Tag: Song Premiere

LISTEN: Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones, “Stop, Drop & Roll”

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Artist: Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones
Hometown: Kingston, New York
Song: “Stop, Drop & Roll”
Album: Here to Tell the Tale
Release Date: June 25, 2021
Label: Sower Records

In Their Words: “‘Stop, Drop & Roll’ tells the tale of two folks who are living their best lives. Everyone wants to hang out with them, folks line up to hear them play music, their style is impeccable, and they just can’t lose. They are doing so well, in fact, that they are “on fire!” I wish this song was written from personal experience, but hey… a girl can dream! It’s about the people we aspire to be! Musically, I was listening to a lot of ’60s girl group music at the time I wrote this, and was trying to channel some of the sass and killer vocal harmonies of groups like The Orlons. Songs are supposed to evoke a certain feeling, this one is supposed to make you dance!” — Lara Hope

Photo credit: Franco Vogt

LISTEN: Jon Byrd, “I’ll Be Her Only One” (Feat. Paul Niehaus)

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Artist: Jon Byrd (Feat. Paul Niehaus)
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “I’ll Be Her Only One”
Album: Me and Paul
Release Date: July 16, 2021

In Their Words: “Me and Paul is dedicated to and a reflection of the people that came to see me and Paul over the years in little watering holes and honky-tonks here in Music City. They are small but mighty, as Billy Block used to say. It’s also dedicated to venues that let us take over their ‘happy hour’ to play the saddest, darkest, most pitiful and tragic songs ever penned. This co-write with Kevin Gordon put me in mind of his longtime music collaborator Joe McMahan. While known mostly as a guitarist/sideman, he’s had a studio for years and produced great work with Kevin and many others. He and Kevin are more on the rockin’ side of things but I was very keen to know what he’d bring to a project like this, so stripped down. And so country. But the Kevin connection is what sent me down this road.” — Jon Byrd

Photo credit: Susan English

LISTEN: Phil Leadbetter, “I Will Always Love You”

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Artist: Phil Leadbetter
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
Song: “I Will Always Love You”
Album: Masters of Slide: Spider Sessions (Various Artists)
Release Date: June 25, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I always loved this tune. I remember the first time I heard Dolly sing this live, it just killed me! Not only her voice, but the lyrics to the song were so heart-wrenching. I saw her many times telling the story about how the song came about. The story is a very sad one. I used to drive around and listen to that song from several of Dolly’s compilation albums, and it always had such a great melody that I kept hearing in my head over and over. I started messing with it, and liked the direction it was going. In 2010, I got a brand new Scheerhorn guitar. I was at a friend of mine’s home, and I was curious to see how the guitar sounded. I started noodling around and playing different songs to see how the new guitar sounded. My friend told me that I should seriously think about keeping the track. The track got lost over the years, but one day while looking through a bunch of files, I found it!! Me and my engineer worked on it, and I had thought about using it a few years back. So happy I saved it so it could be part of the Masters of Slide album.” — Phil Leadbetter

Photo courtesy of Phil Leadbetter

LISTEN: Maggie Pope, “The Bird Painter”

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Artist: Maggie Pope
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Song: “The Bird Painter”
Release Date: June 25, 2021

In Their Words: “‘The Bird Painter’ was written after a conversation I had with a songwriting mentor of mine: Steve Varney, frontman of Kid Reverie, and banjoist/guitarist for Gregory Alan Isakov. It was a nod to my love of ‘train songs’ as we called them… those that have a steady, relatively unchanging chord progression as a foundation. Humble little tunes that invite the listener to embark on more of a meditative, introspective journey rather than incorporating a more traditional song structure with a big chorus (which is also fun).

“Steve ended up producing this one, arranging and adding almost all of the elements beyond my own vocal and acoustic guitar; that cool electric slide, his warm vocal, and a tambourine that suddenly made me realize that tambourine sounds are some of my favorite sounds in the world. Music will do that sometimes. My dear friend (and another musical mentor) Adam Monaco then topped things off with a perfectly simple piano addition that somehow and inexplicably captures my love of twinkly lights. Music will do that sometimes, too.” — Maggie Pope

Photo credit: Robert Stolpe

LISTEN: Nick Africano, “Heavy to Hold”

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Artist: Nick Africano
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Song: “Heavy to Hold”
Album: Gossip of Flames
Release Date: June 18, 2021

In Their Words: “This is a song about not having a chance to say goodbye, and living with that lack of closure and guilt. Sometimes, all we want to do is hold on: to pain, to sadness, to grief, to guilt…because, if we can’t have the person or thing we lost, at least we have the pain, the sadness, the guilt still; the loss isn’t as final, we convince ourselves. Letting go is a risk…an ultimate act of trust…trust that perhaps we won’t be forever cut off from what we let go of, but, rather, even closer. When I went to my mother’s house after we lost her, her bible was open to a passage that read, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled, don’t be afraid.’ It sent chills through me. But I don’t think I listened. Hahaha. Maybe in this song I’m trying to say, ‘I’m listening now.'” — Nick Africano

Photo credit: Owen Donovan

LISTEN: The Bittersweets, “Livin’ on the Edge”

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Artist: The Bittersweets
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Livin’ on the Edge” (Aerosmith cover)
Release Date: June 11, 2021
Label: Compass Records

In Their Words: “After wearing this record to death as a kid and subsequently growing away from it, ‘Livin’ on the Edge’ came on the radio at some point during the last year and we looked at each other and said, ‘Oh my gosh — this could have been written in 2020.’ We set out to create a version of the song for today, converting a ’90s Aerosmith hard rock song into a meditative acoustic folk ballad. And we must meditate on these important questions. From the persistent fight for racial justice to the pandemic to the eventual storming of the Capitol, it really feels like we are all living on the edge right now, staring at a precipice that will either remind us who we are or ultimately be our demise.” – Chris Meyers, The Bittersweets

Photo credit: Fairlight Hubbard

WATCH: Mason Via, “Big City”

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Artist: Mason Via
Hometown: Danbury, North Carolina
Song: “Big City”
Release Date: June 11, 2021
Label: Mountain Fever Records

In Their Words: “‘Big City’ is a song that I wrote as a playful fantasy, but it turned into something bigger, a personal hillbilly mantra of sorts. This past year has brought a lot of big changes in my life, from landing a top 40 placement on American Idol, joining the legendary Old Crow Medicine Show, to signing a record deal with Mountain Fever Records. ‘Big City’ is the first single off of my upcoming debut album with the label. The melody to this song is so catchy. I’ve been singing it for a while now, but it still gets stuck in my head, and I reckon that’s a good thing. The track features a couple notable artists from other prominent bands. Nick Goad of Sideline sang harmony on the track. Alex Genova (banjo) and Tommy Maher (Dobro) of Fireside Collective also lent their skills to the song.” — Mason Via

Photo credit: Shana Lee Photography

LISTEN: Beta Radio, “I Need My Prayers”

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Artist: Beta Radio
Hometown: Wilmington, North Carolina
Song: “I Need My Prayers”
Album: Year of Love
Release Date: June 11, 2021
Label: Nettwerk Music Group

In Their Words: “It usually takes us long stretches of time to write songs, we normally feel great if we can write and record a whole record in a year, so ‘I Need My Prayers’ was a real surprise when it came about. When writing, Brent and I will usually share audio files back and forth, so he sent me a lyric-less guitar demo… I listened to it once, and then played it again while recording on my phone, and then the song lyrics just came out. I think it was all done within 15 minutes maybe. I was in a mental and spiritual place of needing something to hold onto, I felt like I had lost all my footing in the world and didn’t know where to turn. And a lot of personal things felt like they were falling apart. So… I guess I just needed my prayers.” — Benjamin Mabry, Beta Radio

Photo credit: Amanda Holloman

LISTEN: Hannah Juanita, “Hard Hearted Woman”

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Artist: Hannah Juanita
Hometown: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Song: “Hard Hearted Woman”
Album: Hardliner
Release Date: June 11, 2021

In Their Words: “Well, I’m glad I don’t feel like a ‘Hard Hearted Woman’ anymore! But that is how I felt coming out of my last relationship. Turning 30, moving back to Tennessee, and leaving the life I had built out West behind definitely had me feeling alone… but it was the good kind of alone. I may have felt hardened to love, but I was so ready and excited to do my own thing and make music. I remember well the night I wrote this song. All my friends were out honky-tonkin’ around Nashville, but I felt heavy-hearted and went home because it was time to sit down with my guitar and get this song written. It had been rolling around in my head for too long.” — Hannah Juanita

Photo credit: Jody Domingue

LISTEN: Loose Cattle, “He’s Old, She’s High”

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Artist: Loose Cattle
Hometown: New Orleans / New York City
Song: “He’s Old, She’s High”
Album: Heavy Lifting
Release Date: June 4, 2021
Label: Low Heat Records

In Their Words: “It’s great when your friend gets you. But when the friend who gets you is also one of New Orleans’ most celebrated songwriters, can he maybe get you too well? When Loose Cattle’s longtime friend Paul Sanchez (multiple time NOLA songwriter of the year and ex-Cowboy Mouth) told us he’d written a song for the band, we pondered that for half a second. But by the end of the first listen, we threw our arms around him and the song, and turned it into something that we hope would make Porter & Dolly, Johnny & June and John Doe & Exene all equally proud. Even though Kimberly and Michael stopped being a couple years ago, they’re still odd. This one is for all the perfectly mismatched people out there.” — Loose Cattle

Photo credit: Zach Smith