Great Big Motel Bed is in many ways a follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2020 album Songs for Nobody that was praised by many outlets, American Songwriter awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars and stated, "Kalish rattles you to the core and is unafraid to make you squirm - or at least jolt you awake." On this effort the themes of Kalish's writing focus more inward at himself than outward like the social commentary that has often been a larger part of his previous Albums. Most of the same core Musicians of The Derechos returned to the studio again. These Nashville ace musicians included Adam Kurtz on pedal steel (Joshua Ray Walker, Sarah Shook), drummer Danny Pratt (The Flying Buffaloes), bassist David Guy (Amanda Shires), Zach Vinson on keys, Adam Meisterhans stepping in on a few extra guitar parts and Miriam Speyer on Backing Vocals. There are also a few other guest musicians weaving throughout the album.