Tag: Video premiere

WATCH: David Sasso, “Lecha Dodi”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: David Sasso
Hometown: Hamden, Connecticut
Song: “Lecha Dodi”
Album: Sasson v’Simcha: Selections from a Bluegrass Erev Shabbat
Release Date: June 9, 2023

In Their Words: “Here’s a straight-ahead bluegrass setting of a 16th-century Hebrew poem that’s central to the Friday night Jewish liturgy. I’m a classically-trained composer who grew up in Bill Monroe’s stomping grounds of Indiana, but found bluegrass in Connecticut, where I work by day as a psychiatrist.

“Over the pandemic, I wrote original bluegrass songs to the traditional Hebrew prayers of the Friday evening Sabbath service. I recorded seven of the songs in February along with members of the Boston-based Jewish bluegrass band, Jacob’s Ladder, and premiered them live at my father’s retirement as rabbi in Indianapolis. My parents are both rabbis, and these texts have always been close to my heart. The title of the album, Sasson v’Simcha, is Hebrew for Joy and Delight.

“This song, ‘Lecha Dodi,’ (the ‘ch’ pronounced like in Bach) is the high point of the service known as Kabbalat Shabbat, a collection of Psalms and poems that get us in the spiritual mood to welcome the Sabbath. The chorus translates to ‘Come, my beloved, to greet the Bride; let us welcome the Sabbath presence.’ Bluegrass can often feel like a transformative and prayerful experience, so I think the mash-up works … no knowledge of bluegrass or Hebrew required!” – David Sasso

Photo Credit: Sean Casini

WATCH: Zoe & Cloyd, “Up and At ‘Em”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Zoe & Cloyd
Hometown: Asheville, NC
Song: “Up and At ‘Em”
Album: Songs of Our Grandfathers
Release Date: May 19, 2023
Label: Organic Records

In Their Words: “‘Up and At ‘Em’ is one of my favorite Jim Shumate compositions and the title track to his 1991 album of that name. Jim was always proud that this record made it onto the Library of Congress/American Folklife Center’s list of outstanding folk recordings of that year, as it marked his return to recording after a decade-long hiatus. Since this tune is in a minor key, it really dovetails well with the klezmer material on Songs of Our Grandfathers, especially with Natalya’s added doina intro. We were psyched to have Andy Statman play mandolin on it for the album and he gave it a really cool treatment using the Monroe ‘Get Up John’ tuning for some old school flavor.

“For the video we had Kevin Kehrberg and Ben Krakauer with us and Aaron from Old Home Place Recordings thought it would be fun to have the camera in the middle while we played the tune in a circle, jam style. It’s a different approach that makes you feel like you’re inside the performance and it turned out great!” – John Cloyd Miller

Photo Credit: Sarah Johnston

WATCH: The Lonesome Ace Stringband, “Crossing the Junction / Deer River”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: The Lonesome Ace Stringband
Hometown: Toronto, ON / Horsefly, BC
Song: “Crossing the Junction / Deer River”
Release Date: June 2, 2023

In Their Words: “The Junction is the neighborhood in Toronto that John and I live at either end of. In the early days of the pandemic, one of us would have to cross the Junction every time we wanted to get together to play music. There was such an uncertain and ominous vibe to everything at that time, even something as simple as walking across your own neighborhood seemed fraught and uncertain. I think you can feel that tension in this tune we wrote together.

“The second tune in this medley is named after a river I grew up fishing in Eastern Ontario. There are lots of waterfalls, and plunge pools as the river runs from pool to pool – I think you can hear it tumble along, especially in the first part of this tune.” – Chris Coole

Photo Credit: Joel Louis Varjassy

WATCH: Keturah Allgood, “Rosary Beads”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Keturah Allgood
Hometown: Brevard, NC
Song: “Rosary Beads”
Album: Shine 
Release Date: May 29, 2023 (single); August 25, 2023 (album)
Label: Charlotte Avenue Entertainment

In Their Words: “This song was written in my cabin on my farm where I was living at the time. It was a snowy day and everything outside was beautiful and peaceful. I closed my eyes and this song unfolded like a movie. I could see a young man driving down a Southwestern highway with rosary beads hanging on his rearview mirror. He was grappling with his childhood memories which were beautiful and his current reality which was formed from trauma, from war, from pain. The movie in my head was beautiful and tragic all at the same time. My partner is a combat vet and as the person who loves him and is close to him I watch him struggle with his past and how to live a happy and fulfilled life while still being faced with the trauma of war. No matter where we come from all of us have darkness that we have to confront and deal with in order to heal and move forward. I don’t want anyone to ever feel alone with that struggle and that is why it was so important to add a message at the end of the video for this song to remind everyone that they are not alone and that there are resources out there if you find yourself struggling. You don’t have to be afraid to ask for help.” — Keturah Allgood

“As a Director, working on a song as beautiful as ‘Rosary Beads’ and an artist as gifted as Keturah, leaves you a wide open pallet to work with. Keturah and I discussed some issues that were near and dear to her when coming up with this powerful story and I couldn’t be more proud of this video and Keturah. The cast was amazing and our production crew and DP were all stellar.” – Michelle Robertson (producer, Charlotte Avenue Pictures)

Photo Credit: Jeremy Ryan

WATCH: Gary Brewer, “Old Brown Case”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Gary Brewer
Hometown: Louisville, KY
Song: “Old Brown Case”
Album: House of Axes
Release Date: May 26, 2023 (single); June 30, 2023 (album)

In Their Words: “This is the main axe I’ve carried on the road with me all these years. It’s a 1941 D-28 Herringbone. All-original. You can see she’s got quite a bit of wear on it. One of 183 ever made and she’s still doing good. A good and strong guitar. Going to see if I can go way back and do an old Norman Blake song I recorded a number of years ago. It’s called ‘Old Brown Case.'” – Gary Brewer

Photo Credit: Alyssa Brewer

WATCH: ISMAY, “Stranger In the Barn”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: ISMAY
Hometown: Petaluma, CA
Song: “Stranger In the Barn”
Album: Desert Pavement
Release Date: May 25, 2023 (video)
Label: Ismay Music

In Their Words: “‘Stranger In the Barn’ depicts a child living on a farm who goes to do chores in the morning, when they encounter a man sleeping in the barn. After running to their parents, the family has to make a decision about how to confront him – should they attack the man and chase him away? They decide to offer him food and drink, and he makes his way on to the grange hall down the road. The story is about taking down our walls, and rather than meeting the unknown with contempt and anger, instead offering curiosity.” – ISMAY

Photo Credit: Aubrey Trinnaman

WATCH: Henhouse Prowlers, “Lead and Iron”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Henhouse Prowlers
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Song: “Lead and Iron”
Album: Lead and Iron
Release Date: May 26, 2023 (single)
Label: Dark Shadow Recording

In Their Words: “I wrote this song from the perspective of a parent who has lost a child in a school shooting. I found myself thinking about the quote that no parent should have to bury their child. That quote always hit me hard and I couldn’t imagine the pain of losing a child, especially from a school shooting, a place meant for peace and learning. I wrote this one at the end of last summer, I wonder if it was a way for myself to mentally preparing for the next school year and the potential of another deadly shooting (the potential which seems to come true every year).” – Jake Howard, mandolin

“I realized what this song was about halfway through listening to it on a rough demo Jake sent us in October last year and it immediately gave me chills. There’s something about the perspective of it all that continues to rock me when we are rehearsing it. That line about ‘first words spoken and tying shoes’ hits hard.” – Ben Wright, banjo

Photo Credit: Stephen Mougin

WATCH: Nina de Vitry, “Open”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Nina de Vitry
Hometown: Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; based in Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Open”
Album: What You Feel Is Real
Release Date: August 25, 2023

In Their Words: “At its core, ‘Open’ is intended to coax listeners out of their shells. My personal experience creating the song and video parallels this message, as I found myself expanding out of my own comfort zone both as a musician and a visual artist in the creation process.

“‘Open’ builds from lonely, sparse verses to layered vocal harmonies and string parts, pleading with listeners to step out of isolation and towards connection. I originally intended to completely hire out the arrangements, but it soon became apparent to me that it was personally meaningful to arrange the harmony violin solo and the vocal harmonies (with background string pads by composer/arranger Duncan Wickel). Using my own voice as a violinist and harmony singer enhanced my creative confidence, and the ensuing world of strings and vocals elevated the expansive openness that I aimed to create.

“In the visual representation of ‘Open,’ a flower opens and the black and white illustration eventually turns into a full watercolor painting. The experience of making the video was cathartic, and reconnected me to a part of myself that I thought I had lost. Though I had always loved to draw as a child, I found that I had closed myself off to this creative outlet as an adult. Producing this song and video has helped me to expand my definition of what I do as an artist, and open myself to new artistic possibilities. It is my hope that pairing the song with this visual can appeal to the childlike wonder in all of us, and that it might inspire viewers to open themselves up to the world in a new way.” — Nina de Vitry

Photo Credit: Joseph Ross Photography

WATCH: Jess Klein, “Never Gonna Break Me”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Jess Klein
Hometown: Hillsborough, NC
Song: “Never Gonna Break Me”
Album: When We Rise
Release Date: September 15, 2023 (album); May 19, 2023 (single)
Label: Motherlode Records

In Their Words: “When I was 14, I fooled around with a boy. I had a huge crush on him and I naively thought something special was happening. But when we got back to school on Monday, he made fun of me to his friends and the whole school was laughing at me. I tried to laugh along with them, to save face, but in retrospect, that’s pretty f-ed up.
“Looking back, I think this might have been the moment where I first realized the importance of telling my own story, in my own voice. Because in that boy’s version, I was a joke. But in my version, I have the backing of millions of girls and women who have had to put up with some form of this BS. I’m empowered and I can offer that empowerment to all the other women who’ve been shamed. If my work empowers someone, I feel like am doing the job I came into this life to do.”  – Jess Klein

Photo Credit: Mike June

WATCH: R.L. Boyce, “Coal Black Mattie”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: R.L. Boyce
Hometown: Como, Mississippi
Song: “Coal Black Mattie”
Album: Tell Everybody! 21st Century Juke Joint Blues
Release Date: August 11, 2023
Label: Easy Eye Sound

In Their Words: “I first heard Fred McDowell play [this Ranie Burnette song] when I was a teenager and it’s been one of my favorites ever since. There’s a lot of people that have done that song, but everybody got their own way of doing it, and I got my own way of doing it that don’t nobody else do. It’s one of them [songs] you can put whatever you want to in it.

“When I got there in the studio, they asked if I wanted to go over anything first. I said, ‘There ain’t nothing to go over. Let’s just sit down and get to it. I’ll play whatever comes to me.’ It’s always good to work with Kenny [Brown] and Eric Deaton. They from down my way, you know. [Dan Auerbach is] a cool dude and treated me very nice. I’m glad he asked me to come up to Nashville. He knows his blues, and once we started playing, he hung there with us pretty good.” – R.L. Boyce

Photo credit: Joshua Black Wilkins