Tag: music video

WATCH: The Roe Family Singers, “Loretta Lynn Blues”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: The Roe Family Singers
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Song: “Loretta Lynn Blues”
Album: Sisters And Brothers
Label: Bonfire Music Group

In Their Words: “‘Loretta Lynn Blues’ is a tribute to both Loretta Lynn herself and the songs she wrote. There was a time when country music was made by real people, speaking about real, everyday issues. Folks like Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Hazel Dickens had everybody singing along and, more importantly, gave a voice to folks who didn’t have one before.

“Today’s country music is dominated by manufactured pop stars who, at best, sing about nothing and, at worst, use their gigantic platforms to amplify their messages of racism and misogyny.

“We wanted to write a song that gets back to the roots of what country music was and what it still could be. All while honoring one of the greatest there ever was: Loretta Lynn.

“The title is a reflection of how we thought Ms. Lynn would feel about today’s country music: after spending so much of her career singing songs like ‘One’s On the Way,’ ‘Rated X,’ and ‘The Pill,’ we figured she’d feel kind of down to hear modern country music singing about beers, my best girl, beaches, dogs, and pickup trucks.” – The Roe Family Singers

Track Credits:

Dan Gaarder – guitar
Dave Gustafson – mandolin
Noah Levy – drums
Eric Paulson – bass
Kim Roe – vocals
Quillan Roe – banjo
Rich Rue – steel guitar
Annie Savage – fiddle & back-up vocals

Stage Band:

Erik Brandt – accordion
Dave Gustafson – mandolin
Jake Johnson – fiddle
Brody Kucera – drums
David F. Robinson – guitar
Kim Roe – vocals
Quillan Roe – banjo
Rina Rossi – bass
Rich Rue – steel guitar
Adam Wirtzfeld – musical saw

Photo Credit: Katie Viles
Video Credits: Ryder Seeler – director, editor; Adam Olson – director of photography; Leah, Seth, and Tristan – film crew

WATCH: Rachel Baiman, “Young Love” (Live)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Rachel Baiman
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Young Love” (Live)
Album: Common Nation of Sorrow Deluxe Edition
Release Date: December 1, 2023
Label: Signature Sounds

In Their Words: “Sometimes songs I’ve written become less relevant and relatable for me over time, but this one has seemed to stick and grow with me, such that I reach for it during live shows, often as a closer. I’m grateful for the chance to re-present it with two of my favorite musicians!

“This version of ‘Young Love’ was recorded live in Knoxville with Andrew Marlin and Josh Oliver of Watchhouse. They have such distinct voices, vocally as well as on their instruments, and it’s amazing to hear this song transformed under their influence. Andrew and Josh helped launch my solo career with the album Shame, and just like this song I have continued to love their music and learn from them over time.” – Rachel Baiman

Track Credits: Written by Rachel Baiman.
Performed by Rachel Baiman, Andrew Marlin, and Josh Oliver.
Engineered by Kaitlyn Raitz and Ben Plotnick.
Mixed by Sean Sullivan.
Mastered by Jon Neufeld.

Photo Credit: Natia Cinco
Video Credits: Owen Scarlett Productions, Owen Scarlett and Charissa Kroeger

WATCH: Thunder and Rain, “Wendigos Wanderin'”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Thunder and Rain
Hometown: Nashville, Tennesse
Song: “Wendigos Wanderin'”
Album: Storybook Sessions
Release Date: October 20, 2023

In Their Words: “This song was inspired by a TikTok rabbit hole I went down last year that revealed the world of wendigos, also called skinwalkers. I got addicted to watching these terrible quality videos of deer with odd head shapes and dogs walking on hind legs with weird looks in their eyes. One of the TikToks said, ‘In Appalachia, if you hear your name in the woods, no you didn’t.’ I loved this concept that people know these terrifying creatures exist, but they don’t want to talk about it.

“One day while walking through Peeler Park in Madison outside of Nashville, I had an eerie feeling that something was following me. In my mind I sang the chorus of this song to the beat of my footsteps. I got home and wrote the song, then brought it to the band where we had a ton of fun arranging the harmony parts and spooky interludes. Our goal was to make people in the audience feel unsettled but still have fun, like a good horror movie.” – Erinn Peet Lukes

Track Credits:

Erinn Peet Lukes – Guitar/vocals
Laura Ray – Banjo/vocals
Amelia Ransom – Fiddle/vocals
Katie Blomarz-Kimball – Bass

Photo Credit: Jake Byrne
Video Credits: Videographer – Andrew Hutton
Audio Engineer – Tim Miller
Recorded at Laughing Heart Studio in East Nashville, TN

WATCH: Swearingen & Kelli, “This Old House”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Swearingen & Kelli
Hometown: AJ Swearingen – Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Jayne Kelli – Lapeer, Michigan; Current hometown – Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “This Old House”
Album: Build Myself Up From The Ground
Release Date: October 27, 2023
Label: Gone Rogue Music

In Their Words: “It’s about endurance, hope, the passage of time, saying goodbye if you have to, and the longing for stability when your life is changing so fast you can’t find any stable ground. The song is literal and metaphorical. The house we were living in was sold out from underneath us, I lost my father, we had health challenges, and were free-falling. It was a crazy year. Sometimes when everything in your life is painfully uncertain, you have to dig your heels in and hold your ground. My mother still lives in the same house I grew up in. It’s old, but it’s an anchor in the family. I hope she can hold onto it. I think everyone can relate to that.” – AJ Swearingen

Photo Credit: Juliana Shipps

WATCH: Hogslop String Band, “Mississippi Queen”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Hogslop String Band
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Mississippi Queen”
Release Date: October 6, 2023
Label: Tone Tree Music

In Their Words: “‘Mississippi Queen’ is a story about an escaped inmate during the construction of the Richmond-Danville railroad. I wrote it years ago, and we have occasionally worked on it over the years, but we recently came up with a new arrangement of it that felt really good. The main character escapes on foot, follows the Tennessee River south, then across Alabama to find his family in North Mississippi. Ultimately, it’s a story about being separated from loved ones and doing whatever it takes to make it back home, which I think a lot of people can relate to.” – Daniel Binkley, banjo

Photo Credit: Josh Goleman

WATCH: The Brothers Comatose, “The IPA Song” (Feat. Ronnie McCoury)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: The Brothers Comatose
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Song: “The IPA Song” (featuring Ronnie McCoury)
Release Date: October 5, 2023
Label: Swamp Jam Records

In Their Words: “There comes a time in every band’s existence when you have speak up and let the chips fall where they may. We realize that this statement is really going to split our crowd, but it’s time we say something. We can’t drink IPAs anymore! They’ve gotten too strong and too hoppy and we just can’t do it any longer. All we drink are light beers now and maybe it’s because we turned into more of a quantity, not quality type of band… or maybe we just turned into a bunch of beer wusses. Either way, no more IPAs!

“It all stems from us overdoing it back in the day when we were sponsored by a beer company and they delivered 3 cases (72 beers!) of IPAs to every tour stop. So there we were, neck deep in super strong, warm IPAs in our van and we were just trying to keep up. It’s kinda like how you can’t drink Bacardi anymore because of that one bad night you had in college. That’s us with strong and hoppy beers. The song started off as a joke because venues kept putting IPAs in our green room, but we would never drink them. It turns out the message really hits home with a lot of people.

“When we were planning to go into the studio to record ‘The IPA Song,’ our mandolin player Greg wasn’t available, because he was out on tour with another band at the time. It turned out our buddy, mandolin maestro Ronnie McCoury, was going to be in town playing a show, so we got him to come and play mandolin and sing high harmonies on the track. And being the legend he is, he truly delivered the goods on this one.

“We recommend cracking a nice, cold, non-IPA beer to enjoy while watching this video.” – The Brothers Comatose

Photo courtesy of the Brothers Comatose, Pavement PR

WATCH: Sarah King, “Hey Hey What Can I Do” (Led Zeppelin Cover)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Sarah King
Hometown: currently Ripton, Vermont; formerly Columbus, Georgia
Song: “Hey Hey What Can I Do” (Led Zeppelin cover)
Release Date: September 1, 2023 (single)
Label: Ringleader Records

In Their Words: “Recording ‘Hey Hey What Can I Do’ was a bold, last-minute decision in the studio to celebrate and share some self-love: It was the first song I learned to play by ear on guitar, and I kept the original pronouns as a nod to some of the wonderful women I’ve dated in the past. I am now married to a man, but owning my queerness through music felt like the right choice.

“When it came time to craft a video, I knew Loni (of Whiskey Ginger Goods, who also designs my logo and merch) was the perfect director. She’s excellent at capturing women feeling themselves, and those beautiful in-between, emotional moments that can really tell a story. During my summer tour in Montana, we set aside some time to film both the bar and bedroom scenes. Combined, the video leads us through the seductive, and at times silly, story of a woman in love with another woman who won’t be true. As the heartbreak unfolds, the video gets more unhinged, until I just flop on the bed, tired of trying. I loved recording the song and video, and I hope everyone who watches has a blast listening, too!” – Sarah King

Track Credits:
Sarah King – vocals, guitars
David Baron – piano, organ
Johnny Stanton – bass
Jeff Lipstein – drums

Produced, recorded, and mixed by David Baron at Sun Mountain Studios, Boiceville, New York
Renee Hikari – assistant engineer
David Baron – mastering engineer

Photo Credit: Arielle Thomas
Video Credit: Filmed & directed by Whiskey Ginger Goods, Bozeman, Montana

Edited & produced by Sarah King

WATCH: Mark & Maggie O’Connor, “All We Will Be”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Mark & Maggie O’Connor
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Song: “All We Will Be”
Release Date: September 30, 2023
Label: ONErpm/OMAC Records

In Their Words: “‘All We Will Be’ is one of our new vocal songs where we reach for a more contemplative place in words and music. There is such mystery and intrigue with the lyrics, by my co-writer Joe Henry, and the story-telling vocal performance by Maggie, that it was interesting for me to create an expanded instrumental soundscape for it. The musical qualities move from plaintive Americana guitar strums to a jazz-rock acoustic fusion crescendo that showcases Maggie’s majestic violin solo. The powerful and intuitive bass and drums on this song – by Dennis Crouch and John Gardner – help to elevate this idea. Our journey here is about testing faith and rediscovering it through love and music.

“In scouting locations for the music video, it was Maggie that suggested the piece be filmed adjacent to the stillness and reflection of our North Carolina lake. On the day of filming, it poured down during the day leaving us a sense of renewal in the forest when things cleared off to do the shoot. The storm also left a painting in the sky — one of those colorful Southern sunsets over the water that had us dancing to the music for the video on the shoreline. I had my 1865 Martin out there on the edge of the swampy part of the lake conveying timelessness through the bending of the strings like ripples in the water. With inspiration from the lyric, ‘Back into trees, like all that we are,’ the low setting sun gave us the shadow effect essential to combine Maggie’s violin and my viola that accompanies her, returning us into the roots of trees on the forest floor. It was joyful to create this video with my wife Maggie, and even more so to have my son Forrest handling the great camera work and the directing of our music video.” – Mark O’Connor

Track Credits: Written by Joe Henry and Mark O’Connor

Maggie O’Connor – vocals, violin, cello
Mark O’Connor – vocals, guitar, mandolin, mandocello, violin, viola
Dennis Crouch – upright bass
John Gardner – drums
Tracking Engineer – Neal Cappellino
Overdubs and Mixing Engineer – Mark O’Connor
Mastering Engineer – Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering, Charlotte, NC
Recorded at Sound Emporium Studio A, Nashville, TN
Overdubs at Hometone Studio

Photo Credit: David Hume Kennerly
Video Credit: Filmed and directed by Forrest O’Connor

WATCH: Hildaland, “Trains/Fin’s”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Hildaland
Hometown: Portland, Maine
Song: “Trains/Fin’s”
Album: Sule Skerry
Release Date: September 26, 2023 (single); November 3, 2023 (album)
Label: Adhyâropa Records

In Their Words: “This set is comprised of ‘Trains’ by Ethan Setiawan and ‘Fin’s Foley’ by Louise Bichan. We decided these tunes would fit well together as they’re both in three parts, and both about movement. It was an honor to get the great Neil Pearlman on the track on keyboard as well. Ethan says of the first tune, ‘”Trains” was written during some discussion with the great harpist Maeve Gilchrist about hornpipes. I tried to integrate some of the stylistic ups and downs, using arpeggios to create a melody rather than something linear.’ And Louise wrote “Fin’s Foley” for her brother, after a wheel mishap. I had forgotten all about the unofficial title until I came across the original sheet music while rummaging through things at my folks’ house: Rover’s Revenge!'” – Hildaland

Photo Credit: Louise Bichan

WATCH: Golden Shoals, “Bitter”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Golden Shoals
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee / Vancouver, B.C.
Song: “Bitter”
Release Date: September 13, 2023

In Their Words: “This song, co-written by myself and Rachel Baiman, is a culmination of the frustrations I felt being a musician during the pandemic. Our jobs were the first to go and the clunkiest to return to full capacity. Performance opportunities are back, but the struggle of sustaining a career continues to weigh heavy on all artists alike. Obviously Spotify is mentioned in this song, and I even call out the media machine and the ‘pay to play’ nature of PR campaigns. We both connected to this song so much that Rachel even recorded a brooding version on her newest album, Common Nation of Sorrow. Our livelier version features banjo, baritone guitar and pedal steel.” – Amy Alvey

Track Credits: Produced by Thomas Bryan Eaton and Golden Shoals

Amy Alvey – acoustic guitar, vocals, harmonies
Mark Kilianski – banjo, harmony vocals
Thomas Bryan Eaton – piano, pedal steel, baritone guitar
Jamie Dick – drums
Miss Tess – bass

Photo Credit: Kaitlyn Raitz
Video Credit: Trent Freeman