Artist: Pert Near Sandstone
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Song: “Castles in the Air”
Album: Rising Tide
Release Date: June 12, 2020
Label: Pert Near Music
In Their Words: “Although this is not a biographical song, it has reflections of the real experience moving away from my hometown. In this story the idea of a garden is used to represent the innocence and nostalgia of youth, but is shadowed by castles in the air, the lofty ambitions that drew the character away from home but were possibly unfulfilled. I wrote the music to string the listener along a sonic journey — the blues-influenced main riff leads to a fiddle ensemble playing a theme based on a folk melody, while rock hooks and rhythms keep urging the song along. From this perspective it’s an exploration of my own musical background. Pert Near Sandstone has always been eclectic in our approach to string band music and ‘Castles in the Air’ is a great illustration of fusing influences that we succeeded with throughout the Rising Tide album.” — Nate Sipe (fiddle/mandolin)
Photo credit: Nate Treedome