Tag: massachusetts

LISTEN: Hownd, “Somethin'”

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Artist: Hownd
Hometown: Byfield, Massachusetts
Song: “Somethin'”
Album: Just to Feel
Release Date: March 20, 2020
Label: Lazare Music Inc.

In Their Words: “‘Somethin” is a reflection of faith and trust in a greater good, whatever darkness may be chasing after you. I wrote this song years ago in Boston, beginning to truly explore the acoustic guitar while also wrestling with philosophies of life, purpose, and religion. Written during a time of transition and unknown, I came to find real comfort in not knowing what’s out there. Regardless of the struggle to find ‘truth,’ the faith of knowing something bigger is out there watching over me is clear as crystal, watching over everyone, I believe.” — Hownd

Photo credit: Julia Cannon

WATCH: Grace Morrison, “Mothers”

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Artist: Grace Morrison
Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Song: “Mothers”
Release Date: March 13, 2020

In Their Words: “I’m a new mom. My son and I spend our days talking and singing about the world around us. I’ll often find myself in sing-song: ‘Here is a tree, there is a leaf.’ It struck me, however, that I am a very lucky mother. There are mothers right now separated from their children at the US border. Women who fought like hell to get their children to our border. There are mothers who have lost their children to gun violence. It was in that moment of realization that I knew my job is bigger than teaching him about plants and animals. He’s got to see the not so pretty stuff too. And hopefully, if I do my job right, he’ll live his life trying to right some of the wrongs that we all see every day… if we open our eyes.

“My cousin Cecilia is a senior in high school who has fallen in love with American Sign Language (ASL). This past summer at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, there was an ASL interpreter during my set and I was truly moved by it. Because this song has such strong visual language I thought it was a perfect opportunity to include Ceci and her interpretation (which I think is really lovely). The message of this song is really important to me, so I’m hopeful that including ASL will help more people engage with the idea that we need to be mindful of both how lucky we are and the struggles of others.” — Grace Morrison

Photo credit: Paula Mailloux at Bongo Beach Productions

LISTEN: The Ballroom Thieves, “Homme Run”

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Artist: The Ballroom Thieves
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Homme Run”
Album: Unlovely
Release Date: February 14, 2020 (album)
Label: Nettwerk

In Their Words: “How do you put words to how powerful women are? How do you hinder what they learn, if they read, who they can become, or what they do with the organs in their bodies? When a piece of the population’s voices are quieted there can be no conversation about how to guide society. As the avalanche of our man’s world finally finishes its incredibly destructive crumble downward, we can see that this issue is devastatingly simple. Any words used to govern a person must be said by a relatable ally, or the rules are empty and harmful.

“We can’t earn equality in this world for men, we have to make it ourselves. Women are the creators and sustainers of human life. We’ll use the power of our voices not to control others, but to liberate ourselves to create and sustain humankind more effectively. This is everybody’s world now.” — Calin Peters, The Ballroom Thieves

Photo credit: Anthony Mulcahy

WATCH: Mile Twelve, “Whiskey Trail”

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Artist: Mile Twelve
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Single: “Whiskey Trail”
Release Date: November 15, 2019
Label: Delores the Taurus Records

In Their Words: “Our bass player Nate brought this energetic Los Lobos song to the band nearly a year ago, and it has slowly but surely become one of our favorites to perform. Even though originally imagined for electric instruments, we think the bluegrass outfit suits the music well. Now we’re excited to be releasing this song as a studio single! To celebrate the premiere we made this live video of our arrangement performed at the Fox Bar & Cocktail Lounge in Nashville, Tennessee, and filmed by the amazing Alex Chaloff. What better place to film a song about hard liquor than this, right?” — David Benedict, Mile Twelve

Photo credit: Kaitlyn Raitz

LISTEN: Monica Rizzio, “Don’t Keep Me Up Waiting”

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Artist: Monica Rizzio
Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Song: “Don’t Keep Me Up Waiting”
Album: Sunshine Is Free
Release Date: October 4, 2019
Label: Washashore Music

In Their Words: “Growing up on the music of Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton, my first instinct was to count beats like the the old country waltzes, 1, 2, 3… 1, 2, 3. Most of my writing the past few years has been a cocktail of one part Texas Roots, one part the miles of my boots, and I had never written a waltz before. The chorus for ‘Don’t Keep Me Up Waiting’ came to me before the rest of the song, as my husband and his buddies had a pretty good Sunday Night Irish Whiskey and Football ritual going on at the local pub last winter. They are totally harmless, were having a blast, but they are also totally clueless. This song is for them.” — Monica Rizzio

Photo credit: Joe Navas

LISTEN: Alice Howe, “You Just Never Know”

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Artist: Alice Howe
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “You Just Never Know”
Album: Visions
Release Date: May 17, 2019

In Their Words: “This song came to me as I was driving west on Route 90, affectionately known as the Mass Pike, leaving Boston in my rearview mirror for what felt like the millionth time. It struck me that I had been on that same road in so many different moods and circumstances over the past decade, from weekends visiting my high school boyfriend to my undergraduate years at Smith College in Northampton, and even the time I drove that highway from start to finish, all the way to its western edge in Seattle. Exits and road signs had become inextricably linked to faces and moments in my memory, all vividly flashing before my eyes as I sped past. After all those years, there I was on the same road, and in a way the road was like an old friend who had seen me grow up. This song describes me in a nutshell: a little nostalgic, but looking excitedly to the future, willing to accept the unknown that lies ahead.” — Alice Howe

Photo credit: Jim Shea

WATCH: The Suitcase Junket, “Old Machine”

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Artist: The Suitcase Junket
Hometown: Amherst, Massachusetts
Song: “Old Machine”
Album: Mean Dog, Trampoline
Release Date: April 5, 2019
Label: Signature Sounds Recordings

In Their Words: “A couple years ago I started working on a song and wrote the line ‘I made some moonshine.’ I hadn’t ever made moonshine so I kind of figured I didn’t have any business putting it in a song, but being the stubborn and curious sort I decided to go ahead and make the stuff instead of scrapping the song. I had been making wine and mead for a few years and had a basement full of bottles, some good, some questionable, some just bad. I made myself a stovetop still and turned a bunch of weird wine into even weirder moonshine. Then I finished the song. It came out better than the hooch.” — Matt Lorenz, The Suitcase Junket

Photo credit: David Jackson

LISTEN: Jeff Cramer, “Big Man’s World”

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Artist: Jeff Cramer
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Big Man’s World”
Album: Northern 45
Release Date: January 25, 2019

In Their Words: “This song’s a bit of a deep cut for me. About a decade ago, just after graduating from college, I was working full-time at a ceramics factory in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts, and part-time at a wine bar. I had a tendency to do about as much wine drinking as serving in the role, which didn’t work out so well for the owner. One day, after having some sort of blow up in a relationship and likely over-serving myself as the bartender–immediately leading to a mutual agreement with the owner this wasn’t the right fit–I found myself alone in my room in Main South Worcester and wrote this song. Coming out of college with a super-practical philosophy degree, working two jobs, and overdrawing my bank account every week, it was easy to feel like a boy in a big man’s world. But even today, with a job, and at least a good long while without an overdraw, it’s just as easy to feel the same way–especially since the self-appointed ‘big man’ started running the show in DC.” — Jeff Cramer

Photo credit: Bridgette Aikens

WATCH: Bob Bradshaw, “Every Little Thing”

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Artist: Bob Bradshaw
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Every Little Thing”

In Their Words: “‘Every Little Thing’ is a song about the small things that go wrong in a relationship, that can seem like the end of the world at the time. It’s a plea for keeping things in perspective. In the video, things haven’t worked out so well for the singer and, as he haunts the apartment where a relationship has ended, the next couple are being shown around by a realtor. Will they too come undone by ‘every little thing’?” — Bob Bradshaw

Photo credit: Liz Linder

LISTEN: Crooked Still, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”

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Artist: Crooked Still
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”
Album: Crooked Still Live At Grey Fox – July 16, 2006
Release Date: November 9, 2018 (vinyl reissue)
Label: Signature Sounds

In Their Words: “When we played Grey Fox back in 2006 we felt like we had really made the big time! This live recording caught an amazingly true snapshot of the band at that moment in time. Crooked Still had first played ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ at the Cantab Lounge, the iconic bluegrass dive bar in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where we used to gig in the band’s earliest days. (Bluegrass night at the Cantab is still going strong, by the way.) Aoife O’Donovan and Heather Masse (The Wailin’ Jennys) used to sing it, along with so many other terrific duets they worked up while they were in college together. This live Grey Fox version doesn’t have Heather on it, of course, but it has plenty of other things going for it. We’ve come full circle by finally releasing it on vinyl!” — Greg Liszt

Photo credit: Aaron Farrington