Tag: premiere

LISTEN: John Calvin Abney, “I Just Want to Feel Good”

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Artist: John Calvin Abney
Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Song: “I Just Want to Feel Good”
Album: Safe Passage
Release Date: September 27, 2019
Label: Black Mesa Records

In Their Words: “This song was written in a short 20-minute nova of inspiration. I had a nagging cold while up at altitude, staying in a cabin by myself in Colorado, and dodging my troubles through travel and wine. I grew tired of being a people pleaser in order to dodge conflict (the real superficial kind) and was chasing the shadow of happiness in the wake of the real thing.” — John Calvin Abney

Photo credit: Rambo

LISTEN: Coyote Brother, “Lucky Ones”

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Artist: Coyote Brother
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Song: “Lucky Ones”
Album: Coyote Brother
Release Date: September 27, 2019

In Their Words: “‘Lucky Ones’ is a song about going through the worst experience of your life and coming out on the other side with the ability to acknowledge what happened and begin to move on. It is a song about recognizing that being here, being alive, having the opportunity to enjoy love and connection, marks us as lucky when compared to those that never truly had that opportunity. ‘We are the lucky ones’ can become both a concession and a mantra in a time of loss or desperation. We will all face that desperation, and we all will be tasked with absorbing the blows, moment to moment. Finding a bit of defiant hope in the knowing that because we are still here, we have the opportunity to chase down the things that make this life experience worth it, and because of that, we are the lucky ones.” — Coyote Brother

Photo credit: J Hayward Williams

LISTEN: Leeroy Stagger, “These Things”

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Artist: Leeroy Stagger
Hometown: Lethbridge, Alberta
Song: “These Things”
Album: Strange Path
Release Date: September 13, 2019
Label: True North Records

In Their Words: “This quest for something real, I wonder what that’s all about for me? What is it in my life that doesn’t feel authentic? I suppose when I really look at things, we are really living in a very unauthentic society. We are bred to consume, the food we eat is no longer real, our relationships play out on line like some sort of false reality SimCity. Dating isn’t even real anymore with its ‘swipe left’ culture. So yes, when I look around I see scads of humans wanting an authentic experience, especially in the establishments I inhabit. I suppose my job is to lend some authenticity to the music medium.” — Leeroy Stagger

Photo credit: Johann Wall

LISTEN: High Valley, “Single Man” (Bluegrass Version)

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Artist: High Valley
Hometown: La Crete, Alberta, Canada
Song: “Single Man” (Bluegrass Version)
Label: Warner Music Nashville

In Their Words: “We grew up surrounded by bluegrass music. Ricky Skaggs was our hero thanks to a few records our parents introduced to us. When our town finally got a radio station, I spent a few years as a DJ hosting a bluegrass hour. Recently, Curtis and I called up a few of our friends and some of Nashville’s finest bluegrass pickers to turn them loose and let them show off! Recording this bluegrass version of ‘Single Man’ was easily the most natural moment we’ve ever had in the studio. When it came time to work on the mix and make sure everything was produced properly, it was so great to have Ricky Skaggs offer his help as the executive producer on this track. Talk about a full circle moment!” — Brad Rempel, High Valley

Photo credit: Mike Stahl

LISTEN: Violet Bell, “Juliana”

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Artist: Violet Bell
Hometown: Durham, North Carolina
Song: “Juliana”
Album: Honey in My Heart
Release Date: October 11, 2019
Label: Rainbow Woman

In Their Words: “In the shiny world of social media, it’s easy to get stuck comparing yourself to other people’s perfect images. The truth is, hard times are part of any process. ‘Juliana’ is a song about the power of practice and sticking with your dreams when the going gets tough. The interplay between fiddle and organ give this tune a funky exuberant feel, and Carter Minor on harmonica brings a rowdy vibe that reminds us of Blues Traveler. As silly as it sounds, ‘Juliana’ was directly inspired by an online yoga instructor (Juliana at Boho Beautiful) who has kept our spines in line over 350+ tour dates in the past three years. Inspiration strikes where it will — somewhere between downward dog and baby cobra, this song wrote itself!” — Violet Bell

Photo credit: Kendall Bailey

LISTEN: Del Barber, “Patient Man”

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Artist: Del Barber
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Song: “Patient Man”
Album: Easy Keeper
Release Date: September 20, 2019
Label: Acronym Records

In Their Words: “Love is about finding someone you’re willing to wait for. This is a simple song that tells the story of two people finding love at a dance in small town western Manitoba. It’s half confessional and always geographical. One of my worst qualities is my utter lack of patience, I’ve looked everywhere for it and it always seems to elude me. There are only two things in this world that seem to consistently draw out my best qualities: The landscape of western Manitoba and my wife. Tainted with the notion that you are who you are because of where you’re from, and that love is also literally tied somehow to place or geography. This song is a result of fiddling with good memories and attempting to write from [my] own perspective again. I try not to write love songs, but sometimes they just slip out. This is one of those — and I just couldn’t ignore it.” — Del Barber

Photo credit: Will Bergmann

LISTEN: Janiva Magness, “Someday Never Comes”

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Artist: Janiva Magness
Hometown: Born in Detroit, Los Angeles is home now.
Song: “Someday Never Comes”
Album: Change in the Weather – Janiva Magness Sings John Fogerty
Release Date: September 13, 2019
Label: Blue Élan Records

In Their Words: “This song spoke to me from line one. ‘Momma’ or ‘Dada’ was not my first word oddly, but ‘Why?’ So that explains a lot about me and the need to understand what was happening in life. I believe this track speaks to us all in so many ways. I know now, I am not alone in the quest to understand. Young people grow up too fast with too few answers, many just trying to survive in the face of much confusion. I still believe that the truth, if we can find it, will set us all free.” — Janiva Magness

Photo credit: Paul Moore

LISTEN: JP Harris, “Early Morning Rain” (Feat. Erin Rae)

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Artist: JP Harris
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Early Morning Rain” (feat. Erin Rae)
Album: Why Don’t We Duet In The Road (Again)
Release Date: September 13, 2019
Label: Demolition & Removal

In Their Words: “This one was really interesting to record. Erin and I have been close friends for a good while now, and sang this years ago at a residency together at her suggestion. It has a very different production style than anything I’ve recorded before and forced me to vocally explore a gentler approach and range. Erin has this ethereal, soft-yet-commanding air about her singing, and is a generally calming person to be around, so it was really just playing ‘follow the leader’ to sing alongside her. She’s definitely going to be known as one of the greatest folk singers of our generation one day and it’s a huge honor to release a song with her.” — JP Harris

“I was so excited JP asked me to be part of Why Don’t We Duet In the Road (Again). I’ve listened repeatedly to him and Kristina Murray’s version of ‘Golden Ring’ and Kelsey Waldon’s version of ‘If I Were a Carpenter’ so much in the last year. JP has also just been such a good friend and supporter of me over the years, and I love getting to match my lil’ voice with his. I grew up on the Ian & Sylvia version of this song and love the Gordon Lightfoot spin on it, too. Love how it turned out.” — Erin Rae

Photo credit: Giles Clement

LISTEN: Karen & the Sorrows, “It Ain’t Me”

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Artist: Karen & The Sorrows
Hometown: New York City
Song: “It Ain’t Me”
Album: Guaranteed Broken Heart
Release Date: October 18, 2019

In Their Words: “I like to say The Sorrows are a full-service heartbreak band. I write songs for all kinds of sad situations! This one is for when your ex first starts seeing someone new, and you can’t stop wondering if they’ll love that new person in all the ways they couldn’t love you.

It also belongs to a genre I often write that I would describe as what-the-country-rock-band-plays-late-at-night-after-everyone-else-left-and-the-bartender-is-mopping-up songs. I’d put a lot of my favorite Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers songs in this imaginary genre too, because to do it right, you need a truly lonesome-sounding Wurlitzer. And nobody does lonesome Wurly like the Heartbreaker’s Benmont Tench! I was definitely hoping to channel a little bit of the Heartbreakers’ twangy, tough despair on this one.” — Karen Pittelman

Photo credit: Leah James

WATCH: The Quebe Sisters, “Pierce the Blue”

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Artist: The Quebe Sisters
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Song: “Pierce the Blue”
Album: The Quebe Sisters
Release Date: September 20, 2019

In Their Words: “This album represents several ‘firsts’ for us, and it captures a new phase and the start of a new direction for our sound. In many ways the process of making this album felt like starting over; deconstructing what we knew about music and then trying to put it back together again. Making and producing this album was a very collaborative effort where we sought to diversify our sound using our same instrumentation. It features solos from everyone in the band as well as originals, including ‘Pierce the Blue.’ This song has two parallel themes running through it. It’s about a difficult season of our lives we went through, and it’s also about universal pain we all feel that brings about our longing for reconciliation, change, and a better tomorrow.” — The Quebe Sisters

Photo Credit: Katherine Chiu + Bill Stipp