Tag: Video premiere

WATCH: Abby Posner, “Low Low Low” (Featuring Constellation Quartet)

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Artist: Abby Posner featuring Constellation Quartet
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Low Low Low”
Album: Kisbee Ring
Release Date: November 12, 2021

In Their Words: “Whenever I have an opportunity to collaborate with a string quartet, the experience is transformative. Strings take you to a zen-like space where everything feels just right, perfect for the song, and what I wanted to convey. ‘Low Low Low’ is about depression, anxiety, and learning how to be kinder to the darkness within, so working with Constellation Quartet was the sonic hug this song so desperately needed to feel complete. Constellation Quartet are currently making a name for themselves as both performers and collaborators, working with the best of the Los Angeles musician scene through their residency at the Garden Concert Series in Redondo Beach. The video was shot live during sunset deep in the Malibu hills with a battery-powered setup, hikers passing by, and a reverence for the creative process.” — Abby Posner

String arrangements: Max Mueller (cello). Cinematography: Ian McIntire.
Photo credit: Rollence Patugan

WATCH: Jordan Tice, “River Run” (Feat. Paul Kowert)

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Artist: Jordan Tice
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “River Run” (Featuring Paul Kowert)
Album: Yesteryears
Release Date: October 1, 2021
Label: Padiddle Records

In Their Words: “‘River Run’ started with a little lick I had been carrying around in the key of D — a speedy little cascading thing that felt good to let roll off the fingers that I’d find myself playing in idle moments. I slowly built upon it while sitting around during lockdown and my dear friend, Paul Kowert, tied it all together with his wonderful bass part. To me, the song evokes the lightness and constancy of a swiftly moving river as it passes over rocks, rounds curves, and speeds and slows as its channel widens and narrows. Hope you experience the same sense of motion while listening and are able to glean a little bit of levity from it.” — Jordan Tice

Photo credit: Jacqueline Justice

WATCH: Katie Callahan, “Lullaby”

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Artist: Katie Callahan
Hometown: I grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, but currently live in Baltimore, Maryland.
Song: “Lullaby”
Album: The Water Comes Back
Release Date: October 22, 2021.

In Their Words: “‘Lullaby’ was written on the edge of the pandemic, before any of us could’ve imagined the way parenting and work and school and home could be enmeshed so completely. I’m the default parent in our home, and as our time in quarantine wore on, the need for me to have projects and goals and work became more and more evident, and this song became a bit of a meditation for me. It reminded me to be kind to myself and name the courage in those trying to pursue their creativity in the margins of these days that feel both ordinary and overwhelming.

“A friend from my Catholic middle school days, Erin Bagwell, is a filmmaker, and we’d reconnected a few years back. Her latest film (Year One) chronicles her first year of motherhood and her journey with postpartum depression, and I felt like ‘Lullaby’ fit right into her narrative. I shared the song with her and we began constructing the idea for this video: a clearly timestamped snapshot of people doing their best to care for those around them — in work, in the home, wherever — and finding moments of peace, clarity, and purpose in the margins. It’s the arc of a day, at once complicated and simple, an affirmation for those — like me — who need to be reminded that pursuing purpose is courageous, and no matter how anxious the moment, peace is in those quiet, still times of mothering ourselves to bits.” — Katie Callahan

Photo credit: Quinn Struke

WATCH: The Kody Norris Show, “Farmin’ Man”

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Artist: The Kody Norris Show
Hometown: Mountain City, Tennessee
Song: “Farmin’ Man”
Album: All Suited Up
Release Date: September 10, 2021 (Single)
Label: Rebel Records

In Their Words: “‘Farmin’ Man” is a true-life account of the American farmer from my perspective. I grew up in a tobacco farming family in the mountains of eastern Tennessee, so I guess I had some firsthand experience of farm life and know all to well the ups and downs that come along with it. I feel that with this video we were able to capture on point the day-to-day life of the Farmin’ Man: the hard work, the struggles and uncertainty they face every day. We had such a great time filming this and it brought back so many memories of my childhood. I hope when fans see this they will take a minute to pay homage to one of America’s greatest heroes, the Farmin’ Man.'” — Kody Norris

Photo credit: Amy Richmond

WATCH: A Tale of Two, “The Letter”

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Artist: A Tale of Two
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Letter”
Album: A Tale of Two EP
Release Date: September 17, 2021

In Their Words: “‘The Letter’ is a very important song for us. We wanted to capture the romanticism behind writing a letter to someone and it feels as though the song took on a whole new meaning during the pandemic. The main essence of A Tale of Two is focused on live performance. We want to bring a record to life on the stage every time we perform. This video was special to us, as we were lucky to have Nashville fiddler Kyle Pudenz on board, who is a spectacular musician and person.” — Stephanie Adlington and Aaron Lessard, A Tale of Two

Photo credit: Nathan Zucker

LISTEN: Tony Kamel, “This River”

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Artist: Tony Kamel
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “This River”
Album: Back Down Home
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words: “Making music for a living is a privilege afforded to few. If you’re lucky, people may even want to see you play it. That’s a wonderful thing, but it comes with some caveats. You miss your family and friends. Even when you’re home, you play at night or on weekends when they’re home from work. But that’s just part of the deal. Would be great to make some good money doing it, too. Maybe one day…. We recorded this on the pre-production day in the studio, the day before we really got started. It was supposed to be a demo. Josh Blue played an old 1960s Maestro drum machine while I took a stab at it. It sounded really cool so we just kept it and added slide guitar by Geoff Queen and harmonies by Kelley Mickwee later.” — Tony Kamel

Photo credit: Josh Abel

WATCH: Jaelee Roberts, “Think Again”

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Artist: Jaelee Roberts
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Think Again”
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I heard ‘Think Again’ for the first time a couple of years ago and I knew immediately that I had to record it! I love how the songwriters (Marla Cannon-Goodman and Shane Stockton) told such a vivid story… songs that you can ‘see’ and ‘feel’ are my favorite! I had so much fun during the filming (I really loved driving the convertible and the drone was awesome) and I am SO excited to be able to bring this song to life in my very first music video. There are a couple of lines in the lyrics where the video and the song really connected: ‘If you’re standin’ at the screen door, heart laid open out in your hand’ and ‘I’m gonna find a spot to pull off on the shoulder’ — watch for those scenes in the video. I’m just really thankful I got to record ‘Think Again’ and I sure hope everyone enjoys the video for it!” — Jaelee Roberts

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

WATCH: Sara Trunzo, “Nashville Time”

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Artist: Sara Trunzo
Hometown: Unity, Maine
Song: “Nashville Time”
Album: Cabin Fever Dream EP
Release Date: September 24, 2021

In Their Words: “One reason I was excited to have this song show up for me was that it encapsulates my most recent chapter of orbiting the axes of Nashville and coastal Maine. At first edit, I worried the song mixed too many different images and place-based metaphors, but that’s actually a good reflection of my voice and life. I’m a northerner who loves the south, a flip-flopper between music and community organizing, a New England veggie farmer with visions of sequin dresses and high-end Nashville recording studios dancing through her head. I’m not a purist. I often wish I was, because it’d be handy to be able to say, ‘I’m a teacher and I live in Bangor,’ but being a seasonal, migratory, hybrid creature seems to be more in the cards for me.

“Because I had lived in Maine for most of my adult life, coastal life and the water have shown up in many songs. I have REALLY missed the ocean during the seasons I lived in Nashville. ‘Nashville Time’ surprised me with the amount of nautical references that stuck, as I didn’t have much firsthand experience with sailing at the time of writing. But since coming back to Maine after the start of COVID, I have fallen in love with sailing to the extent that I’m now living aboard a 30ft sloop on Penobscot Bay.” — Sara Trunzo

Photo credit: Chip Dillon / Blue Horse Photography

WATCH: George Jackson Feat. Wes Corbett, “Mississippi Sawyer”

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Artist: George Jackson featuring Wes Corbett
Hometown: Christchurch, New Zealand
Song: “Mississippi Sawyer”
Album: Hair & Hide
Release Date: Single, August 25; Album, October 29
Label: George Jackson Records

In Their Words: “I live just up the road from the house where the legendary musician John Hartford once lived, on the edge of the Cumberland River in Madison, Tennessee, and for this live video we had the amazing opportunity to record the take in the crow’s nest on top of Hartford’s old riverside home. The current owners were very generous to let us film in that space and they even keep John’s old chair up there, a nod to when he used to sit in that same room overlooking the river and play banjo himself. It was magical to get to play in that room!

“Wes Corbett and I played a version of ‘Mississippi Sawyer’ together while we were warming up together one afternoon by jamming on some fiddle tunes in preparation for arranging some music to record on my banjo and fiddle duets album, Hair & Hide. It was immediately so much fun and had such a great energy to it that I decided then and there that I wanted to record it with Wes for the album. This tune lends itself really well as a way to bring together elements of old-time fiddling that I bring to the table and of virtuosic bluegrass banjo playing from Wes, as well as being a great vehicle to muddle the lines of both genres as we play it together.

“I ended up taking a deep dive on some old recorded versions of ‘Mississippi Sawyer’ from various old-time fiddlers after that initial jam, and came across two really unique versions that I loved from a couple of legendary West Virginia old-time fiddlers, Ernie Carpenter and Edden Hammons. I liked elements of both of their versions so I decided to take inspiration from Ernie’s A part and Edden’s B part to create this really fun and unique take on this great old chestnut fiddle tune that’s endlessly fun to play. Wes is one of our generation’s great picking banjo players and it was so fun to get to work on this tune with him and hear how he improvises around the melody so fluidly. I hope you all enjoy this!” — George Jackson

Photo credit: Natia Cinco

WATCH: Jamie McDell, “Dream Team”

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Artist: Jamie McDell
Hometown: Mangawhai, New Zealand
Song: “Dream Team”
Album: Jamie McDell (early 2022)
Label: ABC Music (AU/NZ)

In Their Words: “We’d stuck it out for about nine months in Toronto. Coming from the coast of New Zealand, the pull of the ocean and the nature we were used to was becoming too hard to ignore. We were unsettled and uncomfortable, but the opportunities of living in the big city were helping us survive. Rain outside, twelve stories up, we’d finished watching Chernobyl and the bathroom had nice acoustics. I had started to get a little bored with the way I was playing my guitar so I put my capo on the 10th fret and started to pick away to a minor-based, squeaky chord progression. The first verse started to flow and the tales that were coming to mind were inspired by those prices we’re willing to pay for power and possession. I’d noticed ‘Dream Team’ on captions of people’s social media posts and it became relevant to the sentiment in the verses.” — Jamie McDell

Photo credit: Jake Smith