Tag: premiere

WATCH: Jaelee Roberts, “Think Again”

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Artist: Jaelee Roberts
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Think Again”
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I heard ‘Think Again’ for the first time a couple of years ago and I knew immediately that I had to record it! I love how the songwriters (Marla Cannon-Goodman and Shane Stockton) told such a vivid story… songs that you can ‘see’ and ‘feel’ are my favorite! I had so much fun during the filming (I really loved driving the convertible and the drone was awesome) and I am SO excited to be able to bring this song to life in my very first music video. There are a couple of lines in the lyrics where the video and the song really connected: ‘If you’re standin’ at the screen door, heart laid open out in your hand’ and ‘I’m gonna find a spot to pull off on the shoulder’ — watch for those scenes in the video. I’m just really thankful I got to record ‘Think Again’ and I sure hope everyone enjoys the video for it!” — Jaelee Roberts

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

WATCH: Sara Trunzo, “Nashville Time”

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Artist: Sara Trunzo
Hometown: Unity, Maine
Song: “Nashville Time”
Album: Cabin Fever Dream EP
Release Date: September 24, 2021

In Their Words: “One reason I was excited to have this song show up for me was that it encapsulates my most recent chapter of orbiting the axes of Nashville and coastal Maine. At first edit, I worried the song mixed too many different images and place-based metaphors, but that’s actually a good reflection of my voice and life. I’m a northerner who loves the south, a flip-flopper between music and community organizing, a New England veggie farmer with visions of sequin dresses and high-end Nashville recording studios dancing through her head. I’m not a purist. I often wish I was, because it’d be handy to be able to say, ‘I’m a teacher and I live in Bangor,’ but being a seasonal, migratory, hybrid creature seems to be more in the cards for me.

“Because I had lived in Maine for most of my adult life, coastal life and the water have shown up in many songs. I have REALLY missed the ocean during the seasons I lived in Nashville. ‘Nashville Time’ surprised me with the amount of nautical references that stuck, as I didn’t have much firsthand experience with sailing at the time of writing. But since coming back to Maine after the start of COVID, I have fallen in love with sailing to the extent that I’m now living aboard a 30ft sloop on Penobscot Bay.” — Sara Trunzo

Photo credit: Chip Dillon / Blue Horse Photography

LISTEN: Birds of Play, “Not Alone”

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Artist: Birds of Play
Hometown: Ophir, Colorado
Song: “Not Alone”
Album: Murmurations Vol. 1
Release Date: September 3, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Not Alone’ was written in the thick of lockdown, early April 2020. I was sitting down to read a book when I found out that John Prine had died. I put my book down and picked up my guitar and played his songs for a couple hours. Somewhere in the midst of that celebration and mourning this song appeared. I wrote it over the course of that night and the next morning as a bit of a reflection on our shared lot. It feels cathartic to sing and still unfortunately relevant.” — Alex Paul, Birds of Play

Photo credit: Sarah Schwab

LISTEN: Ben Bostick, “Like Old People Do”

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Artist: Ben Bostick
Hometown: Born in Beaufort, South Carolina. Currently resides in Lilburn, Georgia
Song: “Like Old People Do”
Album: Grown Up Love
Release Date: August 20, 2021

In Their Words: “My friend Pam Hobby, a great songwriter herself, came to one of my shows, and we were chatting between sets. She told me that she and her boyfriend had been down in the Keys doing nothing, sitting at the end of the dock on rocking chairs and watching the sunset ‘like old people do.’ My songwriter brain latched onto that phrase and immediately started writing the song. I think I had it mostly written by the time I played my next set. It was a perfect sentiment for my life.

“My wife Cari and I had been rushing around to doctor’s appointments, therapies, pharmacies, going sleepless with a newborn and also our oldest daughter’s Carmela’s terrible sleep disturbances (due to Rett Syndrome), and generally going at a hundred miles an hour. We needed to slow down just to maintain our sanity. We needed to take a page out of the old people’s book of love, and just sit still, saying nothing, holding hands like old people do. Of course taking a vacation to the coast with two babies during COVID wasn’t possible, because of so many different reasons, but this song helped us realize that we needed to take a breath whenever possible.” — Ben Bostick

Photo credit: Carey Hood

LISTEN: Bill Filipiak, “Conesus Lake”

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Artist: Bill Filipiak
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Conesus Lake”
Album: Medicine I Need
Release Date: October 1, 2021

In Their Words: “I don’t think it’s any secret that our lives can quickly become overwhelming. The blues are all around us and can hit us at any time for a multitude of reasons. The past year in particular has been hard on everyone. We’ve all had to deal with unprecedented stress. It’s left so many of us mentally and physically spent. When life becomes overwhelming like that, we all need a place we can go that soothes our soul. For some it’s the beach, for some it’s the mountains, for me it’s Conesus Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York.

“Conesus Lake has been an oasis for me for 12 years now, and when I’m struggling with something, that’s where I go to recharge and clear my head. It’s like a baptism, a rebirth, a natural state of solitude that serves as a medicine. In the song, I’m singing about a specific place, but really Conesus Lake is a state of mind — that place you go when you need to look inward, put things behind you and start with a fresh perspective. And when you find that place, it becomes possible to take a piece of it with you, to help you cope with life’s pitfalls until the next time you can return to your own Conesus Lake.” — Bill Filipiak

Photo credit: Kristi Filipiak

WATCH: George Jackson Feat. Wes Corbett, “Mississippi Sawyer”

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Artist: George Jackson featuring Wes Corbett
Hometown: Christchurch, New Zealand
Song: “Mississippi Sawyer”
Album: Hair & Hide
Release Date: Single, August 25; Album, October 29
Label: George Jackson Records

In Their Words: “I live just up the road from the house where the legendary musician John Hartford once lived, on the edge of the Cumberland River in Madison, Tennessee, and for this live video we had the amazing opportunity to record the take in the crow’s nest on top of Hartford’s old riverside home. The current owners were very generous to let us film in that space and they even keep John’s old chair up there, a nod to when he used to sit in that same room overlooking the river and play banjo himself. It was magical to get to play in that room!

“Wes Corbett and I played a version of ‘Mississippi Sawyer’ together while we were warming up together one afternoon by jamming on some fiddle tunes in preparation for arranging some music to record on my banjo and fiddle duets album, Hair & Hide. It was immediately so much fun and had such a great energy to it that I decided then and there that I wanted to record it with Wes for the album. This tune lends itself really well as a way to bring together elements of old-time fiddling that I bring to the table and of virtuosic bluegrass banjo playing from Wes, as well as being a great vehicle to muddle the lines of both genres as we play it together.

“I ended up taking a deep dive on some old recorded versions of ‘Mississippi Sawyer’ from various old-time fiddlers after that initial jam, and came across two really unique versions that I loved from a couple of legendary West Virginia old-time fiddlers, Ernie Carpenter and Edden Hammons. I liked elements of both of their versions so I decided to take inspiration from Ernie’s A part and Edden’s B part to create this really fun and unique take on this great old chestnut fiddle tune that’s endlessly fun to play. Wes is one of our generation’s great picking banjo players and it was so fun to get to work on this tune with him and hear how he improvises around the melody so fluidly. I hope you all enjoy this!” — George Jackson

Photo credit: Natia Cinco

LISTEN: Ruby Landen, “Self Help”

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Artist: Ruby Landen
Hometown: Arcata, California; currently Brooklyn, New York
Song: “Self Help”
Album: Martyr, well
Release Date: August 27, 2021
Label: Slang Church

In Their Words: “‘Self Help’ is a song meant to convey the self-indulgent contempt I feel for myself at the lowest of times. Though not really a conscious choice, I find myself often juxtaposing pretty instrumentation and melody with somewhat ugly subject matter. I don’t ever try to make myself seem good in any of my songs, but I do portray most of the people referenced in the record especially badly, and I think in bearing all of my ugly nakedness I’m trying to communicate that I’m no different from any of these people — maybe I’m even worse. It’s by far the most personal and vulnerable song I’ve written, so I’m a little nervous for people to hear it.” — Ruby Landen

Photo credit: Brynn Lewis

LISTEN: Mike Younger, “Killing Time”

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Artist: Mike Younger
Hometown: Halifax, Canada/Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Killing Time”
Album: Burning the Bigtop Down
Release Date: August 27, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Killing Time’ is a sideways glance at another time and the dreams and people of that time. I had survived the Hall Of Horrors which was the street/squatter experience in New York City in 1992/1993 — and I’d lost more than a few pals along the way. The lyrics take comfort in the remembrance of past friendships forged in the fire of struggle, but swept apart like grains of sand. … I’ve always been deeply affected by the struggles faced by our disenfranchised communities. I greatly admire those writers and creative people in general, who, through their work, have lent their voices to the struggle for equity in our society, like John Lennon, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, and others. Artists have nothing to lose by speaking their truth, and doing so unapologetically, especially these days. That’s what I strive for in my work. There are enough great songs about pickup trucks already.” — Mike Younger

Photo credit: Michael Weintraub

LISTEN: Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, “Carolina Line”

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Artist: Seth Mulder & Midnight Run
Hometown: Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Song: “Carolina Line”
Release Date: August 24, 2021
Label: Mountain Fever Records

In Their Words: “We’re so excited for everyone to hear our new single, ‘Carolina Line.’ It features our guitar player Ben Watlington singing lead in a Osborne Brothers-inspired arrangement that we had fun coming up with. Ben really connected with the song vocally and personally and always finds a way to make each song he sings his own. ‘Carolina Line’ was brought to us by our good friend Jerry Salley, and we feel that it represents our various musical influences. We hope everyone enjoys it as much as we enjoyed recording it.” — Seth Mulder

Photo credit: Miranda Goff

LISTEN: The Grascals, “Maybelle”

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Artist: The Grascals
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Maybelle”
Album: Up All Night
Release Date: August 27, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “It’s very rare when looking for a song that you find exactly what you’re looking for. This was the case with ‘Maybelle!’ The song sounds like it came from deep within the mountains. From the haunting words to the clawhammer banjo and fiddle, this song will grab your attention.” — John Bryan, The Grascals

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither