Tag: premiere

LISTEN: Miles Gannett, “Thunder River, Tumbling Down”

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Artist: Miles Gannett
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Song: “Thunder River, Tumbling Down”
Album: Meridian
Release Date: April 16, 2021

In Their Words: “I heard the melody and a few of the lyrics, including the lines ‘Thunder River, tumbling down; catch your babes before they drown’ in a dream, and I woke up and sang what I could remember into my phone. It kind of creeped me out, so it sat around for a couple years until I figured out where to go with the rest of the lyrics. It contains a lot of trippy apocalyptic imagery and I guess quasi-religious commentary. Musically, I was inspired by the vibe of some of my favorite late ’60s and early ’70s progressive bluegrass artists, especially Dillard & Clark, who combined bluegrass and psychedelic folk rock in a way that I think is really cool, and J.D. Crowe & the New South, who used drums and pedal steel on their Bluegrass Evolution album, which I love even if Tony Rice didn’t (ha ha). I was honored to have such great players on the record, who could help me achieve the sound I was searching for. Ron Stewart of the Seldom Scene played banjo on the track, which, along with Eric Selby’s drumming and Joe Martone’s bass, really propels the song and creates a solid foundation for Dave Hadley’s pedal steel and Sean P. Finn’s fiddle. I did my best to keep up on acoustic guitar!” — Miles Gannett

Photo credit: Chancey June Gannett

LISTEN: Jason Davis, “Modern Day Jezebel” (Feat. Dan Tyminski)

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Artist: Jason Davis
Hometown: Galax, Virginia
Song: “Modern Day Jezebel” (Feat. Dan Tyminski)
Release Date: April 13, 2021
Label: Mountain Fever Records

In Their Words: “I first got the demo of this tune four or five years ago from Daniel Salyer. I loved it the first time I heard it and knew I’d like to cut it for my next record. Luckily, nobody had put it out in the meantime. To me it’s a great modern bluegrass tune. I think it’s a cool way of telling the story of a love gone wrong and I really liked the chord progression and melody. Dan played guitar on the session and I was especially excited when he wanted to sing it. It was an honor to get to track with all the guys (and gal). They really knocked it out of the park on this one. They killed it!” — Jason Davis

Photo credit: Donn Jones

WATCH: Andrew Adkins, “This Old Knife”

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Artist: Andrew Adkins
Hometown: Fayetteville, West Virginia
Song: “This Old Knife”
Album: April in Your Eyes – A Tribute to the Songs of John Lilly
Release Date: April 16, 2021
Label: Diamond Ranch Records

In Their Words: “I’ve always admired John Lilly as a person and as a songwriter. The first or second time I saw him perform, he played ‘This Old Knife’ and I was in love. I literally stuck my hand in my pocket and held the knife that my father gave to me. When asked to be a part of this album, I knew exactly what song I wanted to sing, because I’ve sang it so many times since I first heard it that night.” — Andrew Adkins

Photo credit: Tara Fowler

WATCH: Nefesh Mountain, “Wanderlust”

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Artist: Nefesh Mountain
Hometown: Montclair, New Jersey
Song: “Wanderlust”
Album: Songs for the Sparrows
Release Date: June 11, 2021
Label: Eden Sky Records

In Their Words: “The idea for this song came from the Traveler’s Prayer — these age-old words that our ancestors have spoken for centuries. ‘Wanderlust’ and this new album are very much a celebration; about adventure and endurance and pushing through the difficult times. We’re looking at some painful things in these songs, but it always comes back to the idea of persevering and letting love be your fuel.” — Doni Zasloff, Nefesh Mountain

Photo credit: Lawrence Rickford

WATCH: Sonja Midtune, “Los Angeles”

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Artist: Sonja Midtune
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Los Angeles”
Album: Dreams Melt Away (EP)
Release Date: April 2, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Los Angeles’ is a song with multiple meanings. What starts as a love song quickly turns into an analogy about the relationship; pretty on the surface, but messy underneath, just like Los Angeles. It asks the question, ‘Are WE Los Angeles?’ and ends with me accepting L.A. as my home, but wow, I am lost here. The music video was shot by my boyfriend at all of my favorite unique L.A. spots that I’ve discovered through the years. He loves the song. 🙂 We had a blast!” — Sonja Midtune

Photo credit: Michelle Lanning

LISTEN: The Shootouts, “Saturday Night Town”

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Artist: The Shootouts
Hometown: Northeast Ohio
Song: “Saturday Night Town”
Album: Bullseye
Release Date: April 30, 2021
Label: Soundly Music

In Their Words: “It was inspired by a book I read about a historic small town in Ohio. Throughout the book there were stories of fun-loving locals who would cut loose at the end of a long week, referring to it as a ‘Saturday Night Town.’ I instantly knew that was meant to be a song title. We all come from, or know someone who comes from, a small town like this. Even if they end up leaving, it’s hard to get that out of your blood. I think we can all relate to a much-needed break at the end of a long week, no matter what town you call home.

“That same book inspired another track called ‘Rattlesnake Whiskey,’ which is also on Bullseye. Both of those songs were written in 2015, before The Shootouts began. They were some of the first original songs we performed live, and they quickly became fan favorites. They didn’t quite fit with the batch of tunes that became our debut album, Quick Draw, but they definitely felt like a perfect fit for Bullseye. Luckily, Chuck [Mead, producer] thought so too. I think we got the definitive versions, and I’m glad we finally got to record them both.

“Fun fact: We end almost every show with ‘Saturday Night Town’ and have almost since the inception of the band. It really allows the band to stretch out a bit and trade some tasty licks.” — Ryan Humbert, The Shootouts

Photo credit: Jamie Escola

LISTEN: Stephen Flatt, “White County Shine”

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Artist: Stephen Flatt
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “White County Shine”
Album: Cumberland Bones
Release Date: April 16, 2021
Label: Flatt Family Music

In Their Words: “My grandparents and great-grandparents resided in White County, Tennessee, specifically Sparta. My great-uncle Lester Flatt and his family also lived in White County/Sparta, not far from my great-grandparents (his brother and sister-in-law). They were a close family and often worked odd jobs together, like working at the sawmill, before Lester struck out as a musician. I doubt Lester was involved in any of the moonshine activities that might have occurred on my side of the family tree, so I’d hate to drag his name into that. Lester was a staunch teetotaler, probably partly due to witnessing the effects of alcohol on friends and family members.

“Although ‘White County Shine’ is a semi-fictional account, it is a very real reflection of my family, my grandfather, the very real mountain moonshine culture, and the potential byproducts that come along with that dark spot of the mountain lifestyle. When the song says, ‘He lost all his money, but he never lost his high,’ that’s real and raw and it’s about my grandfather. I would venture to say that although the song is upbeat and jovial, it probably brings up some bad scars for my dad and my uncles when they hear it. I thought about this as really a generational thing, with generational impacts.

“I went camping with my cousin once on Bon Air Mountain, and he brought a jar of moonshine. When he woke up the next morning, he took a big pull off the shine and exclaimed, ‘You gotta have a shot before breakfast!’ Later, I wrote ‘White County Shine’ with the lyric ‘a shot before breakfast will always do you right’ in the chorus. This song features some of my friends and bluegrass greats, with Charlie Cushman on banjo, Deanie Richardson on fiddle, Justin Clark on mandolin, Steve Hinson on Dobro, Kenny Vaughan on the flattop, and Ronnie Bowman adding some amazing harmony. The song is a fun and entertaining romp!” – Stephen Flatt

Photo credit: Flatt Family Music

LISTEN: Acoustic Syndicate, “Sunny”

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Artist: Acoustic Syndicate
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina
Song: “Sunny”
Release Date: April 9, 2021
Label: Organic Records

In Their Words: “‘Sunny’ is one of those things that’s been on my ‘list of things to finish’ for quite some time. Based on an idea for a short story that I was working on some years ago, it’s a discussion about love, coping with loss, hope, and ultimately, redemption. I’ve been carrying that melody around in my head for years and finally got lucky enough to find the right words to go with it. The tune was one that I was kinda holding in reserve for a possible solo project at some point. After putting it together and sharing with the other fellas, they were all in to record it. The piano (Brian Felix) and violin (Lyndsay Pruett) were part of the original idea, and it was such a pleasure to watch it materialize in the studio on a super solid track by Fitz, Bryon, and Jay. Being back in the studio after seven years has been a real treat. I love the process of recording, and I have missed it very much. Our engineer, Clay Miller, is a ‘steely eyed missile man’ and has the patience of Job! He makes the recording process an absolute joy. I’m so grateful and honored to be making new music with these dudes again.” — Steve McMurry, Acoustic Syndicate

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Chris Cain, “Can’t Find a Good Reason”

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Artist: Chris Cain
Hometown: San Jose, California
Song: “Can’t Find a Good Reason”
Album: Raisin’ Cain
Release Date: April 9, 2021
Label: Alligator Records

In Their Words: “We recorded the Raisin’ Cain album at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland studio and I just had the changes to this song. Before we left Greaseland I said, ‘We’ll just record this one real fast and we’ll see what I can do with it later.’ Greg Rahn (keys) said, ‘Does this have a bridge?’ It didn’t, yet, so I just made one up real quick. We recorded the music to it and I added the intro to it that it has on there. When I got home I wrote the lyric based on personal stuff that you just store up in your mind and recorded the vocals the next day at Greaseland. Kid and I were in there and I added the vocals with the lyric I just wrote. I get to the part that goes ‘It really is nobody’s fault, we both tried hard to make it, but as hard as we try, we end up having to fake it.’ There’s a big blank spot right there and I told Kid, ‘Wait, I gotta write more words to it.’ Kid said, ‘Why don’t you just put whoa whoa whoa whoa, right there.’ I did and that’s how it turned out. I really wasn’t just trying to fake it.” — Chris Cain

Photo credit: Marilyn Stringer

LISTEN: The Pink Stones, “Put Me On”

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Artist: The Pink Stones
Hometown: Athens, Georgia
Song: “Put Me On”
Album: Introducing…The Pink Stones
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Label: Normaltown Records

In Their Words: “‘Put Me On’ is a song I wrote a little while back, but it’s still a tune that I love a lot. It’s a pretty straightforward country tune about making yourself sick over someone, trying to get to them, and then realizing that all the signs had really been telling you to turn around and go the other way the whole time. We had some fun with this one in the studio, too. Used some groovy amps, had our buddy Jessica Thompson come in sing with me, and Wandy really got to have some fun on the B3.” — Hunter Pinkston, The Pink Stones

Photo credit: Taylor Chmura