Tag: Song Premiere

LISTEN: Bluegrass 2020, “Vanleer” (Feat. Scott Vestal, Patrick McAvinue, Cody Kilby, Dominick Leslie & Curtis Vestal)

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Artist: Bluegrass 2020, featuring Scott Vestal, Patrick McAvinue, Cody Kilby, Dominick Leslie, and Curtis Vestal
Hometown: Greenbrier, Tennessee
Song: “Vanleer”
Album: Bluegrass 2020
Release Date: June 26, 2020
Label: Pinecastle Records

In Their Words: “I wrote this tune around 2004 and had totally forgotten about it until a few weeks before the Bluegrass 2020 session. The name is from the beautiful countryside of Vanleer, TN about an hour and a half west of Nashville where my wife, Alice, grew up. We were married there in the middle of Bear Creek on a gigantic rock. There are caves, creeks, plains, hills, and valleys. The tune has 5 parts with the various instruments weaving in and out of the melodies, much like the landscape of Vanleer.” — Scott Vestal, Bluegrass 2020

LISTEN: Tara Dente, “Hill So Steep”

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Artist: Tara Dente
Hometown: Asbury Park, New Jersey
Song: “Hill So Steep”
Album: Truth in the Mud
Release Date: July 17, 2020
Label: Travianna Records

In Their Words: “‘Hill So Steep’ is about a dream I had. In the dream, I was driving up a hill so steep, I felt like I was climbing the steepest roller coaster with no belt on or bar to hold me in and would just fall out. The dream certainly reflected difficult circumstances happening in my life at the time. I was a server at a popular restaurant in my town and did pretty well in tips that day. As soon as I turned the corner walking to my car after work, I noticed it, as well as a slew of other cars, had been towed. The dollar amount it took to get my car back from the auto shop was the exact amount I had made that day in tips. That night, I had the dream. Sometimes you take a step forward, and then take a step right back. But then another day, you’ll take three steps forward. You just have to hang in there the best you can, and look for the next right thing.” — Tara Dente

Photo credit: Jesse Andrew Photography

LISTEN: Evan Ogden, “These Songs and a Guitar”

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Artist: Evan Ogden
Hometown: Round Rock, Texas
Song: “These Songs and a Guitar”
Album: Undone
Release Date: July 31, 2020

In Their Words: “‘These Songs and a Guitar’ is one of the most personal songs on the album for me. It came at a point where pretty much everything in my life was falling apart. I was having to own up to the fact that the man I wanted to be and the man I was had more differences than similarities.

“There’s a passage in the Bible that weighed heavily on me for about three or four months where Jesus is addressing anxiety and worrying about tomorrow. He tells His disciples to consider the ravens and flowers of the field; He describes God taking care of their needs and claims how much more He will take care of theirs. Faith has always been a central part of my life and this passage set off a season-long struggle to find out how to come to terms with a passion I seldom understand. This song, in a lot of ways, culminates a prayer, or argument I took up with God. I was trying to work through the blessing and curse of having a passion for such an unstable gift. Admittedly, I still struggle a lot with it but this song was very cathartic in a very real sense. I hope this song gives the listener a space to be honest about the struggle we all feel when our blessings are more like anchors than feathers.” — Evan Ogden

Photo credit: Jessica Summerford

LISTEN: Kristen Grainger & True North, “She Flies With Her Own Wings”

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Artist: Kristen Grainger & True North
Hometown: Salem, Oregon
Song: “She Flies With Her Own Wings”
Album: Ghost Tattoo
Release Date: June 19, 2020

In Their Words: “I wrote this for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (I served for two years as her communications director), as well as Elizabeth Warren, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and every other woman working to make the world better and doing it her own way.” — Kristen Grainger

Photo courtesy of Hearth PR

LISTEN: Monte Warden and the Dangerous Few, “Martini”

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Artist name: Monte Warden and the Dangerous Few
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Martini”
Album: Monte Warden and the Dangerous Few
Release Date: June 19, 2020
Label: Break A Leg Records

In Their Words: “As we first started playing shows, new fans would come up and enthusiastically ask, ‘What do you call this music?!’ We described is as ‘martini music.’ My wife Brandi suggested we write a big, fun up-tempo ode to the martini, so we rode over to Floyd Domino’s house and all did our best to just get the hell outta this song’s way. It’s one of those rare little gems that seemed to write itself. That line ‘country club mosquitoes’ had us all goin’ nuts. I can count on this song to always deliver a musical shovel-to-the-face at any gig.” — Monte Warden

Photo credit: Sean Mathis

LISTEN: Philippe Bronchtein, “I’ll Let the Steel Do the Crying”

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Artist: Philippe Bronchtein
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “I’ll Let the Steel Do the Crying”
Release Date: June 5th, 2020

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘I’ll Let the Steel Do the Crying’ shortly after relocating to Nashville. I was putting in marathon practice sessions on my steel guitar, so it was always on my mind. While commiserating on the phone with an old friend, I made the joke in passing that I didn’t have to cry as long as I had my pedal steel to do it for me. He lit up and said, ‘That’s a song.’ I finished writing it that night. It features my good friend Asa Brosius on the pedal steel.” — Philippe Bronchtein

Philippe Bronchtein · I’ll Let The Steel Do The Crying

Photo credit: Monica Murray

LISTEN: Cold Chocolate, “Gone”

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Artist: Cold Chocolate
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Gone”
Album: Down the Line
Release Date: June 26, 2020

In Their Words: “‘Gone’ was the last track we wrote for the album and will be the final track on it. Of all the songs off the new record it actually has the most similar of a vibe to our previous recordings, tapping into that high-energy bluegrass feel that we love. But we really ended up fusing a lot of genres within this short song, stretching from bluegrass and hillbilly country to disco funk. The song started out in rehearsals as an upbeat country groove with some simple, cheeky lyrics, and we immediately gravitated toward its playfulness. When we brought it into the studio, Sam Kassirer, who played keys on the record, threw this cool gospel organ on top which heightened the intrigue of the song tenfold. We’re delighted by how it all came together and psyched for its release!” — Ethan Robbins and Ariel Bernstein, Cold Chocolate

Cold Chocolate · Gone

Photo courtesy of Cold Chocolate

LISTEN: Mark Olson & Ingunn Ringvold, “Black Locust”

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Artist: Mark Olson & Ingunn Ringvold
Hometown: Joshua Tree, California
Song: “Black Locust”
Album: Magdalen Accepts the Invitation
Release Date: June 5, 2020
Label: Fiesta Red Records

In Their Words: “I moved to the desert in ‘95 and bought a cabin that had been abandoned in the Landers earthquake. There was a water tank for delivered water, a pretty porch and a lot of stray debris in the yard — plus a number of broken aquariums scattered throughout the landscape!

“To make the place livable I hired a local legend by the name of John Edwards. He was a very talented carpenter and mind reader of the natural fauna and flora that live and grow in that high UV environment. One of his many lessons that stuck with me was his method of planting trees in the desert. Suffice it to say, the process of defeating the terrible raging Mojave’s desert sun with prized cool-down trees is rather complicated and labor intensive — and even requires some plumbing and trenching skills to redirect gray water lines.

“On many occasions, John proclaimed that the fruitless mulberry tree was the best for fast growth and significant shade — and that the black locust was an acceptable alternative. To prove his point he took me over to his family home to see his pride and joy: a giant Yucca Valley mulberry that covered his entire front yard, house and half the street.

“The black locust tree is in my mind the subject of this song because of the knowledge that was passed on during that not-forgotten reconstruction project. The black locust grows wild in the Owens Valley along the stream beds where we go camping in the summer to escape the heat. The general outlook of the song is one of starting a new life, building from scratch and hoping it all works out for the best.” — Mark Olson

Photo credit: Sandra Goodin

LISTEN: Lowland Hum, “This Will Be Our Year” (The Zombies Cover)

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Artist: Lowland Hum
Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia
Song: “This Will Be Our Year” (The Zombies cover)
Album: Singing Other People’s Love Songs
Release Date: June 5, 2020

In Their Words: “‘This Will Be Our Year’ by the Zombies grabbed us immediately with its simplicity and unfettered sweetness, not to mention its intuitive melodies and positive energy. We chose to record our version as simply as possible, with closely mic’d, bare vocals and simple nylon string guitar. At the time when we recorded it, we were feeling all kinds of optimism and excitement about what the year might hold for us, having just put the finishing touches on our recording studio, and feeling more adjusted than ever to life out in the countryside.

“Obviously there have been some unexpected turns since then. When we scheduled the release of this song, we had no idea the entire world would be in the midst of a pandemic, and all of the fear, financial strain and pain of isolation that has ensued. We had no idea our nation would be reeling from yet another wave of murders, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and now David McAtee and others as police continue to employ the use of military weapons on protestors. To release a song entitled ‘This Will Be Our Year’ at such a time as this feels perilously incongruous at best with where the nation is at, where we are at personally, and offensive at worst.

“Before the past few weeks we thought to ourselves, ‘Well, this is not the year we imagined when we recorded this song, but maybe there are things in store for us and others who are suffering, which we couldn’t have chosen or anticipated had all gone according to our ideal plans.’ At this point we hope that this is a year when things really begin to change. Perhaps this will be the year when people like ourselves, who have long been sympathetic to the cause of justice for black and brown people in America but haven’t taken the time to learn how to properly engage and act toward a better future, might finally buckle down and discern how to step up as allies. Perhaps this year will mark a turning point for many, that will start our nation down a road resulting in lasting and true change. We hope. — Lauren and Daniel Goans, Lowland Hum

Lowland Hum · This Will Be Our Year [Zombies cover]

Photo credit: Tristan Williams

LISTEN: Michael McDermott, “Until I Found You”

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Artist: Michael McDermott
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Song: “Until I Found You”
Album: What in the World
Release Date: June 5, 2020
Label: Pauper Sky Records

In Their Words: “I have always been cautious about writing flat-out love songs. I’ve never written one without some type of conflict, criminality, nefarious undertones, or felonious elements. Rare is the song that is void of conflict, self-doubt, or questioning. I wanted to write a song about my wife. About the kind of love that can save you from yourself. In the process of writing it, I kept waiting for the conflict to arise, I could have steered it that way, but I followed the song instead of trying to control it, I let it happen. I wanted to celebrate her and what she has done for me, and how without her, I never would have known me.” — Michael McDermott

Photo credit: Sandro