Tag: singer songwriter

WATCH: Adeem the Artist, “Middle of a Heart”

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Artist: Adeem the Artist
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
Song: “Middle of a Heart”
Album: White Trash Revelry
Release Date: December 2, 2022
Label: Four Quarters Records and Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “I wrote this song for my friend Bob in many ways. Bob was a retired Knoxville Police Officer who I’d make bacon and eggs for every morning and we’d watch the news and watch the birds and he’d tell me stories about Carlene and the boys. I miss him, still. He was a richly problematic man who I loved deeply. A photo of him still hangs above my desk. I know he thought of me as one of his kids and even though we disagreed about nearly everything, his care and sensitivity are what drive me to continue to connect and relate with folks who seem so far removed from me.” — Adeem the Artist

Photo Credit: Madison Miles Photography

LISTEN: Ashley Heath, “The Letter”

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Artist: Ashley Heath
Hometown: Marshall, North Carolina
Song: “The Letter”
Album: Something to Believe
Release Date: October 21, 2022
Label: Organic Records

In Their Words: “I was listening to a lot of country and Americana songwriters when I wrote this song. This song was written about when you’ve exhausted every avenue of trying to fix a problem that even hand writing a letter and spelling it out wouldn’t change it. My favorite line is ‘If you had a heart to break, I wouldn’t know any better.’ I think that clearly sets the tone. The instrumentation has more of a Nashville country vibe to it with some big guitar swells and this one is probably also the most radio-ready song from the EP.” — Ashley Heath

Crossroads Label Group · 03 The Letter

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

MIXTAPE: Mary Bragg’s Songs That Talk About the Hard Stuff

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Working your way through a hard time is pretty much impossible without the relief that comes from listening to music. In the last four years, I’ve focused a large amount of my listening on songs that talk about the hard stuff, just so I can feel better about my own. Coming out; divorce; difficult family dynamics; political divisiveness — any one of those things could send anybody reeling, but put ‘em all together, and wow, time to put on some tunes. — Mary Bragg

Aaron Lee Tasjan – “Up All Night”

Aaron’s sense of freedom and celebration of self combined with his outrageous talent for songwriting and production comes together wistfully in this wild piece of ear candy that I can never get enough of.

Joy Oladokun – “Breathe Again”

“Breathe Again” was the song that introduced me to Joy’s music, and it is just the most life-giving sentiment spoken through pain with honesty. It’s been meditative and healing for me.

Tegan and Sara – “Closer”

What a bop.

Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings – “Hard Times”

There’s a Gillian & Dave song for every season of life. This one, of course, could apply to any kind of hard time you’re going through, and Gillian’s lilting delivery has me simultaneously sitting in my pain and crawling out of it one refrain at a time.

MUNA feat. Phoebe Bridgers – “Silk Chiffon”

Again with the bops- MUNA flings themselves into romantic pop bliss and brings us along for the party.

Stephanie Lambring – “Joy of Jesus”

People sure love to talk about your “lifestyle choices.” What I know is that living fully in my heart and my body and mind should not put me in a category that’s cast out, made less than, or made the subject of anyone’s ire. I won’t be told I’m going to hell just for loving an incredible human being who happens to be of the same sex.

Erin Rae – “Bad Mind”

It’s hard to believe that in 2022 there are still millions of people who think you’ve lost your mind for loving a person. Loving a person. And yet, those opinions are much stronger and more deeply felt than I ever realized they were; they can creep into your psyche and try to steal your joy, but I’m just trying to live a good life that leads with love, so I keep showing up as myself, trying my darnedest to claim and protect my own happiness.

Indigo Girls – “Closer to Fine”

More so heroes to me now than they already were, returning to this iconic song has taken on new meaning for me since I came out. Amy & Emily have been trailblazers for a long time, and funnily enough, they were the representation I didn’t know I needed as a teenager. I’m so thankful they exist in this world the way that they do — boldly living their lives but always leading with love and respect.

Grace Pettis feat. Indigo Girls – “Landon”

Producing this album for Grace lives in an almost surreal, fantastical pocket of my memory. When I first heard the demo of this song, I was floored by her willingness to talk about formerly being in that place of judgment; she tells the story of a changed friendship, a forgiveness of self, and a reconciliation that we can all hope for. I had this audible vision of the Indigo Girls’ voices taking it to a new place, and wow, did they ever. I’ll never forget how wonderful an experience it was for me to comp their vocals and drop their magic into this transformative song.

Bill Withers – “Lovely Day”

I’m such a fan of Bill Withers. With a penchant for capturing positivity and heartache in a series of brief melodic nuggets, this one pops up as one of the songs I find playing on repeat in my subconscious, willing a lovely day into existence.

Kacey Musgraves – “High Horse”

Craving a common ground where no one’s on any kind of high horse, this one is a gift to me, expressing frustration with the holier-than-thous. I can’t tell you how to live your life, so…

Brennen Leigh – “Billy and Beau”

The fact that Brennen is of our generation is some kind of country music miracle. Extremely well-versed in the great landscape of country music, yet bold as anyone, here she and Melissa Carper give us the sweetest anthem — “the heart wants to go where the heart wants to go, and you can’t undo it.”

Tom Petty – “Listen to Her Heart”

What intentionally uplifting rock-n-roll moment is complete without Tom Petty? I really believe in listening to your instincts — that feeling you know can trust implicitly, which of course cannot be ignored. “She’s gonna listen to her heart” — you betcha.

Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

LISTEN: Canyon City, “Telescope”

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Artist: Canyon City
Hometown: Fort Collins, Colorado
Song: “Telescope”
Album: Dear Earth, Love, Moon
Release Date: October 21, 2022

In Their Words: “‘Telescope’ is the final song and the ending statement on the Dear Earth, Love, Moon album, which is intended to reframe the story and turn the metaphorical lens back on our own life and home. The concept of the album — songs written to the Earth from the perspective of a personified Moon — plays with lots of imagery and metaphor relating to space; not just the place but also in terms of distance. That was part of what made this project such a catharsis for me, the idea that I could mentally step back and try to look at what it is to experience this life from the viewpoint of a distant place. ‘Telescope,’ however, is meant to wrap up the story by making things more personal.

“The idea is that in the same way we spend all this time and energy looking out — at other people, other places, at space, both metaphorically and literally — imagine looking at Earth, at our own lives and homes through the same distant external perspective; at all that makes us what we are, and life what it is, but that can’t possibly be seen from the telescope. It’s a counterpoint and resolution to the rest of the album that comes before it. The feeling that you could look at this place and this life, and analyze it from a distance, but never understand all that it is unless you’re here personally experiencing it. It’s basically a musical Overview Effect — that feeling people describe when they’re out in the distance of space and finally realize that the most precious and beautiful stuff is right here up close, and how important it is to honor and protect all that we share here on Earth.” — Paul Johnson, Canyon City

Canyon City · Telescope

Photo Credit: Andrew Kelly

WATCH: Bella White, “Rhododendron”

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Artist: Bella White
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
Song: “Rhodendron”
Release Date: October 12, 2022
Label: Rounder Records

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Rhododendron’ on Mother’s Day while staying at my mum’s house during the middle of the pandemic. She was away and I was missing her. I looked out of her bedroom window and saw a robin building a nest. I began to think of the importance of mothers and daughters, and how hard our mothers — or anyone who wears those shoes — works to keep us alive. I felt wistful and melancholy.” — Bella White

LISTEN: Tommy Prine, “Turning Stones”

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Artist: Tommy Prine
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Turning Stones”
Release Date: October 14, 2022
Label: Nameless Knights

In Their Words: “‘Turning Stones’ comes from the phrase ‘leave no stone unturned’ and I wrote it with Ruston (Kelly). It’s about learning from past mistakes and bad life choices by asking yourself the tough questions, turning every stone. You can’t learn from those mistakes unless you put in the work and self reflection.” — Tommy Prine

Photo Credit: Neilson Hubbard

LISTEN: Daphne Parker Powell, “Carry My Cage”

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Artist: Daphne Parker Powell
Hometown: I’m calling myself bicoastal right now (New London, CT, and New Orleans, LA)
Song: “Carry My Cage”
Album: The Starter Wife
Release Date: October 14, 2022
Label: Pleasure Loves Company

In Their Words: “‘Carry My Cage’ was one of the earliest pieces written for the album. It’s the one-that-got-away song. When I started dating the man I would later marry, I had been playing music with someone truly incredible, and without even really understanding it at the time we fell very much in love with each other. But I was young, impetuous, stubborn and my penchant for the bad boys won out. I hurt him so deeply when I chose my husband and for a long time we didn’t talk. It was then that I realized how deep our connection was. He moved away, pursued other relationships and musical adventures and I settled down and built a home, but after a time we decided to get back together and have coffee. I don’t think we talked more than an hour that day, we mostly just looked at each other the way Marina Abramović searches the eyes of strangers and finds deep familiarity and hidden love.

“After that day, with its strange silences and riptide of feeling, I came away more deeply self-aware than I could have imagined. I knew every stumbling block I had put in my own way, every decision that had caused hurt along the way and that was the beginning of healing the wounds I sustained with my own first experience of abandonment. For the first time I took responsibility, and I was going to be able, tools in hand, to fix what had been broken so long. I knew that I would always carry the confines of my own soul, flaws, and history, but that it could not keep me from flying anyway. From that moment forward, not only would we be ok, but we would find a way to thrive in each other’s care. Now years later, we are as close as we have ever been. I would change so many things, and I would change nothing.” — Daphne Parker Powell

Photo Credit: Jenny Thompson, Rose Gold Visuals

WATCH: H.C. McEntire, “Soft Crook”

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Artist: H.C. McEntire
Hometown: Durham, North Carolina
Song: “Soft Crook”
Release Date: October 4, 2022
Label: Merge Records

In Their Words: “‘Soft Crook’ was an exercise in vulnerability and trust. At its narrative core, the lyrics expose my struggle with depression through an unfiltered lens — calling it what it is, shaking hands with it, unapologetically honoring the power of its grip. It’s a mysterious and unpredictable companion that can make walking this world feel like slogging through unforgiving fields of mud. Navigating the nuances of pandemic isolation while under a debilitating depression fog was the most alone I have ever felt. To embody grief honestly, to embrace its clumsy and unhinged corners — to survive — required efforts and elixirs of self-preservation. The chorus became an anthem, of sorts; a mantra for letting go of guilt in needing these things — whether medication or TV shows or other vices — to offer myself some grace.

“I also wanted to capture a moment in time last fall when I’d opened myself back up to love; a way to summon the feeling of resting deeply in my girlfriend’s arms — that safety in hold, that transfer of both white-hot surrender and soft certainty, being touched strong and gentle at the same time; when guards are down and there is peace, if only for a moment, in the quiet consent of joy. So I walked to the front porch and snapped a photo of the late afternoon sky as proof, a reminder that there is much to feel, and much to lose. That love needs to be nurtured, even if stacked with unknowns. And we need to nurture ourselves as best we can, with whatever it takes to move towards another dawn.” — H.C. McEntire

Photo Credit: Heather Evans Smith

LISTEN: Cory Branan, “Pocket of God”

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Artist: Cory Branan
Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee
Song: “Pocket of God”
Album: When I Go I Ghost
Release Date: October 14, 2022
Label: Blue Élan Records

In Their Words: “I tried to get as much of a story as I could in there, with someone in the hot seat. You don’t know who he’s singing to until the end, and it’s a story of what happened to someone he cared deeply about. That song began as a sweet line about somebody thinking he picked the pocket of God to have met someone, and I thought, ‘That’s too Hallmark,’ so I tried to balance it with a Raymond Carver sensibility, where definitions aren’t the same for everyone, where the narrator is untrustworthy. I’m a big fan of Randy Newman, the songwriter king of untrustworthy narrators. And this song is an exception on the album in that I didn’t try to counteract the dark lyrics with brighter music. I stayed there, I painted an open void, then kept the music staring right there with me. The string arrangement helps with that — put the headphones on to hear the ear candy in those layered strings from Matt Combs! And that’s Spencer Cullum (Steelism) on steel guitar holding drone notes through the whole thing.” — Cory Branan

Photo Credit: Jamie Harmon

BGS 5+5: Julian Taylor

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Artist: Julian Taylor
Hometown: Toronto
Latest Album: Beyond the Reservoir (October 14, 2022)
Personal Nicknames: JT

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

There are so many, but from a songwriting point of view, I would have to say Jim Croce would be one and another would be Bill Withers. I love both of their work, and, for example, the way that both artists have a conversational way of singing their lyrics to the listener. Withers is a little bit more funky, of course, and, like Croce, his vocals are right up front of the mix. Their lyrics are often stories that relate to people, and I just absolutely love their melodies as well.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

There are so many favourite moments on stage. Just being on stage fills my heart. The first time I ever stepped on a stage with my own original band was at a Battle of the Bands that took place at the famous El Mocambo in Toronto. That was a very special night because we won. We were about 16 years old at the time.

One other show that really stands out was when my band performed at Festival D’ete for the first time. We were scheduled to play an outdoor venue in Quebec City, and when we stepped on stage, there were literally 10 people in the audience, and by the time we were halfway through our set, the entire square filled up and there were more like 5,000 people watching the show. That was a huge rush and something I will never forget.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

The toughest song that I’ve written thus far is probably “Murder 13.” It’s on the new record. I’ve been trying to write it ever since 2005, when the tragic loss of a good friend who was murdered took place. I didn’t know how to approach it. I had the chorus stuck in my head for a long time and was trying to write the rest of the song. Freeman Dre and another friend, Lonny Knapp, were able to come up to my lake house, and we started writing the rest of the song together, so it is a joint effort. I was really pleased about working on it with them, because it helped me find the confidence that I needed to restore myself in order to continue writing the rest of the record.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

When I was dropped from my very first recording contract, I received a call from legendary blues musician and producer Colin Linden. I thought my music career was over. I am grateful to him because he told me that it was only over when I decided that was it. I decided not to throw in the towel back then, and I am glad I made that choice. Colin actually played dobro on a couple of songs on the new record.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I use a lot of natural elements in my songwriting and always have. Fire, water, earth, and air are prevalent in my work. I like to go for hikes just to be around nature and its quiet strength. It constantly provides me with inspiration. Nature just flows, grass just grows. Nature is an effortless and undeniable force. With my work I have always strived to be the same.

Photo Credit: Lisa MacIntosh