Tag: premiere

WATCH: Bhi Bhiman, “Magic Carpet Ride”

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Artist: Bhi Bhiman
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Song: “Magic Carpet Ride”
Album: Substitute Preacher II
Release Date: April 30, 2021
Label: BooCoo Music

In Their Words: “‘Magic Carpet Ride’ is such an instantly recognizable, iconic rock song, but I never realized the lyrics were actually about Aladdin and his magic lamp. The lyrics are super playful and I began playing it for my daughter, who I’ve been homeschooling during the pandemic. Country blues artists like Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Blind Blake have played a big part in my evolution as a guitarist. And it’s still one of my favorite styles to play because it just feels so good. So I took a song basically everybody knew and made it feel like an old country blues song that Steppenwolf merely covered. And I think this version is so soothing to hear, especially as a parent in these times, when everything is uncertain, and we wish we could just float above it all.” — Bhi Bhiman

Photo credit: David Andrako

WATCH: Bob Malone, “The River Gives”

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Artist: Bob Malone
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “The River Gives”
Album: Good People
Release Date: May 21, 2021
Label: Delta Moon Records

In Their Words: “My manager was putting together talent for the Rebuilding West Virginia Telethon, which aired on PBS stations across the country after the devastating 2016 floods in West Virginia. He asked if I could contribute a video for the show, and if it could be done in two days! Immediately after that phone call, I sat down at the piano and this song just came pouring out. The next day I got together with my producer Bob DeMarco and engineer Steve McDonald — we made the video of me playing and singing the song live in the studio, edited it, and sent it off at the 11th hour. The song was never released beyond that original airing, and we never really got the chance to produce the song like we wanted to. So for this new album, we added band and background vocals to that original solo performance.” — Bob Malone

Photo credit: Jim Mimna

LISTEN: Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose, “Heart of Mine”

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Artist: Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Song: “Heart of Mine”
Album: Spark in Your Smile
Release Date: July 5, 2021

In Their Words: “I wrote this song about how it feels to not fit in and the things we do to get a sense of belonging. I imagine we can all get to feeling like we are on the outside looking in or that we are stuck between two worlds. For me I felt like I had to hide my queerness for a long time, but once I was out I felt like an impostor in queer spaces. Luckily, I have been supported by many of the people in my life and keep meeting more folks I can relate to (in part thanks to organizations like Bluegrass Pride). This song is brought to life by Joe D’Esposito on fiddle, Jean-Luc Davis on bass (both from The Railsplitters), Colton Liberatore on drums, Maggie Liberatore on harmony vocals and Aaron Youngberg on synthesizers.” — Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose

Photo credit: Grace Clark

LISTEN: Mark Rubin, Jew of Oklahoma, “My Resting Place” (Feat. Danny Barnes)

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Artist: Mark Rubin, Jew of Oklahoma
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
Song: “My Resting Place” (Feat. Danny Barnes)
Album: The Triumph of Assimilation
Release Date: June 1, 2021
Label: Rubinchik Recordings

In Their Words: “‘My Resting Place’ is an old-time bluegrass number inspired by the drive of Jimmy Martin and yet based on a 100-year-old Yiddish poem by Morris Rosenfeld. Known as the ‘poet laureate of the slum and the sweatshops,’ Rosenfeld’s ‘Mayn Rue Platz’ was written to commemorate the tragic events of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in NYC in 1911. The original Yiddish lyric brought to mind the Harlan Howard songs I grew up with as a kid, so the match seemed like a natural. My Bad Livers bandmate and acknowledged five-string banjo master Danny Barnes came in to seal the dark mood to match the lyric. If I’m being honest, I wrote it with Del McCoury in mind as the thought of a 100-year-old Yiddish labor ballad sung on bluegrass stages cheers me to no end.” — Mark Rubin

Photo credit: George Brainard

WATCH: Lady Nade, “Willing”

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Artist: Lady Nade
Hometown: Bristol, UK
Song: “Willing”
Album: Willing
Release Date: June 18, 2021

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Willing’ as a message of acceptance, loyalty and friendship. I’ve often tried to fit in, which has meant I lost myself for a while, I’ve been working really hard in the last couple of years to be aware of that. Realising being individual is what being human means, these feelings are particularly poignant for everyone after this prolonged period of separation we’ve all been through. The video was filmed in my hometown in Bristol along the route of the BLM protests last summer. I end the video at the base of the statue of Slave Master Edward Colston, which was dismantled during those protests. The way the video and song came together portray the message of self, as well as community.” — Lady Nade

Photo credit: Arthur René Walwin

LISTEN: John R. Miller, “Faustina”

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Artist: John R. Miller
Hometown: Hedgesville, West Virginia
Song: “Faustina”
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Label: Rounder Records

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Faustina’ a few years ago as a salve when I needed one; one part road-ode, one part a nod to long hours spent in search of mystics and saints while navigating cycles of addiction. I love John Clay and Jonathan Beam’s comfortable groove here on drums and bass respectively, Adam Meisterhans’ backdrop of electric guitar flourishes, and Russ Pahl’s effortless-sounding pedal steel ebbing throughout the song.” — John R. Miller

Photo credit: David McClister

LISTEN: The Rose Petals, “They Say You Loved a Good Man”

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Artist: The Rose Petals
Hometown: Nashville / Seattle
Song: “They Say You Loved a Good Man”
Album: American Grenadine
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Label: Envoy Records

In Their Words: “This song is about Calvin Coolidge, who served as president from 1923 to 1929, apologizing to his wife, Grace, for his shortcomings as a husband. Grace and Cal were an unlikely pair, and her friends found the match quite unbelievable. She was warm, friendly, outgoing, gregarious, and cheerful. He was quiet, austere, deliberate, uncommunicative, and sometimes glum. The Coolidges lived happily together for twenty-eight years, but when Grace was asked, toward the end of her life, how she had come to marry her husband, she said, ‘Well, I thought I would get him to enjoy life and have fun, but he was not very easy to instruct in that way.’

“So, really this song is about regret. It’s about living your life with the best intentions yet still falling short of expectations. Musically we wanted to tap into that wistful vibe, so we borrowed a bunch of tricks from some of our older influences – acoustic 12-string from The Byrds, synthesizer from the ’80s records of Bruce Springsteen, and some Beach Boys harmonies to top it off at the end.” — Peter Donovan, The Rose Petals

Photo credit: Dan Destiny

WATCH: Richie Furay, “Go and Say Goodbye”

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Artist: Richie Furay
Hometown: Yellow Spring, Ohio
Song: “Go and Say Goodbye”
Album + DVD: 50th Anniversary Return to the Troubadour
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Label: DSDK Productions, distributed by MRI Entertainment

In Their Words: “‘Go and Say Goodbye’ is one of my all-time favorite Stephen Stills songs. I’ve recorded it in every band configuration I’ve been in — Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and the Richie Furay Band. Stephen shared the song with me before there ever was a Buffalo Springfield as we sat in his apartment in Los Angeles on Fountain Avenue, learning all the songs he had written for what would become the first Buffalo Springfield album. Over the years I’ve given it a few arrangement changes, musically, while keeping the original feel and dynamic of the song.” — Richie Furay

Pictured: Richie Furay and his daughter Jesse Furay Lynch. Photo Credit: Howard Zryb

LISTEN: Leftover Salmon, “Boogie Grass Band”

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Artist: Leftover Salmon
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Song: “Boogie Grass Band”
Album: Brand New Good Old Days
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Label: Compass Records

In Their Words: “This old Conway Twitty song was recommended for the band by our friend Ronnie McCoury years ago. It speaks to where we sit on the musical spectrum. We love country, bluegrass and rock music and like to do them all at the same time! This song acknowledges that while taking it taking it in a uniquely Salmon direction.” — Vince Herman, Leftover Salmon

Photo credit: John-Ryan Lockman

WATCH: John Mailander’s Forecast, “Returning”

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Artist: John Mailander’s Forecast
Hometown: San Diego, California
Song: “Returning”
Album: Look Closer
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Label: 9 Athens Music

In Their Words: “‘Returning’, the first track on our new album, came together on the first day of our session. To me, the track reflects some of what we were collectively feeling, playing in the same room together after so many months of isolation. We were all masked and spaced out the whole time, but the rediscovery of that connection and joy shined through. This track is kind of loosely a continuation of where our last album, Forecast, left off, but it also feels like a new beginning as each musician’s voice enters one at a time and joins together again. The animation was made by Anna Jane Lester. I think it’s a perfect visual accompaniment to the song, the way it moves forward with persistence through the changing seasons.” — John Mailander

Photo credit: Jake Faivre