Tag: Video premiere

WATCH: The Dales, “Homesick Summertime Anthem”

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Artist: The Dales
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Homesick Summertime Anthem”
Album: Easy Times
Release Date: January 10, 2010

In Their Words: “It’s a song about wishing you had more time to spend with the ones you love. I wrote it from the perspective of our friends and family in the Pacific Northwest. Every year my family and I spend the summer up there. We’ve got friends that we’ve known since first grade. They’re always asking us when we’re moving back… and if you’ve ever been in that area — it’s hard not to take them up on their offer.

“The concept for the video was to have the band surrounded by friends and family. Our videographer, Pat Carew, had the idea and enlisted us to round up friends and neighbors to be in the audience. Funny what happens when you tell folks there will be free wine and cheese… they show up! It was shot in my backyard in Woodland Hills, California. The fire shots and the vintage Rhodes keyboard helped foster the warm, analog vibe we were looking for. We almost had an incident with Jackie’s hair and a tiki torch…” — Drew Lawrence, The Dales

Photo credit: Patrick Carew

WATCH: Jake Morley, “No Drama”

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Artist: Jake Morley
Hometown: London, UK
Song: “No Drama”
Release Date: November 8, 2019
Label: Sandwich Emporium Records

In Their Words: “‘No Drama’ is a little hymn to the pleasure of calm spaces. I was feeling a deep longing for them as my wife was pregnant with our first child and this song just tumbled out. Not that there isn’t a place for conflict and action, but everyone needs somewhere safe to retreat to.

“Risk is what makes live performance so interesting, but it felt like everything just fell into place with this take. John Parker and I have been playing together for many years and I love the understanding we have. Really hoping you like the video and am so grateful to my friends at The Bluegrass Situation for helping me share it.” — Jake Morley

Photo credit: John Williams

WATCH: Andrew VanNorstrand, “Boy With Gray Eyes”

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Artist: Andrew VanNorstrand
Hometown: Central New York
Song: “Boy With Gray Eyes”
Album: That We Could Find a Way to Be

In Their Words: “There’s this moment when you realize something; when it finally clicks and the clouds part and you see things as they are. It feels like you’re just… hovering. Suspended between worlds. That moment when you first face a truth, but before you know what happens next. Before you know what it really means. There is so much life in those moments. They are brief, rare, terrifying and beautiful. May we be better than we’ve been. And everyone said ‘Amen.'” — Andrew VanNorstrand

Photo credit: Louise Bichan

WATCH: Bowregard, “The Henrys”

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Artist: Bowregard
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Song: “The Henrys”
Album: Debut to be released early 2020

In Their Words: “‘The Henrys’ is the tale of a desperate outlaw attempting to escape his fate in the Henry Mountains of Utah. Written by Bowregard guitarist and vocalist Max Kabat and led by a driving dobro and fiddle melody, ‘The Henrys’ is a barnburner that has become a staple of our live set ever since its debut at the 2019 Telluride Bluegrass Festival band contest, which we were honored to win.

“The video was recorded by Mineral Sound in Lyons, Colorado, live in one take around a stereo pair of mics with no edits or overdubs. We’re currently in the studio working with producer Nick Forster (of Hot Rize fame) on our debut album, which we plan to release in early 2020 and can’t wait to share with the world.” — Bowregard

Photo credit: Daniel Herman

WATCH: Jon Stickley Trio, “Animate Object”

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Artist: Jon Stickley Trio
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “Animate Object”
Label: Organic Records

In Their Words: “‘Animate Object’ is the trio’s current theme song. At heart, it’s a little flatpicking tune to have fun with, but we’ve rhythmically turned it on its head like we like to do. This video was shot in three different locations with deep significance to us. The World Famous Station Inn represents our love and respect for our bluegrass roots. Spirit of the Suwannee is where our band was born, and where we thankfully return every year to connect with that spirit and experience rebirth under the live oaks. And finally, the [Caverns and] Bluegrass Underground symbolize the deep, introspective dive we’ve taken into ourselves in search of the meaning of our music and where it is coming from. This track is the next step in a never-ending evolutionary journey that is the Jon Stickley Trio.” — Jon Stickley

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

WATCH: David Starr, “Rise Up Again”

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Artist: David Starr
Hometown: Cedaredge, Colorado
Song: “Rise Up Again”
Album: Beauty and Ruin
Release Date: October 18, 2019 (single)
Label: Cedaredge Records, LLC

In Their Words: “‘Rise Up Again’ is one of the songs inspired by the places, characters, and situations in my grandfather Fred Starr’s novel, Of What Was, Nothing Is Left. This song found its way into the new project by way of a very vivid dream I had while in the hospital for surgery in August of 2018. My father and grandfather came to me in that dream as if to tell me that things would be all right despite the life-threatening nature of my medical situation. I sent a rough draft demo to John Oates with a brief narrative about the song. He took it to another level with his arrangement and sensitive lyrical additions. The song has come to feel almost anthemic when I play it. It feels inexorably connected to the book and to the whole journey of making this record.” — David Starr

Photo credit: Jason Denton

WATCH: The John Byrne Band, “Special Place in Hell”

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Artist: The John Byrne Band
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Song: “Special Place in Hell”
Album: A Shiver in the Sky
Release Date: November 1, 2019

In Their Words: “The album is about living, about moving forward, the challenges of moving forward, the challenges of living. It is an album about self-preservation and holding on to love and hope. There are cautionary tales, songs about dealing with addiction, about immigration, about relationships of all kinds, about facing prejudice, about leaving things behind. They all ultimately carry a similar message, that living carries with it the possibility of balancing out regret or mistakes with a future that contains something brighter, and that something is love. The shiver in the sky is the remnants of trauma, but it’s not permanent.

“The idea behind the video was to take imagery from the song and write a simple narrative. Nathan Morrow (the animator) had the idea of the underwater setting representing two people who save each other from drowning. The helmets represent the (flawed) armor we develop to protect ourselves. Love, or at least the possibility of love, sees us discard this protection and embrace the possibility of something brighter.” — John Byrne

Photo credit: Suzanne Kulperger

WATCH: Chris Knight, “Crooked Mile”

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Artist: Chris Knight
Hometown: Slaughters, Kentucky
Song: “Crooked Mile”
Album: Almost Daylight
Release Date: October 11, 2019
Label: Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “I wrote this song with a friend of mine, Gary Nicholson. Carried a verse and a half around for about a year before we worked on it. Wrote it two or three times then I rewrote the chorus that worked for me. It was the same idea, I just changed the way I said it. It’s about a couple of kids that never had much love or anything else. Then they found something good in each other and they’ll fight to the death for it.” — Chris Knight

Photo credit: Ray Kennedy

WATCH: Veronica Stanton, “Wildflower”

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Artist: Veronica Stanton
Hometown: Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
Song: “Wildflower”
Album: 827 Miles

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Wildflower’ about having the desire to be seen and loved but also knowing that I’d miss the freedom and independence that comes with being alone. To me, being alone doesn’t have to mean being lonely and this song is my little ode to individualism. Matt Boylson captured the beautiful footage of wildflowers in California and Kentucky and then he and Nathan Powell filmed the studio footage together. The track is off of my debut EP 827 Miles, which was produced by Dan Knobler and recorded by Justin Francis at Goosehead Palace in Nashville. It was tracked live with Dan Knobler on acoustic guitar, Anthony da Costa on electric guitar, Danny Mitchell on keys, Dom Billett on drums, Sam Howard on bass, and Erin Rae on harmony vocals.” — Veronica Stanton

Photo credit: Bridgette Aikens

WATCH: Jeb Loy Nichols and the Westwood All-Stars, “Remember the Season”

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Artist: Jeb Loy Nichols and the Westwood All-Stars
Hometown: Wales
Song: “Remember the Season”
Album: June Is Short, July Is Long
Release Date: Oct 4, 2019
Label: Compass Records

In Their Words: “I’m not sure, exactly, what this song is about. Memory, youth, the replacement of youth with memories. I was out walking, here in the Welsh hills where I live, thinking about growing up in Missouri. How small I was, how vast the world seemed, how endless, how unexplainable. We’re all burning with memories but we’re each consumed at our own speed.” — Jeb Loy Nichols

Photo credit: Jeb Loy Nichols