Despite spending more than two decades on the road, playing everywhere from dive bars to festival stages across the U.S. and Europe, Bobbo Byrnes has largely remained just outside the traditional spotlight. Which makes his new book Too Many Miles: On the Road with an Unofficial Rock & Roll Goodwill Ambassador feel not only overdue, but necessary. It’s a document of the kind of career that rarely gets written about, even though it represents the reality for most working musicians.

Too Many Miles casts a wide net, chronicling Byrnes’ evolution as a touring artist through years of constant movement. This isn’t a rise-and-fall story or a neatly packaged industry success narrative. Instead, it’s a long haul account of building a life in music the hard way: through house concerts, radio appearances, long drives and the word-of-mouth touring network that exists far below the mainstream radar.