Tag: premiere

LISTEN: Ben Winship, “A Little Goes a Long Way”

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Artist: Ben Winship
Hometown: Victor, Idaho
Song: “A Little Goes a Long Way”
Album: Acorns
Release Date: July 19, 2019
Label: Snake River Records

In Their Words: “Life presents us all with many recurring themes — some are daily joys (like the first cup of coffee), others more irritating (like mosquitoes or people who talk too much). Some folks navigate the hard stuff with zen-like grace. Others yell and throw stuff, and worse. Me, I tend to quietly suck it up, while secretly fuming inside. Occasionally a song comes out of it. ‘A Little Goes a Long Way’ is a comment on my lifelong tendency towards impatience, set to an old-time groove.” — Ben Winship

Photo credit: Lara Agnew Photography

LISTEN: Valley Queen, “Razorblade” and “In the Garden”

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Artist: Valley Queen
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Razorblade” // “In the Garden”
Album: Supergiant (Deluxe Edition)
Release Date: June 28, 2019
Label: Roll Call Records

In Their Words: “We have been looking forward to releasing these tracks, as they were recorded in the same sessions as our debut album, Supergiant. This pairing felt like the cool-down songs of the record and were recorded last, eventually [carving] it down to just the 12-string guitar and vocals on ‘In the Garden.’ They were some of the first written in various down and open tunings on the guitar, serving as our kind of working homage to [Led Zeppelin’s] ‘Rain Song.’ ‘Razorblade’ explores the entanglement of shame, intimacy, beauty, and dependency. ‘In the Garden’ meditates on feminine tranquility and experiential states of being.” — Natalie Carol, Valley Queen

Photo credit: Mark Cluney

WATCH: Old Salt Union, “Tell Me So” (Feat. Bobby Osborne)

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Artist: Old Salt Union
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Song: “Tell Me So” (Featuring Bobby Osborne)
Album: Where the Dogs Don’t Bite
Release Date: August 16, 2019
Label: Compass Records

In Their Words: “‘Tell Me So’ was an old song idea we had that we brought back to life with the help of Bobby Osborne. You know, an honest tune with simple lyrics about daily frustrations and uncertainties. I think really the track pays homage to traditional bluegrass and parlor-style call-and-response.” — Justin Wallace, mandolin

Photo credit: Sekondtry

LISTEN: L.A. Edwards, “Reign Over Me”

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Artist: L.A. Edwards
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Reign Over Me”
Release Date: June 24, 2019

In Their Words: “‘Reign Over Me’ is the follow-up single after our debut record, True Blue. Ron Blair from The Heartbreakers was at the helm producing again, so it definitely models itself after many of the classic Petty records with a fresh take. We wanted to abstain from any sort of modern overproduction and really emphasize lyrical strength and Americana grit, taking inspiration from Petty’s Wildflowers, Neil Young’s Harvest, and Jackson Browne’s Running on Empty. It’s an honest recount of times spent in the Southeast touring during hurricane season with my brothers. We always have a good time singing this one.” — L.A. Edwards

Photo credit: Mike Bresnen

LISTEN: Molly Parden & Hollow Hum, “Why Worry”

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Artist: Molly Parden & Hollow Hum
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Why Worry”
Album: Why Worry: A Collection of Covers
Release Date: June 28, 2019
Label: Independent / Distribution with Tone Tree Music.

In Their Words: “The essence of Mark Knopfler was introduced to me back in 2012 and I wish I could remember which of his songs I heard first. I had no knowledge of Dire Straits or their international stardom, absolutely none. Only this deep, gentle voice with a backing band that sounds like it has been there since the dawn of time, a sole guitar, smooth as butter with intermittent growly tone to let you know Mark wields power, but uses it ever so mercifully. His songs are hymns to me. ‘Sailing to Philadelphia,’ which is basically a musical history lesson featuring James Taylor, nearly brings me to tears. ‘Back to Tupelo’ and ‘Our Shangri-La’ are in the vault, the one that I send to space and then it comes back to my children 50 years later with 10 Things That Mommy Needs You To Have. But this song, ‘Why Worry,’ is a Dire Straits tune off of Brothers in Arms (1985) — I first heard it as a duet between Emmylou Harris and Mark — that has been covered by the Everly Brothers, Chet Atkins, and now I can proudly add my name to the list. Featured on this version is London’s resident guitar aficionado Matt Park. I discovered that he and I share a mutual admiration for The Knopf whilst we together were on tour with Sam Outlaw in the summer of 2018.” — Molly Parden

“This song was new to me, Molly played it for me once, and of course I wanted to cut it with her. It’s just one of those timeless songs that brings an immediate exhale and sense of comfort. The simple arrangement lets the vocal sit out front and really communicate the message of the song, which I love. Because it’s not such a well-known track, I hope some new ears discover this beautiful tune.” — Hollow Hum

Photo credit: Marcus Maddox

LISTEN: Jordi Baizan, “Between the Sun and the Moon”

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Artist: Jordi Baizan
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Song: “Between the Sun and the Moon”
Album: Free and Fine
Release Date: June 28, 2019
Label: Berkalin Records

In Their Words: “‘Between the Sun and the Moon’ is a song about love at first sight that weaves in my fascination with serendipity and synchronicity. I was inspired to write it when I was out in the Central Texas countryside towards the end of a beautiful spring day. The sun was setting in the western sky just as the moon was rising. If it was not for that memorable moment, the song would not be written today. Here are two lovers who meet, dance, and are forever marked by their romantic encounter between the sun and the moon. Is their story one of luck or is there a greater significance?” — Jordi Baizan

Photo credit: Valerie Fremin

LISTEN: Willie Nelson, “My Favorite Picture of You”

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As one of country music’s greatest interpreters, Willie Nelson has put his indelible stamp on Guy Clark’s late-career masterpiece, “My Favorite Picture of You.” It is a stunning centerpiece of Nelson’s latest project, Ride Me Back Home.

“What I remember most about recording the song was the reverence and respect with which all the musicians showed the lyrics and melody as we were recording it,” says producer Buddy Cannon. “I chose to present this song to Willie because, from the moment Guy Clark sang it for me at his home one morning a few years ago, I have not been able to get the song and the photograph the song was written about out of my head. As Guy was getting ready to sing the song for me he reached behind him and took the photograph of his wife off the wall and told me the story of where the song came from. The song is timeless, just like Willie Nelson is timeless. A perfect marriage of singer and song.”

In the exclusive video below, Nelson shares his own thoughts on Guy Clark and “My Favorite Picture of You.”

Photo credit: Pamela Springsteen
Video courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment

LISTEN: Matt Woods, “Drive-Thru Town”

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Artist: Matt Woods
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
Song: “Drive-Thru Town”
Album: Natural Disasters
Release Date: June 28, 2019
Label: Lonely Ones Records

In Their Words: “After spending the better part of the last decade criss-crossing this country, I feel like I have watched many towns literally start to dwindle to little more than a corporate box store and fast food restaurants. Meanwhile, the people living there struggle to navigate their new reality, out of opportunity and resources. I have met those hanging on to hope and those who feel like there is little hope left. This song attempts to capture that reality.” — Matt Woods

Photo credit: Chad Cochran

LISTEN: Ruby Landen, “Rock”

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Artist: Ruby Landen
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Song: “Rock”
Album: Meditation Sounds (EP)
Release Date: June 21, 2019

In Her Words: “I recently unearthed the lyrics to this song and put them to music. I wrote this after a breakup and then couldn’t play it for a few years because of feelings and stuff. At the time, I was feeling all kinds of guilt for not being able to be what this particular person thought I was and should be. [I] was expected to be unconditionally supportive without reciprocation, which is where the whole rock metaphor started. In other words, it’s a breakup song — but I learned a lot about rocks in the process.” — Ruby Landen

Photo credit: Angela Scileppi

LISTEN: 3 Pairs of Boots, “Gone South”

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Artist: 3 Pairs of Boots
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Track: “Gone South”
Album: Gone South
Release Date: July 12, 2019
Label: Dark Country Music

In Their Words: “The overall idea of the song comes from how so many people feel about work and life in general. They work so hard, give it their all, trying to get ahead, and for a variety of reasons and circumstances instead find themselves back where they started the next day, no further along than the previous day. That coupled with the belief in their dreams of what they thought they were destined for, something better, makes the reality of where then ended up hit hard and make them wonder how it all went south… As the song relates, Sisyphus was condemned to roll the boulder up the hill all day, only to find it at the bottom of the hill the next day.” — Andrew Stern, 3 Pairs of Boots

Photo credit: Vinny Cancilliere