Tag: Song Premiere

LISTEN: Joyann Parker, “What Did You Expect”

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Artist: Joyann Parker
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Song: “What Did You Expect”
Album: Out of the Dark
Release Date: Feb 12, 2021
Label: Hopeless Romantics Records

In Their Words: “This song is a cheeky response to an experience that my musical partner, Mark Lamoine, relayed to me once about his daughter, who was then around 9 years old. The story goes something like this: Mark’s daughter was invited to play soccer with some boys in the neighborhood. When she went out to the park to play, they then decided against playing with her, saying they ‘didn’t want to play with a GIRL.’ She ran into the house, crying and very upset, of course. Her mother, seeing her in distress, asked what happened and when she found out, got down on one knee in front of her daughter and said something to the effect of, ‘Get used to it, Honey, men lie.’ This was great inspiration for a song for me, so I took it, twisted it so the female narrator was the villain in a relationship and being dishonest with her partner about her intentions, saying, ‘Well, what did you expect?'” — Joyann Parker

Photo credit: Jeannine Marie Photography

LISTEN: Mike Barnett, “Hybrid Hoss”

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Artist: Mike Barnett
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Hybrid Hoss”
Album: + 1
Release Date: March 19, 2021
Label: Compass Records

Editor’s Note: Fiddle player Mike Barnett’s collaborative album, + 1, was slated for a late summer 2020 release, but plans were derailed when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at his home in Nashville in July. He underwent two successful surgeries and an initial round of rehabilitation in Atlanta, and will soon begin intensive rehabilitation in Chicago. There, accompanied by his wife, fiddler Annalise Ohse, he will work to “reconnect his brain to his fingers.” In the midst of continuing his recovery, Barnett is very excited about getting the music on + 1 to the fans and community that have offered him so much support. Go to Mike Barnett’s GoFundMe page to contribute to his recovery fund.

In Their Words: “Here’s a good old Bill Monroe classic… oh wait, except for the ‘A’ part. I put one note per ping pong ball and played lottery bingo for that part… just kidding, though it might sound that way. I sometimes enjoy taking tunes outside the box, but still maintain some semblance of where it came from. This is a hybrid of ‘outside’ and ‘in’ based on Bill Monroe’s ‘Wheel Hoss.’ Grounding this in the tradition of banjo/fiddle seemed appropriate. Cory Walker’s instincts and diverse musical pallet make him one of very few people who could tackle this.” — Mike Barnett

Photo credit: Stacie Huckeba

LISTEN: Fort Frances, “Fits and Starts”

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Artist: Fort Frances
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Song: “Fits and Starts”
Release date: February 5, 2020

In Their Words: “The past year has been stuck on pause. Before the pandemic, time traveled on a superhighway at a million miles an hour, but since March, we’ve all been in a traffic jam. There have been plenty of huge challenges in that standstill, but the break from a consistent surge of momentum has actually been good in some respects. It’s been a chance to reflect and recognize that we’ve all been fooling ourselves as we speed through life seeking somewhere new. ‘Fits and Starts’ is a song about making the concept of time meaningless so that it feels okay to keep holding that pause button.” — David McMillin, Fort Frances

Photo credit: Esther Sullivan

LISTEN: Jon Stickley Trio, “Future Ghost”

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Artist: Jon Stickley Trio
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “Future Ghost”
Release Date: February 5, 2021
Label: Organic Records

In Their Words: “‘Future Ghost’ was written during the beginning of the pandemic, shortly after finding out I was going to be a father. I was having so many conflicting feelings, and a little difficulty sorting them all out. I ended up thinking a lot about the cycle of life and how impermanent everything is. At one point I thought I saw a ghost in the hallway, and it looked like me. Somehow, the idea that I could someday be a ghost, haunting this house, gave me a great sense of comfort and motivation to make the most of my time. This song ended up really capturing that energy.” — Jon Stickley

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Dale Ann Bradley, “Yellow Creek”

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Artist: Dale Ann Bradley
Hometown: Middlesboro, Kentucky
Song: “Yellow Creek”
Album: Things She Couldn’t Get Over
Release Date: February 5, 2021
Label: Pinecastle Records

In Their Words: “The songs on this album, to me, are how I want to express some of the things I’ve learned in this life. And it’s that we are individuals that each derive from all regions with different stories, but ‘the struggle’ is one that we all have in common. We ALL struggle, so hopefully these songs are overall a ‘walking in someone else’s shoes’ experience and may bring a realization, which is that we all fall short of the glory of The Lord. ‘Yellow Creek’ is such a poetic tribute to all the Native Americans who traveled on the Trail of Tears. It’s such a thorough depiction of that dark time.” — Dale Ann Bradley

Photo courtesy of Pinecastle Records

LISTEN: Jaelee Roberts, “Something You Didn’t Count On”

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Artist: Jaelee Roberts
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Something You Didn’t Count On”
Release Date: February 5, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Something You Didn’t Count On’ is about anything that happens in life unexpectedly. The main theme is about love coming out of nowhere, but it really has so many underlying meanings, and that’s why I love the song so much. The melody and lyrics came to Theo MacMillan and I pretty quickly and, interestingly, the storyline comes from either the male or female perspective. I think my favorite line in the song is ‘you don’t always look for what you find’ which is the focus of what the song is all about!” — Jaelee Roberts

Photo credit: Before Charleston Photography

LISTEN: Karen Matheson, “Glory Demon”

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Artist: Karen Matheson
Hometown: Oban, Argyll, Scotland
Song: “Glory Demon”
Album: Still Time
Release Date: February 12, 2021
Label: Compass Records

In Their Words: “‘The Glory Demon’ is a phrase taken from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It means war. It’s essentially an anti-war song, about how we never seem to learn and how it just goes on and on (life and afterlife) endlessly repeating itself. I thought also about how the phrase might fit the hubris, megalomania and idiocy of certain politicians.” — Karen Matheson

Photo courtesy of Compass Records

LISTEN: Alabama Slim, “Someday Baby”

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Artist: Alabama Slim
Hometown: Vance, Alabama / New Orleans, Louisiana
Song: “Someday Baby”
Album: The Parlor
Release Date: January 29, 2021
Label: Cornelius

In Their Words: “‘Someday Baby,’ well, I tell you, when I first heard the record, it was Muddy Waters that did it. I play it the way I want to play it and sing it the way I want to sing it. That’s it.” — Alabama Slim

Photo credit: Jed Finley

LISTEN: Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, “Readin’, Rightin’, Route 23”

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Artist: Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers
Hometown: Xenia, Ohio
Song: “Readin’, Rightin’, Route 23”
Album: Industrial Strength Bluegrass
Release Date: March 26, 2021
Label: Smithsonian Folkways

In Their Words: “The great Appalachian migration of the 20th century placed tens of thousands of families from the hills and hollers into the industrial region of southwestern Ohio. Three shifts a day produced steel, paper, automobiles and more, from Cincinnati northward to Hamilton, Middletown, Dayton and Springfield, in the Miami valley of Ohio. No one makes better music than homesick hillbillies and they picked and sang at neighborhood taverns, churches, radio stations and fairgrounds. My parents left Kentucky in 1964 and I was born in Middletown, Ohio, one year later. Dad was a fiddler and radio personality spotlighting bluegrass music for the entire region.

“‘Readin’, Rightin’, Route 23′ was penned by Dwight Yoakam early in his career. His roots travel US Route 23 from eastern Kentucky to the Columbus, Ohio region. My mother’s parents lived a few miles off Route 23 in Lawrence County, Kentucky, in a’ ‘holler.’ Our family made the trip from Ohio to see my mamaw and papaw Williams hundreds of times. This song’s second verse was so personal to me, it took a lot of rehearsal to sing through my emotions. Seeing their porch light burning brightly, as a kid, meant I was soon to welcomed into their loving arms. In these troubled times, it’s a memory I cherish and find very comforting.

“‘Readin’, Rightin’, Route 23′ is the opening track to the forthcoming album entitled Industrial Strength Bluegrass. The 16-song project will feature songs all connected to the rich history of bluegrass music created, written or recorded in my neighborhood, southwestern Ohio. I can’t wait until the world hears Dan Tyminski, Lee Ann Womack, Doyle Lawson and more artists performing songs draw from a deep well of classic bluegrass!” — Joe Mullins

Photo credit: Russ Carson

LISTEN: Selwyn Birchwood, “I Got Drunk, Laid and Stoned”

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Artist: Selwyn Birchwood
Hometown: Tampa, Florida
Song: “I Got Drunk, Laid and Stoned”
Album: Living in a Burning House
Release Date: January 29, 2021
Label: Alligator Records

In Their Words: “This song proves that you can party to blues music. When I look back at all of the blues songs that I really loved growing up, a lot of them were about drinking, f#%^ing or smokin’… So I wrote a song about all three!! ‘I Got Drunk, Laid and Stoned’ is the epitome of what I feel is missing in a lot of blues music right now. You’ll find all of the rawness, edginess, and boundary pushing that I love in music. This track revs you up, tells a story, and grooves all at once!” — Selwyn Birchwood

Photo credit: Ivy Neville