When you’re the frontman for a band, it’s never really known how much you’ve got – it’s clear what the band has. Stepping out on your own shows the world, and yourself, what you are truly made of.

When you are the frontman for a long-running successful band, like Old Crow Medicine Show, you have even more to risk by stepping out on your own.

Ketch Secor is stepping out on his own, with a new album, “Story the Old Crow Told Me,” and a tour to promote it.

Ketch’s bravery is a testament to the human ability to evolve, adapt and grow. Whoever said ,“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” hasn’t met Ketch Secor.

Listening to and watching him at the Rams Head on a Monday night, I saw (and heard) that Ketch Secor is made of intelligence, memory, wit, lyricism, musicianship, voice, and a rare ability to connect with people. Talent was oozing from every pore. And the audience was there for every song, every comment, every beat.

His show was so much more than I expected. The set list for the first half was this witty, reflective, nostalgic, hopeful narrative of his life into and with his band. The second set, favorites, covers, and a song by the Band, written by his guitarist on stage, Byron House, felt like a joyful nod to the roots that made him. One of his covers was John Prine’s “Paradise” which always makes me a little emotional. My mother’s family had coal mines in Muhlenberg County, and that song gets me every time.

At 47, Ketch didn’t need to do this. He chose to. And in doing, he’s taken ownership of his path. To thrive, we need to be squarely in the growth zone, pushing ourselves there when life gets a little too comfortable.

Here’s to everyone who is brave enough to take a risk and try something new. Odds are, you will nail it!