Tag: premiere

LISTEN: Alice Gerrard, “Remember Us”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Alice Gerrard
Hometown: Durham, North Carolina
Song: “Remember Us”
Album: Sun to Sun
Release Date: October 20, 2023
Label: Sleepy Cat Records

In Their Words: “Most of (I would say all) my music has grown from and been influenced by the music of the elders who came before me; by their lives and their experiences. Their daily hard work, whether forced or not, left its mark on everything, and their music reflected and told the story of their lives and their worlds. When I started writing this song, I was thinking about this and about enslaved men, women, and children who were forced onto ships and brought to this country, and how so many were lost. All are gone now but, as I say in the song, [their] ‘Toil and tears touch all you see… we are gone but still our truth remains…’

“We would do well to know the truth, to remember, and to carry on.” – Alice Gerrard

Photo Credit: Libby Rodenbough

WATCH: Billy Raffoul, “In My Arms”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Billy Raffoul
Hometown: Leamington, Ontario, Canada
Song: “In My Arms”
Album: For All These Years 
Release Date: July 28, 2023 (single); October 20, 2023 (album)
Label: Nettwerk Music Group

In Their Words: “‘In My Arms’ is a special one for me, because it’s something I wrote with my brother. For the first half of 2022 I was writing nearly a song every other day getting ready for this album, and there were about two weeks that Peter and I wrote at our place in Nashville. We would get six songs, and ‘In My Arms’ was one of them.

“I wrote it on my ’59 Gibson 335. I’m a lefty who plays right-handed guitars upside down and this song requires me to get pretty high up the neck for some of these chord shapes. Needed something with a double cutaway and the 335 did the trick. There’s no real picking pattern to this one. Just kind of raking into the chords and quite a bit of palm muting. This one was more about the tone, a ’40s tweed deluxe right at its breaking point.

“Playing the guitar upside down can be super inspiring when I’m writing. Having the bass strings on the bottom allows me to use my index, middle, and ring fingers to make some different bass patterns while my thumb plays the melody on the higher strings. These patterns are found all over this new album, particularly in songs like ‘Jim Carrey’ and ‘I Can’t Love You Anymore.’ I’m thrilled about this new album, because it’s the first time all of my influences are rolled into one record. Recording songs has always just been a vehicle to get people in a room together to hear them live, and the dynamic of this album is a good representation of what you’d hear from me in a live setting. I can’t wait to bring these songs to life on stage.” – Billy Raffoul

Photo Credit: Vanessa Heins

LISTEN: The Grascals, “I Go”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: The Grascals
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “I Go”
Release Date: July 28, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I sat down at the dinner table with one of my best friends, Darren Nicholson, (I work at a recovery treatment center in Asheville, North Carolina, often and I stay with Darren and his wife while in town) back in February of this year with the intention of writing our first song together. ‘I Go’ is the result of that writing session. The song ‘I Go’ comes from a previous vantage point and paints a picture of a darker time in both of our lives. Since Darren and I are now both in recovery together, we bounced some ideas off of each other from our personal journeys… combined with a little fiction that was easy to create from our past intoxicated minds. I feel like the story we came up with is one of my favorite songs I’ve written to date and I’m really glad that it was with Darren.

“‘I Go’ is a catchy melodic, up-tempo tune with an edgy, dark, true-life subject that many choose to avoid. However, we decided to face it head on and The Grascals took it and made it their own – OUR own. I am so excited to be back in this band and creating music with my friends again, and I’m thankful that we are the ones telling this story.” – Jamie Johnson

Photo Credit: Larry Bunn

WATCH: Tommy Emmanuel, “Tennessee Stud” (Feat. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Tommy Emmanuel
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Tennessee Stud” featuring Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Album: Accomplice Two
Release Date: April 28, 2023
Label: CGP Sounds

In Their Words: “I’ve always loved this song. I wanted to pay tribute with Nitty Gritty to Doc Watson and the original version that appears on the Will The Circle Be Unbroken album. Jeff Hanna sang on that version with Doc. Jeff and I split the verses up so we could come together on the choruses. It was a very relaxed feeling recording with the Nitty Gritty guys. They know it so well and I loved coming up with little changes in the riffs and chords to try to add my own touch to this classic. I love working with such an iconic band. I see them still giving music their ALL! Their passion for music, good songs, and performing for the fans is all still present when you see them and doesn’t seem like the years have taken their edge at all. More power to Nitty Gritty!” – Tommy Emmanuel

Photo Credit: Simone Cecchetti

LISTEN: The Cleverlys, “Creep” (Radiohead Cover)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: The Cleverlys
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Creep”
Album: Solid Butter
Release Date: July 28, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “The audience is loving ‘Creep’ in our live show. Starting with the initial recognition of the iconic Radiohead tune and the irony of us doing it — classic. The 3/4 timing gives it a fresh sound and sets it apart from other covers of the song, but the shining moment comes when Haggis sings the bridge. There’s a point, when he hits and holds out the last note, that the audience explodes, sometimes even giving him a standing ovation in the middle of the song. It’s a chill pimple moment for sure.” – Dr. Digger Cleverly

Photo Credit: Libby Danforth

WATCH: Hannah Connolly, “Reno”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Hannah Connolly
Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin; now Los Angeles, California
Song: “Reno”
Album: Shadowboxing
Release Date: June 23, 2023 (Single)

In Their Words: “‘Reno’ was written with my friend and longtime collaborator, Jordan Ruiz, and is the first song to be released on my second album.

“It’s about the ebb and flow in a relationship and the magnetic pull you feel toward each other through it all. My partner (and now fiancé) Eric is also a musician and tours often. For me this song and the corresponding video were inspired by that long distance, and what it was like early in our relationship when I’d take trips to see him out on the road. There’s something romantic about the time spent en route to see someone you love and it was fun to try to capture that feeling.

“The video was directed by my friend Ryan Neal Cordwell. We had a fun couple of days making it out in the desert outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Ryan also does photography and video for cars and a very generous friend of his let us borrow their vintage BMW to use in the video. It was so fun and I’m really grateful, because I’ve always dreamt of doing a music video with a classic car. We were also lucky to find a small airport in the area where we could film outside of the city. Watching the planes take off at sunset was a highlight of the day and really captured the mood of the song.” – Hannah Connolly

Photo and video by Ryan Neal Cordwell

WATCH: Davy Knowles, “Speak Softly, Tread Lightly”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Davy Knowles
Hometown: Isle of Man
Song: “Speak Softly, Tread Lightly”
Album: If I Should Wander
Release Date: August 25, 2023

In Their Words: “I feel the only way to talk about this song is frankly and honestly, as every one of its words is a truth for me.

“I have struggled with depression for a long time, although it’s only in recent history that I’ve accepted that and called it what it is. It was my wife, Amber, who persuaded me to find help and for that (and a million other things), I am so thankful to her. I’m honestly not sure I would be here without her.

“With depression, sometimes it’s hard to look past your own nose so to speak, and to see how the condition may be affecting those closest to you. If and when you do notice, you can then start to feel guilty for feeling the way you do. Thus creating a vicious circle within yourself.

“This song was/is my way of trying to comfort Amber during my struggle, to thank her and to reassure her that she’s perfect the way she is, that this is an internal fight. That I’m the problem, and while I’m learning to navigate it I may need a little extra comforting. It’s also to apologize to her for how this internal fight may materialize on the outside.

“Sounds depressing right? Guess it kind of is. It’s a sad song, written from a loving point of view. Kind of like – ‘Bear with me. You’re perfect, but I’m not right now.'” – Davy Knowles

Photo Credit: Michael Coakes

STREAM: Rachael Sage, ‘The Other Side’

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Rachael Sage
Hometown: Hudson Valley, New York
Album: The Other Side
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Label: MPress Records

In Their Words: “The Other Side is my 15th album and yet, in some ways, it felt like I was starting all over again with this particular collection of songs and recordings. After we were all emerging from lockdown, I noticed there was such an intense awareness that nothing would ever be quite the same, but nor should it be. As a songwriter, how do you chronicle a time of so much loss, but also so much gratitude – just to still be able to live, anticipating all that you will see, do, and experience once you’re able to move freely, beyond a time of immediate crisis?

“My goal in creating this record was to channel a kind of zealousness and to transcend limitations, which we had all largely become accustomed during the pandemic – and, in so doing, to reignite hope. How does music and creative expression in general help us get back to the business of living, with renewed joy, courage, appreciation and even idealism? The dozen originals on the album all circle the theme of transcendence in some way, as do the handful of covers I selected. Yearning, forgiveness, breathing itself – only human beings can thoroughly understand the miracle it is to do all of these with reverence and uplift, after enduring trauma. I hope when people listen they hear not only my voice, but the echoes of refrains so many of us clung to over the last several years: Hopes and imaginings that kept us going, and family and friends, who we were reminded the hard way are the most precious legacy anyone can create in this lifetime.” – Rachael Sage

Photo Credit: Bill Bernstein

LISTEN: Birds of Play, “Stargazer”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Birds of Play
Hometown: Telluride, Colorado
Song: “Stargazer”
Album: Birdsongs of the American West
Release Date: August 25, 2023

In Their Words: “‘Stargazer’ is the first song I ever wrote, and it’s been such an incredible experience bringing it to life with the band. I initially didn’t care much for it, but my bandmates thought it had a lot of potential, and I came around to appreciating it more as each of them added their own sounds to it. It has grown quite a lot since we first started performing it, and it’s an exciting part of each tour to see how it will continue to grow and change.” – Anneke Dean

Photo Credit: Sarah Schwab

LISTEN: Maia Sharp, “She’ll Let Herself Out”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Maia Sharp
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “She’ll Let Herself Out”
Album: Reckless Thoughts
Release Date: August 18, 2023
Label: Crooked Crown

In Their Words: “I was walking around mulling over the line ‘she’ll let herself out’ for a long time before I brought it into a co-write with Dean Fields (also a co-writer on ‘Kind’ with Mindy Smith). I knew he could help me make sure we got the most out of the two angles: the conversational and the revelational. The perspective needed to be casual and powerful with the same words. Then the challenge for me was to make the production stay true to that mission by having a swagger and a drive at the same time. It took me down a few pre-production rabbit holes for sure. One was too urgent, one was too laid back and then I found that middle ground and brought those preliminary tracks to my all-star band of Joshua Grange, Ross McReynolds and Will Honaker, who solidified the hell out of it.” – Maia Sharp

Photo Credit: Anna Haas