Tag: Video premiere

WATCH: Stephen Mougin, “The Song That I Call Home”

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Artist: Stephen Mougin
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Song That I Call Home”
Album: Ordinary Soul
Release Date: July 31, 2020
Label: Dark Shadow Recording

In Their Words: “I discovered years ago, like many of my peers, I only really feel like myself when I’m onstage, in the studio, writing songs, or somehow involved in the creation of music. The normal world seems wild, unfamiliar, and uncomfortable until I have the chance to get back inside a song. Erin McDermott and I shared that sentiment back when we wrote ‘The Song That I Call Home’ as an homage to our muse: ‘Lyrical directions for an ordinary soul/ Look past my imperfections while the music makes me whole.’ It’s always a blast to have Sam Bush and Ned Luberecki in the same place, both musically and comically! This was an extra treat, as it’s the first music video I’ve released as an artist AND it includes my wife, Jana. I’m proud of our DSR Video team for their hard work, especially since I had to be on the ‘wrong’ side of the camera for much of this shoot!” — Stephen Mougin

Photo credit: Elliot Lopes

WATCH: Chance Emerson, “Annabelle”

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Artist: Chance Emerson
Hometown: Hong Kong, China / Providence, Rhode Island
Song: “Annabelle”
Album: The Raspberry Men

In Their Words: “My songs tend to take on the energy of the place they were written. I wrote this up in rural Maine so it was particularly fitting that the video ended up being shot there. This song has grown closer to me, especially recently with the shuttering of schools in this period of social distancing. I wrote ‘Annabelle’ as a goodbye to my friends in high school but it’s become significant to me yet again in these times. I’m certainly a bit of a worrier about this entire situation and when I’m firing off probabilities and news headlines at breakfast, my mother likes to quote this song: ‘Everything will be alright in time.’ A lot of friendships won’t last through your life. A lot of friendships fizzle out. Many good things must come to an end — hence the last line. There’s a little bit of the whole idea that ‘you don’t know how good you have it until it’s gone,’ too. Maybe you can’t truly treasure a relationship until it’s over.” — Chance Emerson

“We had been working on a cut of a short when a friend showed us Chance’s music. Immediately ‘Annabelle’ spoke to us and we couldn’t help but feel that the pieces shared common themes. Both are concerned with youthful relationships, anxiety surrounding their future, and the hopeful acts undertaken to preserve that future. Right away we began recutting the short to fit the song and luckily Chance felt the same way we did.” — Rob H. Campbell and Davíd Antonio Martín of Vacationland Collective (Directors)

Photo credit: Chance Emerson as photographed in Hong Kong by Manisha Shah

WATCH: Chris Knight, “I’m William Callahan”

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Artist: Chris Knight
Hometown: Slaughters, Kentucky
Song: “I’m William Callahan” (Niangua Coffee Sessions)
Album: Almost Daylight
Label: Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘William Callahan’ with a friend of mine, Tim Krekel. We both were staff writers for Bluewater Music then. We wrote it and went on to the next song. I pulled the song back out before Almost Daylight and rewrote some lines and completely changed the melody. It’s probably my favorite song on the album now.” — Chris Knight

“While we were in Kentucky filming Chris’ recent music videos, we decided to take some time one afternoon and film a few live performances behind Chris’ barn. The acoustic performances turned out to be some of the most intimate, raw songs we’ve ever captured.” — Nathaniel Maddux, Slate & Glass, director

Photo credit: Ray Kennedy

WATCH: Aaron Burdett, “Dirt Poor”

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Artist: Aaron Burdett
Hometown: Saluda, North Carolina
Song: “Dirt Poor”
Label: Organic Records

In Their Words: “This new video for ‘Dirt Poor’ is shot at my childhood home, where my folks still live. It includes old scrapbook photos of my family and their friends, interspersed with shots of my daughter playing in the same places and in the same way my brothers and I did back in the ’80s. To me, this song at depth is about nostalgia and aging and time. Things are totally different now, but also the same as they were way back when. As hard as it is to remember to do, we should all try to cherish the moment we’re in now, today. It may well be what we’re looking back on years down the road as the ‘good old days.’ Hope you enjoy it!” — Aaron Burdett

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

WATCH: Jill Andrews, “The Kids Are Growing Up”

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Artist: Jill Andrews
Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee; currently Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Kids Are Growing Up”
Album: Thirties
Label: Vulture, Vulture / Tone Tree

In Their Words: “I snuck away one day during my daughter’s nap to write ‘The Kids Are Growing Up.’ My son and daughter are seven years apart and everyday in both of them, I saw this theme personified. She was tiny in my arms just like he used to be. I wrote it as a reminder to myself to slow down and try to be present for the important moments, the ones that really matter. The video comes from ten found film reels donated to the Prelinger Archives in San Francisco. Nobody knows who the family is but based on the footage they lived in the St. Louis area. In the video, you see a family go through marriage, birth of their first child, raising children, holidays, marrying off their first child, and then their first grandchild being born. It so perfectly fits the theme of the song. I truly cannot believe that the filmmaker, Nathaniel Maddux, found the footage and that this family kept such amazing archives of their lives. He said he really hopes that someone sees the video and lets us know who they are!” — Jill Andrews

Photo credit: Fairlight Hubbard

WATCH: Full Cord Bluegrass, “Downtown”

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Artist: Full Cord Bluegrass
Hometown: Grand Haven, Michigan
Song: “Downtown”

In Their Words: “Most bluegrass songs are written with bucolic images, mountain hollers, and a country living context. I wanted to write a song about that same-minded person visiting a city. While the lyrics portray this, so can the music with its unconventional chords and rhythms. The rhythmic mandolin chordal riff for ‘Downtown’ was born out of an inspiration from the mandolin rhythm giant, Sam Bush, while the chords in the bridge are inspired by Steely Dan. … a blend of bluegrass and the city type chord progression. Portland, Oregon, where I lived for 13 years, is the ‘Downtown’ subject and declares my love-hate relationship with the city. That feeling of energy, sights and sounds of a vibrant environment come in to play with this one. This is something we can all understand…” — Brian Oberlin, Full Cord Bluegrass

Photo credit: Chantal Roeske

WATCH: Wood Belly, “Gone Are the Days”

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Artist: Wood Belly
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Gone Are the Days”
Album: Man on the Radio

In Their Words: “‘Gone Are the Days’ is a project we’ve been working on, well, for a lifetime. The video features some of Wood Belly’s childhood home movies interlaced with moments from the last few years playing music across the country. We wanted to pay homage to our roots and express our undying gratitude to the people that helped us get to where we are and will go. There’s a clip towards the end of a couple of our moms hugging during our set in Telluride, Colorado, which pretty much sums up the whole idea. Much love to everyone who made us who we are.” — Chris Weist, Wood Belly

Photo credit: Emily Sierra Photography

WATCH: Distant Cousins, “Angelina” (Live)

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Artist: Distant Cousins
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Angelina”
Album: Here & Now
Release Date: June 5, 2020 (single); June 26, 2020 (album)
Label: Jullian Records

In Their Words: “A few months back, B.C.E (Before Coronavirus Era), we rented out one of our favorite studios for the day and we recorded and filmed it all — nine songs in the day. The vibe in the room was really special. All day long, our musician friends kept coming and going to lend their special talent to our music. It’s hard to believe that that was just a few months ago. Now it all feels like a dream. Certain songs ask for a feeling of intimacy and ‘Angelina’ felt like it needed just that. We found a quiet moment somewhere towards the middle of the day while no one else was around and in the dimly lit room, the song almost played itself. We are very pleased with the result and love how our director, David Schlussel, captured that sense of intimacy that the song represents to us.” — Distant Cousins

Photo credit: Ehud Lazin

WATCH: Crandall Creek, “This Heart of Mine”

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Artist: Crandall Creek
Hometown: Moundsville, West Virginia
Song: “This Heart of Mine”
Album: Headed South
Release Date: May 15, 2020
Label: Bell Buckle Records

In Their Words: “The song ‘This Heart of Mine’ is a coming-of-age ballad about acceptance and moving on when love doesn’t work out as planned. Crandall Creek works together as a team to write, record, and arrange our bluegrass music style, which has become a crossover, acoustic country style. Lilli Gadd, who is singing lead, really knocks it out of the park when it comes to delivering a song. Our harmonies are our own, it almost feels like a family band, but we are not… we are just connected musically.” — Jerry Andrews, Crandall Creek

Photo credit: Bruce Winges

WATCH: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, “A Folded Flag”

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Artist: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Hometown: Xenia, Ohio
Song: “A Folded Flag”
Album: For the Record (vinyl LP, limited edition bonus track)
Release Date: May 22, 2020
Label: Billy Blue Records

In Their Words: “We enjoy recognizing veterans from the stage and dedicating a song to remember their sacrifices. With this song though, we also get to remember the family members of those who are no longer with us. Whether a father, son, daughter, brother or sister, every audience contains people who are proud of and thankful for a loved one’s service. Many servicemen and women do not see combat, but those flags are folded up and given to their family in honor of their service every day. JMRR was blessed to sing the song at the Grand Ole Opry last summer, and our friend Mark Brinkman, one of the song’s co-writers, was in the audience. After we did the song, he found he was seated beside a World War II veteran and they both thanked each other!” — Joe Mullins

Photo credit: Amy Richmond