Tag: premiere

LISTEN: Skillet Licorice, “3-in-1 2-Step”

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Artist: Skillet Licorice
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Song: “3-in-1 2-Step”
Album: Allsorts Orchestra
Release Date: September 10, 2021
Label: Tiki Parlour Recordings

In Their Words: “‘3-in-1 2-Step’ was one of the first East Texas Serenaders tunes that we learned. One listen and you feel transported 100 years into the past. It is so named because it borrows its melody from three other tunes: ‘Dill Pickle Rag,’ ‘The Entertainer’ and ‘I Don’t Love Nobody.’ As such, it’s perfectly emblematic of the ETS. They weren’t jazz players and they weren’t classical players, but these talented Texans were able to seamlessly incorporate elements from disparate genres to create something new, something their own, yet somehow familiar. Our version features a driving yet elegant banjo-mando harmony part played by San Diego old-time wunderkind Clinton Davis.” — Elise Engelberg and Matt Knoth, Skillet Licorice

Photo credit: Sean Kelly.
Skillet Licorice Allsorts Orchestra Illustration by ‘The Simpsons’ artist Joe Wack

WATCH: The Kody Norris Show, “Farmin’ Man”

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Artist: The Kody Norris Show
Hometown: Mountain City, Tennessee
Song: “Farmin’ Man”
Album: All Suited Up
Release Date: September 10, 2021 (Single)
Label: Rebel Records

In Their Words: “‘Farmin’ Man” is a true-life account of the American farmer from my perspective. I grew up in a tobacco farming family in the mountains of eastern Tennessee, so I guess I had some firsthand experience of farm life and know all to well the ups and downs that come along with it. I feel that with this video we were able to capture on point the day-to-day life of the Farmin’ Man: the hard work, the struggles and uncertainty they face every day. We had such a great time filming this and it brought back so many memories of my childhood. I hope when fans see this they will take a minute to pay homage to one of America’s greatest heroes, the Farmin’ Man.'” — Kody Norris

Photo credit: Amy Richmond

LISTEN: Ross Adams, “Tobacco Country”

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Artist: Ross Adams
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Song: “Tobacco Country”
Album: Escaping Southern Heat
Release Date: September 10, 2021

In Their Words: “The inspiration behind ‘Tobacco Country’ came from always staying true to your roots and remembering the people who helped you follow your path and dreams. The South raised me and the culture is in my heart, it is family, and reminds me of simpler times. It’s coming to that realization of needing to grow out of your adolescence to make your soul thrive and shape your own destiny. I don’t plan on staying in the South forever. I have this dream of moving out West, but ‘Tobacco Country’ was me sorta remembering my roots, but still wanting to get out and see the world.” — Ross Adams

Photo credit: Joshua Black Wilkins

WATCH: A Tale of Two, “The Letter”

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Artist: A Tale of Two
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Letter”
Album: A Tale of Two EP
Release Date: September 17, 2021

In Their Words: “‘The Letter’ is a very important song for us. We wanted to capture the romanticism behind writing a letter to someone and it feels as though the song took on a whole new meaning during the pandemic. The main essence of A Tale of Two is focused on live performance. We want to bring a record to life on the stage every time we perform. This video was special to us, as we were lucky to have Nashville fiddler Kyle Pudenz on board, who is a spectacular musician and person.” — Stephanie Adlington and Aaron Lessard, A Tale of Two

Photo credit: Nathan Zucker

LISTEN: Swamptooth, “The Owl Theory”

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Artist: Swamptooth
Hometown: Savannah, Georgia
Song: “The Owl Theory”
Album: B-Flat Earth
Release Date: September 17, 2021

In Their Words: “This song was written by guitarist Jay Rudd. In the Netflix series The Staircase, crime novelist Michael Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife who was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their home. A few years later a neighbor brought forth a new theory that an owl had attacked Peterson’s wife on her way inside the home and she had fallen down the stairs during the resulting confusion. Many have argued that the theory is plausible due to evidence such as microscopic owl feathers found in her hand. This song manifested after visualizing the owl attack and subsequent fall down the staircase.” — Swamptooth

Photo credit: Kelly Roetto

LISTEN: Tony Kamel, “This River”

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Artist: Tony Kamel
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “This River”
Album: Back Down Home
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words: “Making music for a living is a privilege afforded to few. If you’re lucky, people may even want to see you play it. That’s a wonderful thing, but it comes with some caveats. You miss your family and friends. Even when you’re home, you play at night or on weekends when they’re home from work. But that’s just part of the deal. Would be great to make some good money doing it, too. Maybe one day…. We recorded this on the pre-production day in the studio, the day before we really got started. It was supposed to be a demo. Josh Blue played an old 1960s Maestro drum machine while I took a stab at it. It sounded really cool so we just kept it and added slide guitar by Geoff Queen and harmonies by Kelley Mickwee later.” — Tony Kamel

Photo credit: Josh Abel

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