to me who’s struggling, and I can sit down with them and share my experience... To be able to sit down and be in the moment with that person keeps it going.”

When life on the road alone inevitably gets lonely, the impact and connections with individuals remind him it’s all worth it. A few weeks while driving through New Mexico, pondering whether he’s doing the right thing, Hylton received an email from a man who saw him play years back and felt moved to connect and share his own story. “It may not seem like a big deal, but to me, it’s huge.”

“For a long time the road was a way of running away, but now it’s where I’m found.”

And of course, Hylton wants his audience to have a good time, and genuinely loves being on the road. “I love the lifestyle, I love being around people, I love playing music, I love flying by the seat of your pants and something different every night.” He’s grateful to have figured out how to live road life sustainably, while maintaining his sanity, a feat many artists never manage to master. And he’s built his own network of good friends across the country, whom he sees regularly thanks to his rigorous schedule. Older and wiser now, he’s able to better appreciate what it means to live the life he loves. “Human connection is very important to me. To be able to meet people and to build community all over the country, I’m blessed to be able to do this.”

Watch Reverend Hylton Perform His Song, “Heaven Seems So Far Away”

“For a long time the road was a way of running away, but now it’s where I’m found,” he reflects. However far Heaven may be, the Reverend will be driving down the highway looking for it. Maybe he’ll never get there, but he’s found everything he needs along the way.