Tag: premiere

WATCH: Samantha Crain, “Garden Dove”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Samantha Crain
Hometown: Shawnee, Oklahoma
Song: “Garden Dove”
Album: A Small Death
Release Date: July 17, 2020
Label: Ramseur Records/Thirty Tigers and Real Kind Records/Communion

In Their Words: “With the idea in mind of being better for yourself and learning to love yourself, I started thinking about how much easier it was to connect with other people when you’re actually reveling in and enjoying your own company as well. It reminded me of a cult of friendship, sort of building this great web and community around myself. So, of course, I felt like I wanted to make a spooky Oklahoma backroads cult video for the song. I was inspired by Robert Weine and Hitchcock and wanted to make it feel real and high quality but also homemade in a way. I directed the video and did the costumes, my friend Blake Studdard did the camerawork and editing, my friends Nia and Izze (who were also in my ‘An Echo’ video) and Adam acted as my growing cult family. We filmed it on an extremely cold winter night on a dead-end street in Norman, Oklahoma.” — Samantha Crain

Photo credit: Dylan Johnson

LISTEN: Love Me in the Dark, “Old Soul”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Love Me in the Dark
Hometown: Venice, California
Song: “Old Soul”
Album: Love Me in the Dark
Release Date: February 14, 2020

In Their Words: “‘Old Soul’ was written in Nashville, in our friend Keb’ Mo’s home studio. Steve had been messing around in a new guitar tuning (borrowed from Ry Cooder) and the song flowed from there. The lyrics are inspired by several of our hallowed places, the North Woods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and other forests that still contain ‘old growth.’ The language was chosen to sound hymn-like and spiritual. It was also important that the recording be authentic and traditional sounding, while still fresh. It starts with a capella vocals, the signature Love Me in the Dark interwoven harmony, sparse and vulnerable, and grew gradually with the addition of elements like steel guitar, upright bass, harmonium and piano, a treatment that made it the perfect opening track for this debut album.” — Heather Donovan, Love Me in the Dark

Photo credit: Thomas Brodahl

LISTEN: Erin Lunsford, “How Many Birds”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Erin Lunsford
Hometown: Fincastle, Virginia
Song: “How Many Birds”
Album: The Damsel
Release Date: February 14, 2020 (single); April 3, 2020 (album)

In Their Words: “‘How Many Birds’ is a lonely ballad of singlehood by a 20-something woman. I was inspired by the sight of birds returning home to the trees of Southwest Virginia in springtime and wondered if any birds make that journey alone. ‘How Many Birds’ explores my craving for direction and control in my romantic life and wonderment at the heartache of being single when so many people around you are in love. When I play this song live, I usually say, ‘This song is about being single for an eternity lol.'” — Erin Lunsford

Photo credit: Joey Wharton

WATCH: Brew Davis, “Another Scarecrow Learning How to Fly”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Brew Davis
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “Another Scarecrow Learning How to Fly”
Album: Another Scarecrow Learning How to Fly
Release Date: February 28, 2020
Label: Hellbender Records

In Their Words: “This song is about transcendence and trying to get beyond the ruts we get stuck in, especially in ‘middle age,’ which is where I find myself these days. The opening line came to me in church, actually, and the verses just flowed out from there. I wrote the chorus later but it was clear to me what I wanted to say about life — how we get tempted by the stuff the world tells us is important when really the most important things are the people and things (i.e., music) that we love and that make us happy. One fun tidbit is that the shirt I’m wearing was my granddad’s. He died several years ago at 93 and is one of the ones I talk about in the chorus who’s ‘calling to me from the other side.'” — Brew Davis

Photo credit: Andrew Kornylak, FourMile Media

LISTEN: Grant Peeples, “Rich Man”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Grant Peeples
Hometown: Tallahassee, Florida
Song: “Rich Man” (written by Rebekah Pulley)
Album: Bad Wife
Release Date: February 14, 2020

From the Artist: “I unknowingly gathered these songs [on Bad Wife] for years. I’ve worked with all these women in some aspect of the business; they are all friends. I heard all the songs for the first time in a live setting, where they entered me, worked me over, and never left. As I began the project, I didn’t have to go looking for songs. They had already found me. My learning and recording them was an exercise of rediscovery, a search for those original nerves the songs had struck.

“In 2008 I wandered up to a camp at the Florida Folk Festival and heard Rebekah singing this song. I feel it is the only unmitigated love song on the album — hopeful, adoring, and accepting. It is Hank Williamsian in both its depth and its simplicity.” — Grant Peeples

Photo credit: Inga Finch

LISTEN: Robert Vincent, “I Was Hurt Today But I’m Alright Now”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Robert Vincent
Hometown: Liverpool, England
Song: “I Was Hurt Today But I’m Alright Now”
Album: In This Town You’re Owned
Release Date: February 14, 2020
Label: Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “We live busier lives, less time for ourselves. Social media has thrown even greater pressures at us, creating lack of personal connection and the loss of self-esteem if we are not rewarded with the right number of likes from our electronic peers. So who knows what anyone is going through in their day? At times we all need help, but still worry more about others’ opinions and forget to help ourselves. ‘I Was Hurt Today But I’m Alright Now’ is a message written from the perspective of someone trapped in their own mind and speaking to that fearful side we all have within us to be stronger, but also easier on ourselves. And to step back into the real world.” — Robert Vincent

Photo credit: Alex Hurst

LISTEN: Appalachian Road Show, “Goin’ to Bring Her Back”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Appalachian Road Show
Hometown: Appalachia
Song: “Goin’ to Bring Her Back”
Album: Tribulation
Release Date: March 27, 2020
Label: Billy Blue Records

In Their Words: “‘Goin’ to Bring Her Back’ tells the tale — in quite a humorous way — of a mountain boy who has fallen in love. Unfortunately, he doesn’t realize that the girl he loves might not feel the same way, seeing as how she has run off and caught the train across ‘them yonder mountains!’

“I wanted to create a piece that made the album more dynamic and this chorus jumped into my head! An hour later, the song was complete. I felt pretty confident it was something that Darrell Webb and Barry Abernathy would play and sing the daylights out of. We felt that this song fit right into the Appalachian aesthetic and into the overall narrative we’ve been developing within this band and especially this project. It feels ‘classic’ to us, but the ink has barely dried, and we love that!” — Jimmy Van Cleve, Appalachian Road Show

Photo credit: Micah Schweinsberg

LISTEN: Nathan Evans Fox, “Cigarettes and Moon Pies”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Nathan Evans Fox
Hometown: Glen Alpine, North Carolina
Song: “Cigarettes and Moon Pies”
Album: Kindness
Release Date: February 20, 2020

In Their Words: “I wanted to write a love song that’s equal parts cultural idiosyncrasy, self-reflection, and just kinda manic. Some of my favorite places in the world are small, local gas stations in the Carolinas. They’re such an interesting cultural intersection; there’s goods from local growers alongside industrially manufactured, shrink-wrapped foods, and old relics of legendary NASCAR racers next to brand new vinyl banners promoting strange, cheap beer spin-offs. You’re left with a big cultural mish-mash that’s really complex and rich, and I think there’s something really romantic about these small drive-by spots. They’re a true reflection of all the strangeness and complexity of growing up in a place like North Carolina. They just seem like a good place to fall in love.” — Nathan Evans Fox

Photo credit: Zach Wolfe

LISTEN: The Barefoot Movement, “At the End of the Day”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Barefoot Movement
Hometown: Based in Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “At the End of the Day”
Album: Rise & Fly
Release Date: February 7, 2020
Label: Bonfire Music Group

In Their Words: “’At the End of the Day’ is one of those songs I needed to write for myself. Growing up I was taught a lot about ‘turning the other cheek,’ which I think is a beautiful ideology and I still try to embrace it, but the lesson I think I missed was how to stand up for myself, to express frustrations, and to do it in a loving way. It’s one I’m still learning. I tend to avoid conflict. But as the song says, ‘the truth is all we have’ and I’ve realized that one of the most kind things you can do is to be honest. Even when your honesty might sting a bit.” — Noah Wall, The Barefoot Movement

Photo credit: The Barefoot Movement

LISTEN: Sasha K.A, “Tall Grass”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Sasha K.A
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Tall Grass”
Album: Family
Release Date: February 21

In Their Words: “‘Tall Grass’ is about a musician friend of mine who got on the wrong path with drugs and alcohol. The ‘tall grass’ is a metaphor for hanging with the wrong crowd and making the wrong decisions. This guy is so naturally talented and so rich in spirit, but was snagged by the vices that haunt the music industry. Really fun experience bringing this song to life with Eric Harrison and Michael Ingber at Studio 601. Eric played bass, Michael played drums, we all produced the song. Incredibly collaborative and creative process.” — Sasha K.A.

Photo credit: Kush Mody