Tag: premiere

STREAM: Listening Party, ‘Been a Long Time Comin’

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Listening Party
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Album: Been a Long Time Comin’
Release Date: August 25, 2023

In Their Words: “Been a Long Time Comin’ is a collection of experiences and stories gathered over the last five years that have been immersed in the styles of folk, Americana and country. Representing the people, the places and the roads traveled, the songs display our personal growth as we entered our 30s and had to start confronting some of the hurdles that life tossed our way. The goal was to approach a few of these issues with a light-hearted storytelling voice so they didn’t have to seem so daunting, while hopefully leaving some room for the listener to feel hope and redemption. We did our best to acknowledge life’s trials, but also celebrate the positivity that the long journey has to offer. For us, Been a Long Time Comin’ will always be a polaroid of a time in our lives when we relied and leaned on each other to get by.” – Listening Party

Photo Credit: Jessica Kaminski

LISTEN: Bill and the Belles, “Gotta Get Drunk”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Bill and the Belles
Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee
Song: “Gotta Get Drunk”
Album: To Willie From Billy
Release Date: September 8, 2023
Label: Ditty Boom Records

In Their Words: “Our upcoming album, To Willie From Billy, is a tribute to Willie Nelson, released in honor of the icon turning 90. We like to think it’s a bold and playful meeting of our string band origins and genre-defying arrangements, and a celebration of Nelson’s songwriting and musical ethos. It is that musical ethos that ties Willie and Billy together: A commitment to timelessness and simplicity, with a good dose of rebellion. Picking out just 12 tunes from Willie Nelson’s catalogue proved to be tough if not impossible, but eventually we got there. Most of the tunes are lesser known cuts from Nelson with a few hits thrown in for good measure. ‘Gotta Get Drunk,’ a raucous bar shout, wobbles and sways right in the middle.” – Kris Truelsen

Photo Credit: Billie Wheeler

WATCH: Barbaro, “Gardens”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Barbaro
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Song: “Gardens”
Album: About the Winter
Release Date: October 20, 2023
Label: StorySound Records

In Their Words: “This tune is one of those that was written quite easily in one sitting, but took the band a while to finalize it. Looking back at voice memos, we started working on this one about three years ago. There was a clear vision for the composition, but took us a little to realize how each instrument can be used to accomplish it. The goal for the song was to be a long crescendo from start to finish. It starts with just guitar, then adds bass, then adds a simple counter melody on the banjo, then fiddle, etc. We like to think of it like building with Lego blocks, every six bars you add a new piece, a new color, until a nice little mosaic presents itself. It’s a really simple song, same three chords looping over and over again, the same melody plays following every verse. Because of this, the goal was to change the way these parts were played every go around, whether playing muted, more percussive, or playing each note with more sustain.” – Barbaro

Photo Credit: Wolfskull Creative

LISTEN: Hallie Spoor, “Julia”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Hallie Spoor
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Julia”
Album: Heart Like Thunder
Release Date: August 22, 2023 (single); October 17, 2023 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Julia’ is the first song I wrote for what would eventually (three full years later) become a new record, Heart Like Thunder. I had just seen a Bonny Light Horseman show at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY, and was very inspired by the performance. Their music has a grounded and natural energy, and that was how I approached writing the song that evolved into ‘Julia.’

“‘Julia’ is a strophic song – meaning it’s a very simple, three-verse format that is a tad unusual to the way I typically approach songwriting. (Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, etc.) But I think the simplicity of the form is what allows the story to shine. ‘Julia’ is about losing your lover to their best friend. In real life, we humans can be jealous bitter creatures, but in art we get to be wise and soulful. ‘Julia’ ultimately is about forgiveness – and I hope that feeling of peace is what the listener takes away.” – Hallie Spoor

Photo Credit: Sierra Voss

LISTEN: Jon Danforth, “Can’t Stay Here”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Jon Danforth
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Song: “Can’t Stay Here”
Album: Repetitions
Release Date: August 18, 2023 (single); October 27, 2023 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Can’t Stay Here’ is a bit of a rambling song, but it is also self-aware enough to know that rambling is typically not a solution to life’s problems. The song acknowledges the strong impulse and the feeling of needing to get away while admitting that, most of the time, that won’t solve anything. It’s a reminder that most of our problems need to be addressed by doing the work on ourselves. At the end of the day, as the saying goes, ‘wherever you go, there you are.'” – Jon Danforth

Photo Credit: Faith Alesia 

LISTEN: The Clements Brothers, “As the Crow Flies”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: The Clements Brothers
Hometown: Gloucester, Massachusetts
Song: “As the Crow Flies”
Album: Dandelion Breeze
Release Date: August 25, 2023
Label: Plow Man Records

In Their Words: “’As the Crow Flies’ is a tune written by George and finished by Charles. George came up with the Celtic-inspired tune on the guitar and brought it to the band. Then we played and improvised around on it until we had something we thought was exciting and interesting. The metric modulation and build in the middle of the tune was something George had conceived-of from the initial demo, but it took some playing around and experimenting with until the current progression and bass solo with the fiddle weaving around it emerged. The great fiddler Jenna Moynihan lent her beautiful playing and creative energy to the fiddle part, which we think really tied the tune together in the end. In terms of the tune name, we thought the melody had a kind of soaring and darkly quirky quality to it, so the title “As the Crow Flies” seemed to fit the mood and spirit of the sonic journey. Our late father, who passed just before the album was coming into shape, always loved crows with their intelligent and family-oriented qualities, so it also serves as a little memory capsule to him.” – The Clements Brothers

Photo Credit: Toan Trinh

LISTEN: Sandy Bailey, “Like You Loved Me”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Sandy Bailey
Hometown: Northfield, Massachusetts
Song: “Like You Loved Me”
Album: Daughter Of Abraham
Release Date: August 18, 2023
Label: Red Parlor Records

In Their Words: “I first wrote and recorded this song about 10 years ago and never released it. When we were tracking it, the drummer started crying and I realized I had written something that would resonate with people. Still, in typical artist fashion, I constantly second guess myself and try to perfect things and get in my own way. Because of this I have a whole catalog of songs that will probably never be heard. The only people who ever listened to what I recorded were my kids. They made me play this song for them all the time, it was one of their favorites. I decided I wanted to finally release it on this album, but I had to make a new recording, because my voice had changed 10 years later. Not only has my voice changed, but so has my son’s! I guess it turned out to be fortunate that I waited, because I was able to record his new man voice for the background vocals on one of his favorite songs.” – Sandy Bailey

Photo Credit: Anja Schütz

LISTEN: John McCutcheon & Tom Paxton, “Life Before You”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: John McCutcheon & Tom Paxton
Hometown: Smoke Rise, Georgia; Alexandria, Virginia
Song: “Life Before You”
Album: Together
Release Date: October 13, 2023
Label: Appalseed

In Their Words: “Tom Paxton and I started writing together early on during the pandemic and, with seemingly endless time on our hands, we tackled all manner of subjects and ideas. This one started out as a pretty standard love song. But, often, along the way, one of us will say, ‘Wait a minute, what if this turned left instead of right?,’ and we’ll bravely go down that blind alley. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Tom was particularly enamored of the way the ending comes out of left field to the listener, a real surprise. He breaks into a big grin every time the end of verse three rolls around. One of the great joys of songwriting teamwork is to see your partner so delighted with the final result. Doesn’t get any better…” – John McCutcheon

Photo Credit: Michael G. Stewart

WATCH: Arny Margret, “waiting”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Arny Margret
Hometown: Ísafjörður, Iceland
Song: “waiting”
Album: dinner alone EP
Release Date: September 22, 2023 (EP)
Label: One Little Independent Records

In Their Words: “Sometimes you feel like you’re waiting for someone, or for a moment to say something, but the person doesn’t really see or give you the time. This song is about a lot of things: feeling left out and alone, feeling unheard and unwanted. It’s a song that was scary for me to write. Like most of my newer songs, I feel like I’m starting to write in a bit of a different way, a more honest way. This song is all the things I would never say out loud to anyone, I’m not using any metaphors or trying to mask anything here. That’s a pretty scary thing to do to, at least for me.” – Arny Margret

Photo Credit: Keiko Ichihara

LISTEN: Scott Sean White, “Hope You Never Do” (Feat. Radney Foster)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Scott Sean White
Hometown: Dallas, Texas/Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Hope You Never Do” (Featuring Radney Foster)
Album: Even Better On the Bad Days
Release Date: August 18, 2023 (single); January 19, 2024 (album)

In Their Words: “Eric Erdman and Radney Foster were writing at Radney’s house one day and the news or something came on the TV while they were having lunch. Whatever it was, it made one of Radney’s kids say, ‘Dad, I don’t even know what it’s like to ball up my fist to hit someone.’ And Radney teared up and said, ‘I hope you never do.’ Eric gave him a minute and then said, ‘We’re writing THAT!’ They got stuck on the idea for some reason and couldn’t get it where they wanted. It was a year-and-a-half later that I met Eric for the first time and for some reason, he thought I was the guy to help them and their other co-writer, Chad Wilson, get it unstuck. We got together over Zoom one day and left with this.” – Scott Sean White

Photo Credit: Ted Parker Jr.