Tag: premiere

LISTEN: Claire Hawkins, “The Name”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Claire Hawkins
Hometown: New York, New York
Song: “The Name”
Album: The Name
Release Date: August 4, 2023

In Their Words: “My music has taken me to some incredible places over the years. From a DIY European tour performing in youth hostels and shooting music videos in Ireland, to recording demos in Thailand and writing songs as an artist-in-residence in France, I’m certainly no stranger to being on the move. I wrote this song in my hometown of New York City during a period of transition following two years living in Dublin, Ireland. ‘The Name’ came from a place of yearning and addressing the challenges that come from following your personal North Star, even when it leads you away from the pack. Coming home after a long time away is always an interesting moment for reflection, and one of the perks of being a songwriter is getting to reflect on these moments again and again.” – Claire Hawkins

Photo Credit: Geraldine Smyth

WATCH: Caroline Cotter, “The Year of the Wrecking Ball”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Caroline Cotter
Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island; currently Ellsworth, Maine
Song: “The Year of the Wrecking Ball”
Album: Gently As I Go
Release Date: August 18, 2023

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘The Year of the Wrecking Ball’ in the winter of 2020 as I reflected on the challenges of transition and the act of letting go. I grew up in a brick house, in a quiet residential neighborhood on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island. This home was my place of refuge, belonging, and comfort. Cozy mornings listening to records on the green rug by the heat vent in our family room, sliding down the long wooden staircase in sleeping bags, being sung to sleep by my parents, surrounded by a menagerie of stuffed animals. Then as I got older and my siblings left the house, nostalgia and the unkept lawn grew, paint chipped, and our family continued to change. When I was 20, my parents divorced and sold the house. It took me years to understand what saying goodbye to my childhood home meant to me. As painful as the loss was, it gave me a push to find belonging in the present moment, make home wherever I was, and see the light through the cracks. ‘The Year of the Wrecking Ball’ revisits a place and relationships that could never be the same, and finds gratitude in the spaces made by inevitable change.” – Caroline Cotter

Photo Credit: Katherine Emery

LISTEN: Caroline Owens, “No More Blue Moons In Kentucky”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Caroline Owens
Hometown: Denton, North Carolina
Song: “No More Blue Moons In Kentucky” featuring Darin & Brooke Aldridge
Release Date: August 4, 2023
Label: Skyline Records

In Their Words: “I knew from the moment I heard this song that I wanted to record it. I’ve always been a sucker for a sad song, and this one hits me right in the heart every single time. It’s one of those songs that I know I will have to mentally remove myself from before I sing it; it hits that deep.

“I was fortunate to have my musical heroes, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, featured on this track – a lifelong dream of mine, and an absolute blast to work with in the studio. And as always, many thanks to my record label, Skyline Records, for their belief in me.

“I know I speak for all artists when I say that it takes a village to do what we do. And I am thankful for that village, and to everyone who has supported the release of ‘No More Blue Moons.'” – Caroline Owens

Photo Credit: Anna Haas Photography

WATCH: Cruz Contreras, “Let Somebody Love You”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Cruz Contreras
Hometown: Bridgman, Michigan
Song: “Let Somebody Love You”
Album: Cosmico
Release Date: September 15, 2023
Label: Cosmico Records

In Their Words: “‘Let Somebody Love You’ is a hypnotic groove jam with a simple message. It’s time to let somebody love you. Speaking to Western themes and adventure, broken dreams, moonshine-inspired journeys, and psychedelic realizations, ‘Let Somebody Love You’ delivers a driving verse and grand chorus that encourages the listener to overcome their fears, whatever they may be. The syncopated guitar riff creates the transcendental meditation that takes the listener to another plane where rock ‘n’ roll and grooves make all things right.” – Cruz Contreras

Photo Credit: David McClister

LISTEN: Brewflies, “Mercy Now” (Mary Gauthier Cover)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Brewflies
Hometown: New York City
Song: “Mercy Now” (Mary Gauthier Cover)
Album: Rain Down Mercy
Release Date: August 8, 2023

In Their Words: “Early on in the process of choosing songs for our album Rain Down Mercy, we were struck by the humanity of Mary Gauthier’s ‘Mercy Now.’ This was at the height of COVID isolation, the madness of January 6, the desperation and outpouring of grief, outrage, and appeals for justice spearheaded by the Black Lives Matter movement. All the attendant divisiveness surrounding the wider issues were bearing down: Climate change, authoritarian populism, mass killings, and global conflict.

“Gauthier’s song was written nearly 20 years ago, but its ever-widening appeal for understanding and mercy for stubbornly self-defeating human behavior — while at the same time delivering admonishment and warning — spoke to the heart of what we thought we wanted to achieve in the crafting of the album. (It’s there in the album’s title.) We wanted a fairly simple and direct acoustic approach in our arrangement, using Lisa Gutkin’s fiddle, Dan Hickey’s sensitive percussion, Prof. Louie’s lightly expressive piano and accordion, and Kirsti Gholson’s background vocal arrangement as highlights.” – Larry Brittain

Photo Credit: Marion Tarantina

LISTEN: Cole Gallagher, “The Ocarins of the Tennessee”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Cole Gallagher
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “The Ocarins of the Tennessee”
Album: The Confluence EP
Release Date: August 4, 2023
Label: Raggy & Balls

In Their Words: “I got the inspiration for this song from an interview I heard my buddy Jimbo Hart do. He talked about fishing on Wilson Lake with his father and hearing the sound of wind blowing off the river and through caves on the side of the bluffs. Then, when I made it down to Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, and Florence, Alabama, it became clear to me it was something I wanted to write about. The song has a lot of different meanings, but I think all I was really trying to make clear was how much I loved the time spent there immersing myself in their community and culture.” – Cole Gallagher

Photo Credit: Chris Martinez 

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