Tag: kelley mcrae

WATCH: Josh Harty, ‘Holding On’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Josh Harty
Hometown: Madison, WI
Song: "Holding On"
Album: Holding On
Release Date: April 8

In Their Words: "'Holding On' is a song I wrote after an eight-month tour in the U.S. and nearly four months in Europe — about 250 shows in 12 months. Certainly nothing new to the professional road dog players out there, but at the time, it was new to me. To be honest, I was so fried at the end of that tour I don't remember writing the song. I'm pretty sure it was an accurate description of how I felt at the moment, though.

It's amazing how your can lose yourself and find yourself at the same time, on the road. You can get so far out, you forget which end is up. But you'll also find folks who are in the same boat as you. It's like finding another family and you quickly realize you're screwed without them. I made this video in an empty house in Florida, with the help of some friends who are also full-time touring musicians, Kelley McRae & Matt Castelein." — Josh Harty 

Photo credit: Pete Olsen

LISTEN: Kelley McRae, ‘Hard Night’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Kelley McRae
Hometown: Austin, TX
Song: “Hard Night”
Album: The Wayside
Release Date: April 7

In Their Words: "The opening lines of 'Hard Night' are adapted from Christian Wiman's poem '2047 Grace Street.' I was reading that poem while we were staying by the Frio River in Texas, and that initial melody was written there, but the song remained unfinished for a while. Fortunately, I started re-reading one of my all-time favorite books, Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. I thought there was such a lovely connection between Wiman's words and the life of John Ames (the main character in Gilead) and so the rest of the song came easily, inspired by Robinson's stunning novel." — Kelley McRae

Photo credit: Brandon Dickerson

WATCH: Kelley McRae, ‘If You Need Me’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Kelley McRae
Hometown: Austin, TX
Song: "If You Need Me"
Album: The song is new + unreleased.

In Their Words: "Matt [my husband] and I spend a lot of time on the road, and sometimes we won't realize we're near some famously beautiful place 'til everybody at the show's asking if we're gonna check it out. We wrote this song last Fall when we found ourselves with a few hours to spare on the shore of Lake Tahoe. I wrote the first verse while Matt was taking a nap. He woke up and started playing that guitar part and, all the sudden, I was singing the chorus like the whole thing had already been written. It's really fun and rare when it happens that easy." — Kelley McRae

Photo credit: Brandon Dickerson