Tag: premiere

LISTEN: Rachel Sumner, “Rocks & Gravel”

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Artist: Rachel Sumner
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Rocks & Gravel” (Kacy & Clayton cover)
Release Date: August 30, 2019
Label: Sad Luck Dame

In Their Words: “I was so enchanted the first time I saw Saskatchewan duo Kacy & Clayton, I wound up getting tickets to see them the next night as well. I explored their discography and was particularly struck by ‘Rocks & Gravel’ and the natural, timeless quality about it — I was certain it must have been a traditional tune. Nope. Turns out Kacy & Clayton are just that good at tapping into ages’ worth of sorrow and heartbreak and synthesizing it all into modern classics for us to weep along to. For the past few years, I have been performing my own arrangement of ‘Rocks & Gravel’ beside my originals and a handful of other select covers at shows. I recently recorded my version of this song and some of those other covers in my set list rotation and have been releasing them as digital singles throughout the summer. Though this may not be a traditional folk song, I have found from making it my own that it possesses the same durable beauty of tunes that have been passed down for centuries.” — Rachel Sumner

Photo credit: Louise Bichan

WATCH: Michaela Anne, “By Our Design”

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Artist: Michaela Anne
Hometown: A little bit of everywhere – Washington, California, Virginia, Michigan, Italy, and Brooklyn. Currently Nashville.
Song: “By Our Design”
Album: Desert Dove
Release Date: September 27, 2019
Label: Yep Roc Records

In Their Words: “‘By Our Design’ is a reflection on my life… I started it one day at home in Nashville and finished it when I was spending a couple days writing in Santa Barbara between tour dates in California. I’m definitely someone who revels in alone time and was having a couple of those days loving driving up the coast and hiking by myself. I had second-guessed making the trip altogether so in that moment there, I was thinking how lucky I was to get to have that freedom… and most importantly to have a partner that supported living life however we choose to.

“It may not be ‘steady’ or ‘stable’ or financially promising or secure… but every step of the way we’re figuring it out and have a lot of adventures, experiences and creative pursuits that keep us going. Essentially, examining what it is that makes us wealthy in our life on our own terms versus what we’ve learned society might tell us are the markers of a successful life.

“Making this live video was such a wonderful experience. We were able to assemble some of my favorite Nashville musicians: Kristin Weber (my longtime collaborator, string player, BGVs), Aaron Shafer-Haiss (my longtime collaborator/drummer), Juan Solarzano on guitar, Sam Howard on bass, and Will Honaker on keys. We did multiple songs that day and each song the amazing crew at Layman Drug Co. changed the lighting, vibe, mood of the room to emulate the song. There’s this soft-lit glow almost towards the golden hour that felt very easy and fitting to set the tone for the song.” — Michaela Anne

Photo credit: Matt Wignall

LISTEN: Michael Cleveland, ‘Tall Fiddler’

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Artist name: Michael Cleveland
Hometown: Charlestown, Indiana
Album: Tall Fiddler
Release Date: August 23, 2019
Label: Compass Records

In Their Words: “This album has been something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. I’ve been thinking for a while that it would be awesome to have my band, Flamekeeper, collaborate with some of my musical heroes, and just wondered what it would sound like. I knew it was going to be awesome about an hour into the first day in the studio. Tommy Emmanuel came in to record ‘Tall Fiddler’ and about an hour after he got there, we had the track. Also, I had the honor of co-writing a song with Béla Fleck, recording a Memphis rock song that talks about stealing one of Elvis’s Cadillacs… had so much fun along the way. Thanks to everyone who was involved in the making of this album and especially to my co-producers, Jeff White and Sean Sullivan, for making this dream a reality.” — Michael Cleveland

Photo credit: Stacie Huckeba

WATCH: Darrin Bradbury, “Breakfast”

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Artist: Darrin Bradbury
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Breakfast”
Album: Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs
Release Date: September 20, 2019
Label: ANTI- Records

In Their Words: “In an age of exponentially shrinking attention spans, most music we consume (which is an awfully odd term, I mean cancer consumes healthy cells, lions consume zebras, people consume French fries — it’s hideous language that ought to be reconsidered, same goes for the modern use of the word viral)… Anyhow, it’s often reduced to a savvy-click worthy headline followed by a relatable personal anecdote and a hi-res press photo.

“This is not that. This is a song about breakfast and my thoughts while consuming it, including but not limited to: squirrel drama — a civilization of oat-based creatures who meet their untimely demise by the hands of their creator, a few observations about the nature of the modern telephone, a reference to the Death Star and a mostly failed attempt at rhyming the name “Howie” with “Maui” (it, like, only kinda works).

“Honestly, and I mean this sincerely, I thought this is was the kinda sh*t everybody thinks about over breakfast.” — Darrin Bradbury

Photo credit: Danielle Holbert

LISTEN: Callie McCullough, “Five Dollar Pearls”

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Artist: Callie McCullough
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Five Dollar Pearls”
Album: After Midnight
Release Date: Late Fall/Early Winter

In Their Words: “The idea for this song came to me late one night after someone I was dating hesitated to introduce me to his parents… The melody and the second verse spilled out in a matter of seconds but when I sat down about a week later with my songwriting buddy Ryan Sorestad to bring it to life, it became deeper than that.

It’s that secret fear we have all felt; that some part of who you are or where you come from is not good enough, or won’t measure up in the world. I’ve always been the loud, bold girl with a bit of a wild streak and never the ingénue or the sweet, shy, perfect girl. It’s something I’ve struggled with in learning to be myself.

“I fell in love with the song immediately when it was finished and it became the first song I knew I wanted on this album, paving the way for the rest of this music to come alive. Producer Dustin Olyan and I built this song from the ground up in the studio ourselves, trying to stay true to that intimate, broken emotion that it represents, leaving it stripped-down and simple, focusing on that vulnerable feeling, and I’m so excited to send it out into the world.” — Callie McCullough

Photo credit: Chrissy Nix

LISTEN: Natalie Padilla, “Fireweed”

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Artist: Natalie Padilla
Hometown: Lyons, Colorado
Song: “Fireweed”
Album: Fireweed
Release Date: September 6, 2019

In Their Words: “As many of my songs do, this one started as a clawhammer banjo one-part melody. I was in Crested Butte, Colorado, with my band Masontown doing a few mountain town shows and had a bit of time to sit down with the tune on this great porch that backed right into the mountain. The pink fireweed was still blooming, but near the top of the plant which is a sign that winter is coming. This song is meant to symbolize the importance of all seasons life has to offer, even the dark ones.” — Natalie Padilla

Photo credit: Woody Meyer

LISTEN: The Rails, “Something Is Slipping My Mind”

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Artist: The Rails
Hometown: London, U.K.
Song: “Something Is Slipping My Mind”
Album: Cancel the Sun
Release Date: August 16, 2019
Label: Thirty Tigers/Psychonaut Sounds

In Their Words: “I think the reason we’ve cited the Kinks as such an important influence on this album is that they were so influenced by rock ‘n’ roll, but they distilled it in a very English way. That’s where that distillation image helps. Like something in a still. It’s a process. They were so confident about their Britishness and whatever they wanted to say even if it was off the wall. But it just made them so distinctively themselves.

“For Cancel the Sun we really wanted to stay home and work on our own schedule. We were quite involved in the last two records, and so for this one we really wanted to be produced so we could just play the music, so it was wonderful to get to work with Stephen [Street as producer] this time around. We tried not to listen to so much music while we were writing, to sort of shut down and not to be quite as as influenced by other sounds ourselves. Thus I think we sound more like ourselves than ever before. Like, ‘Close your ears and just do you.'” — Kami Thompson

Photo credit: Jill Furmanovsky

LISTEN: Seth James, “The Time I Love You the Most”

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Artist: Seth James
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “The Time I Love You the Most”
Album: Good Life
Release Date: August 23, 2019
Label: Cherry Bomb Records

In Their Words: “Dobie Gray has always been one of my favorite singers of all time. When I was young I learned every song on the Drift Away album. ‘The Time I Love You the Most’ was the one that stuck with me after all of these years. In recording ‘The Time I Love You the Most,’ we really made an effort to stay true to the original while also leaving room for our stamp. We made sure to lean forward with the tempo to keep the same sense of urgency as the original. Between [drummer] Lynn Williams’ groove, Kevin McKendree’s driving piano and Bob Britt’s rhythm, the track had no choice but to move like a freight train. It is still one of my favorite songs to play live, especially when we add in the horn section.” — Seth James

Photo credit: Todd Purifoy

WATCH: Leigh Nash and Matt Lovell, “Dime Adiós”

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Artists: Leigh Nash and Matt Lovell
Hometown: New Braunfels, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Dime Adiós”

In Their Words: “‘Dime Adiós’ was born out of us wondering how to tell someone ‘goodbye’ in Spanish. We wrote it in Nashville one day in 2016 in the middle of a string of writes. We had a little help from some friends who are certifiably more fluent in Spanish than we are. It’s a goodbye song with a little sweetness and dignity to it, and it has been making us smile since the day we wrote it. We recorded it with the help of a band of friends, which included Leigh’s husband, the illustrious Stephen Wilson Jr. It was produced by Matt Odmark and tracked live. When we went up to the control room to listen back, we both grinned really big and threw our hands in the air. It was one of those rare moments when you catch something that is just right in one take. I’m sure we’ll be smiling about this one for a while.” — Leigh Nash and Matt Lovell

Photo credit: Jimmy Fisco

LISTEN: Mary Flower, “Crooked Rag”

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Artist: Mary Flower
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Song: “Crooked Rag”
Album: Livin’ with the Blues Again
Release Date: August 17, 2019
Label: Little Village Foundation

In Their Words: “Most of my instrumentals start with finding a groove that piques my interest. ‘Crooked Rag’ was developed around a 12 bar form in G, but with a ragtime feel. It is basically variations in the key of G. While writing, I kept after it, working my way up the neck until I ran out of musical ideas! As is the case for many of my tunes, I don’t sit down to write something. I fool around with new ideas much like a puzzle that needs solving. I work on it until I feel it’s complete and decide if it’s worth saving!” — Mary Flower