Tag: premiere

LISTEN: KINLEY, “Run With You”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: KINLEY
Hometown: Charlottetown, PEI
Song: “Run With You”

From the Artist: “The inspiration for my new track, ‘Run With You,’ came from reflecting on one of my musical heroes who I’d opened for during my time as a member of Hey Rosetta! Before one gig in Toronto I passed her in a stairwell. It was just the two of us. I complimented her sequined skirt. She smiled the most beautiful smile. Some people had said in the past that she had an attitude but I think that maybe she was misunderstood. In that moment in the stairwell I only saw goodness. She gave off the vibe of, ‘Who cares what anyone thinks anyway?’ This song is an homage to her, expressing my appreciation for all the music she has written.” — Kinley Dowling

Photo credit: Denis Duquette

Trampled by Turtles Revisit Iris DeMent’s “Our Town”

Posted on by Editor

 

Over the years, Trampled by Turtles have occasionally added Iris DeMent’s stark folk song, “Our Town,” to their set list, with lead singer Dave Simonett delivering the Midwestern loneliness and wistfulness that the tune calls for. Now the Minnesota-based band has finally recorded “Our Town” for an upcoming EP, Sigourney Fever, which drops on December 6.

The track list also includes covers of Neil Young’s “Pocahontas,” Faces’ “Ooh La La,” Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me in Your Heart,” and Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees.” The band will be touring in January and February.

“We are getting back into the readiness of making a full record,” Simonett tells American Songwriter. “Right now, I’m starting to write, but it’s kind of a limbo time. This is sort of like an appetizer for us.”

DeMent once told NPR that she wrote the song after driving through a boarded-up Midwestern town when she was 25 years old, and that the song came to her in its complete form. She wisely recognized that musical experience as her calling to be a songwriter. More than three decades later, it’s good to know that the sun still hasn’t set on “Our Town.”

Photo credit: David McClister

WATCH: Mile Twelve, “Whiskey Trail”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Mile Twelve
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Single: “Whiskey Trail”
Release Date: November 15, 2019
Label: Delores the Taurus Records

In Their Words: “Our bass player Nate brought this energetic Los Lobos song to the band nearly a year ago, and it has slowly but surely become one of our favorites to perform. Even though originally imagined for electric instruments, we think the bluegrass outfit suits the music well. Now we’re excited to be releasing this song as a studio single! To celebrate the premiere we made this live video of our arrangement performed at the Fox Bar & Cocktail Lounge in Nashville, Tennessee, and filmed by the amazing Alex Chaloff. What better place to film a song about hard liquor than this, right?” — David Benedict, Mile Twelve

Photo credit: Kaitlyn Raitz

WATCH: Greensky Bluegrass, “Wish I Didn’t Know”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Greensky Bluegrass
Hometown: Kalamazoo, MI
Song: “Wish I Didn’t Know”
Album: All for Money
Release Date: January 18th, 2019
Label: Big Blue Zoo Records

In Their Words: “I think the panoramic views inspired our playing and put us in a good mood for a relatively cold video shoot. It was gorgeous up there! We spent about three days hiking up to this spot with all of our gear for this video shoot… it was hard, but really worth it. No, I’m just kidding. We took all of our gear up in the gondola and it was pretty easy. All the folks who work at Squaw Valley were super helpful and awesome. The only hard parts were trying to keep instruments in tune in the cold and changing weather, keeping our hands warm, hearing each other while playing on top of a mountain, and looking cool in puffy coats. That’s all!” — Anders Beck, resonator guitarist

Don’t miss WinterWonderGrass 2020 in Steamboat Springs, CO, Squaw Valley, CA, and Stratton, VT.

Photo credit: Dylan Langille

STREAM: The Infamous Stringdusters, ‘Live From Covington Kentucky’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Infamous Stringdusters
Album: Live From Covington Kentucky
Release Date: November 15, 2019
Label: Tape Time Records

In Their Words: “I remember walking off stage that night in Covington, Kentucky and everyone in the band feeling like everything connected. The crowd, the music, the band — all felt like one for the night, and so we decided right then and there to release this show. [I] took the files to my studio and remixed the show, intentionally leaving as much audience in the mix as I could because, as in all our shows, I felt like they were as big a part of the energy as anything else. The goal was to bring the feeling of actually being at the show in to the mix. We believe it succeeded and, hope everyone can feel the love and gratitude we have for our fans in this release.” — Andy Falco, The Infamous Stringdusters

Photo Credit: Tony Hume

LISTEN: Wood & Wire, “Left My Girl Behind”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Wood & Wire
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Single: “Left My Girl Behind”
Release Date: November 15, 2019
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words: “This is a traditional tune that we learned from Levon Helm — one of our favorite artists of all time. It’s also called ‘The Girl I Left Behind.’ Outside of bluegrass, we all have different (maybe even more prominent) musical influences. It’s those collective outside influences that really drive our sound. The result is us writing and playing tunes with grooves and feels that people wouldn’t expect from an ensemble like ours. The way Levon did this tune, with a funky backbeat groove, really speaks to us and it’s just a blast to play.

“It’s always our preference to record as organically as possible, working on vibes and performance. We don’t use a click track and we like to move with each other musically. Out at the bunker with Bruce [Robison], the team, and no computers, that’s the only way it goes down. We’ve been performing this one for a while so it was pretty simple — get in there and play the song like we’ve always played it.”

Photo credit: Spencer Peeples

LISTEN: Rosanne Cash, “Time” (Tom Waits Tribute)

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Rosanne Cash
Hometown: New York City
Song: “Time” (Tom Waits tribute)
Album: Come On Up To The House: Women Sing Waits
Release Date: November 22, 2019
Label: Dualtone Records

In Their Words: “What an honor to sing a song like ‘Time.’ Many years ago, I recorded it just for myself, just for the pleasure of singing those words. Maybe I seeded the notion in the deepest part of the creative ether, the place from where these songs travel through Tom. For whatever reason and from whatever source, I’m just thrilled to be a part of this album. There is no other songwriter in the world, past or future, like Tom Waits.” — Rosanne Cash

Photo credit: Michael Lavine

WATCH: Unspoken Tradition, “Cold Mountain Town”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Unspoken Tradition
Hometown: Western North Carolina
Song: “Cold Mountain Town”
Album: Myths We Tell Our Young
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “For the album Myths We Tell Our Young, we explore themes of mountain culture and how it is evolving. There is no better example than Asheville, North Carolina. I’ve lived and played music in this city for over 25 years and watched it change and grow while still holding strong to its rich Appalachian music culture. This song is dedicated to artists that continue to struggle and survive in this ‘Cold Mountain Town.'” — Ty Gilpin, Unspoken Tradition songwriter, mandolin player, and vocalist

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Chadwick Stokes & the Pintos, “Sand From San Francisco”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Chadwick Stokes & The Pintos
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Sand From San Francisco”
Album: Chadwick Stokes & The Pintos
Release Date: November 15, 2019
Label: Ruff Shod Records/Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “’Sand From San Francisco’ is about a dejected man leaving San Francisco without his love circa 1964. It was recorded in Boston at Zippah Studios with a Nashville tuned guitar like the one Keith Richards plays on ‘Angie.'” — Chadwick Stokes

Photo credit: Mike Smith

WATCH: The Dales, “Homesick Summertime Anthem”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Dales
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Homesick Summertime Anthem”
Album: Easy Times
Release Date: January 10, 2010

In Their Words: “It’s a song about wishing you had more time to spend with the ones you love. I wrote it from the perspective of our friends and family in the Pacific Northwest. Every year my family and I spend the summer up there. We’ve got friends that we’ve known since first grade. They’re always asking us when we’re moving back… and if you’ve ever been in that area — it’s hard not to take them up on their offer.

“The concept for the video was to have the band surrounded by friends and family. Our videographer, Pat Carew, had the idea and enlisted us to round up friends and neighbors to be in the audience. Funny what happens when you tell folks there will be free wine and cheese… they show up! It was shot in my backyard in Woodland Hills, California. The fire shots and the vintage Rhodes keyboard helped foster the warm, analog vibe we were looking for. We almost had an incident with Jackie’s hair and a tiki torch…” — Drew Lawrence, The Dales

Photo credit: Patrick Carew