Americana/roots rock singer-songwriter Rob Williams set to release new album, “Weathering the Storm, Vol. 1,” on August 28th | A natural storyteller… Williams is known for compelling, character-driven songs

For Immediate Release
June 29, 2020

 

Americana/roots rock singer-songwriter Rob Williams set to release new album, Weathering the Storm, Vol. 1, on August 28th

A natural storyteller who crafts melodies and narratives with intelligence and ease, Williams is known for compelling, character-driven songs

Richmond, VA-based Americana/roots rock singer-songwriter Rob Williams is set to release his fourth album, Weathering the Storm, Vol. 1, on August 28, 2020. A natural storyteller who crafts melodies and narratives with intelligence and ease, Williams is known for his compelling, character-driven songs, and, with his new album, he shares his most moving and intimate work yet. Full of beauty and balance, each track reveals the characteristic poise and brightness of Williams’ songwriting, blending the relaxed, free-wheeling spirit of old classic country with a new, more modern consciousness.

Unlike his previous two albums, which were recorded over short periods of time at studios far from Virginia, Williams returned to the same process he’d used on his very first album for Weathering the Storm, Vol. 1: a year-long course of mini-recording sessions at Sound of Music Studio in Richmond. The album was produced by John Morand, and its refined sense of cohesion comes in part from allowing more space for the recording process. “I’d never really taken my time to record before this,” Williams says. “Spreading it out gave me time to fill in the gaps, step back and listen for a while, and figure out what was needed or what needed to be let go.”

While the album title may conjure images of the country’s recent tornado devastation or the general upheaval of American life in 2020, the root inspiration is Williams’ personal experience with depression. An album that blends elegance, approachability, and a refreshing amount of candor, Weathering the Storm, Vol. 1 features driving acoustic guitar rhythms, warm horn harmonies, and the introduction of newer elements like raw electric guitar and textured vocal effects. The songs on the album reside between the rough calm of alt-rock bands like The Wallflowers and the open-hearted, windows-down purity of artists like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

An academic with a doctorate in educational leadership, Richmond, VA-born-and-bred Williams was fascinated by music from the start. Inspired by everything from early R.E.M. and The Beatles to contemporaries Craig Finn and Josh Ritter, he has developed an intuitive ability to translate lived and imagined experiences into catchy, well-crafted, and engaging music. Williams honed his talent for making memorable Americana, country, and alt-rock in several bands (Contocook Line, Joe Buck, Jr.) before releasing his first solo album, A Place in the Sun, in 2013. In 2015, Williams released his second solo album, Southern FM, recorded in Dallas, showcasing his ability to produce expansive, nuanced acoustic roots rock. An Hour Before Daylight, recorded in Maine and Williams’ third solo album, further demonstrated his knack for succinct and gripping narratives.

His dynamic, varied stories are not only entertaining but straightforward in their humanness. “They’re like character studies,” Williams says. “There are certain boundaries for songs, as opposed to storytelling, that help you make choices – only a certain number of syllables per line, for example. I like that challenge: finding just the right word, just the right line.”

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams is unable to tour right now. Fans eager to see him live can catch his “Basement Sessions” livestreams on his Facebook page at 8 p.m. eastern on July 9th, July 23rd, August 6th, August 20th, and August 27th (special album release session).  Additionally, Williams is confirmed to livestream as part of TheBoot.com’s Social Distancing Shows Series “Live and Socially Distant” Sessions on July 16th at 9 p.m. eastern on TheBoot.com’s Facebook page.

Past press praise:

“…lilting, lyrically rich… Williams tells stories that captivate and ring true.” – No Depression

“A confessional singer in the spirit of Bob Dylan, Tom Waits or Tom Petty, Rob Williams is a pure storyteller at heart.” – IndieMinded.com 

“…one of the most enjoyable listens of the year.” – Independent Clauses

“…Williams’ words ring heavy with an emotional tone ripe with allegories and historical cues you’d expect from the birth-state of America. It’s soft and rugged, wholesome and powerful, and takes you on a ride through each song. …a rhythm roller coaster of blues, Americana, and smoky bar voices that sound so familiar.” – Nashville Music Guide

“In times of instability, oppression, division, and cultural chaos, artists are there to question the status quo, using their creativity to bring overlooked issues to light. …Rob Williams [did] just that with the release of his new album, An Hour Before Daylight.” – Mother Church Pew

“…a gentle roadhouse jamboree…” – Maximum Ink

“…unique, melodic hook-laden style of Folk-abilly… Rob Williams’ heartfelt vocals and lyrical insights play like a wondrous dream you half remember as you wake…” – Turnstyled Junkpiled

“…instantly memorable…” – The Daily Country

http://www.robwilliamsacoustic.com/

Singer-songwriter Owen Danoff releases new single, “Wax Museum,” today

For Immediate Release

June 26, 2020

 

Singer-songwriter Owen Danoff releases new single, “Wax Museum,” today 

Nashville-based indie singer-songwriter Owen Danoff releases his new single, “Wax Museum,” today (June 26th) via Rock Ridge Music. The track premiered on June 24th at American Songwriter. The follow-up to his 2019 single, “Side Effects,” “Wax Museum” is a bittersweet indie-folk/pop track about memory and childhood.

“I wrote this song about a month after my uncle passed away,” says Danoff. “Going through that made me think about all the memories I had with him, then all the memories from my childhood. I noticed I remembered parts of really specific things – like my uncle sitting on the couch reading a paper, or one game of basketball I played with friends as a kid – but the details surrounding them tended to be blurry. I was in a very reflective mood and wanted to try to capture the impermanence of memory – a tall order for a three-minute song – but hopefully some of it came across.”

“Wax Museum” was produced, mixed, and mastered by Mike and Nick Squillante, based on a demo Danoff had made. “Between the three of us, we covered all the parts,” says Danoff. “My favorite aspect of the recording is the typewriter sound we use for percussion – Mike actually played a typewriter, which we thought would give a nice nostalgic feel to the track.  Mike and Nick are in a band called Running Lights – I also co-wrote a song that they released earlier this year.”

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Danoff is unable to tour right now. Fans eager to see him live can catch him livestreaming weekly alternating between his Instagram (@owendanoff) and Facebook (Facebook.com/owendanoff) pages at 8 p.m. eastern every Tuesday evening.

Danoff grew up playing multiple instruments, but it wasn’t until discovering his first rock band, Green Day, that he embraced music as his true passion. It was that catalyst that led him to pick up the bass and electric guitar, as well as pen his first song. With a Grammy Award-winning songwriter father (Bill Danoff, an original member of Starland Vocal Band) and a mother who owned a restaurant that doubled as a neighborhood music venue, it wasn’t surprising when Owen embraced his natural inclination for writing music and performing.

A Berklee College of Music grad who focused on film scoring and bass, Danoff appeared on NBC’s “The Voice,” where he performed his way to the live shows and earned the distinction of being the first contestant ever to play bass on the show. Following “The Voice,” Owen moved to Nashville, TN, home to some of music’s best songwriters and musicians of all genres. Owen has written and collaborated with artists in a number of musical styles – such as CMT’s “Nashville” star, Charles Esten, and electronic dance artist Vowed – while continuing to develop his own personal sound.

With two EPs (Never Trust a Man [2012] and Love on Your Side [2016]) and a full-length album (Twelve Stories [2014]) under his belt, Danoff has been an artist in residence at Strathmore’s Institute for Artistic and Professional Development, and won three Washington Area Music Awards (Wammies) for best Pop/Rock Recording, Pop/Rock Instrumentalist, and Pop/Rock Vocalist.  He was also an American Songwriter lyric contest winner for the single “No Such Thing (As You and Me).”

Inspired by classic songwriting from genres as diverse as folk and R&B, Owen’s unique blend of modern pop sensibilities and singer-songwriter introspection makes for songs authentically his own, pairing the intimacy of self-reflection and personal experience with musical hooks and catchy melodies. “I started making music because it was a way to say what I couldn’t with words alone,” Danoff says. “As soon as I realized that, music went from something I loved and appreciated to something I absolutely had to do.”

https://www.owendanoff.com/

Arlington, VA-based singer-songwriter Ken Francis Wenzel releases new single, “Healing Heart,” today about society’s struggle with COVID-19 and quarantine

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2020

 

Arlington, VA-based singer-songwriter Ken Francis Wenzel releases new single, “Healing Heart,” today about society’s struggle with COVID-19 and quarantine

Arlington, VA-based Americana/roots rock singer-songwriter Ken Francis Wenzel has released a new single, “Healing Heart,” today, his first new music in almost six years. Written in late April and recorded at Sucker Punch Recording Studios in Bethesda, MD, the song is available at all digital outlets today, with a video premiere at Americana Highways on June 26th. The track premiered at Elmore Magazine on June 18th.

Wenzel says, “I wrote this song on a Sunday night in late April, deep in the middle of quarantine. At that time, we had yet to hear any whispers of re-opening the country, and we were all left with our own thoughts on how to get through it.” The initial idea came to him as he woke up, and he had it finished by day’s end. “COVID-19 was already political by then, and I wanted to describe common themes that we all, as people, were dealing with: isolation, uncertainty, fear, worries about getting sick, getting our loved ones sick, wanting to ‘do something’ but not knowing what, financial pressure, depression, all of it,” he says. “At that time, there was no light at the end of the tunnel, and I wanted to try to shine a light somewhere.”

He began playing it during his weekly livestreams and decided to record it after receiving many positive responses. “I recorded it with my old producer and friend, Mark Williams, at Sucker Punch Studios in Bethesda,” Wenzel says. “We social-distanced in the studio, which had two main rooms separated by glass. I never went into the control room where he was, and I left the recording room whenever he’d position a mic. We knocked it out in one day. I remember it going pretty quickly.”

Wenzel says he put out a call for photos on Facebook for a video for “Healing Heart.” “I thought about what a video might look like, and the first thing I decided was that I didn’t want to be in it,” he recalls. “I knew I needed photos from my fans, friends, and family. Folks sent in photos that described their reality during COVID-19 – front-line workers, families, masks, pets, donation drives. Anything that was significant to them for getting through the pandemic. Response was huge, and I was happy with what we came up with.”

He says that the song and video were finished before the murder of George Floyd on May 25th, and that the ensuing protests and national conversations about racism and police brutality changed how he viewed the song. “I knew that although the song was not written about racial injustice or police brutality, it had themes that could possibly – hopefully – speak to those topics,” he says. “Obviously, it would have been completely tone-deaf for the video to not acknowledge, and include in some way, demonstrations, marches, and our current national conversation about racial inequality and justice, so we went back and re-worked the video a bit. Hopefully, this song and video now capture a more complete snapshot of these unprecedented times we’re living in.”

“Healing Heart” is Wenzel’s first release since 2014’s full-length, …Beneath Potomac Skies, which garnered national AAA radio play, and was nominated for four WAMMIEs (Washington Area Music Awards). Originally from Champaign, IL, he performs solo, as well as with his band Cross Kentucky. Wenzel is also a saxophonist, and he has played with artists such as Carlos Santana, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and Ruston Kelly.

Wenzel is donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the “Healing Heart” single to www.colorofchange.org and to www.cdcfoundation.org/coronavirus.

http://kenwenzelmusic.com/

Indie singer-songwriter Krief to release new single in June, new album in August

For Immediate Release

June 15, 2020

 

Krief to release new single in June, new album coming in August

Album Chemical Trance is a psychedelic ride

Krief taps into the intersection of divine and mortality, confronting his own vulnerabilities in a beautiful cacophony

Indie singer-songwriter Krief (full name Patrick Krief) is set to release the first single, “I Am the Pillar of Darkness in Your Life,” from his new album on June 26, 2020 via Rock Ridge Music in the U.S.  The track and video for the song will premiere at Glide Magazine on June 24th.  “I Am the Pillar of Darkness in Your Life” appears on Krief’s forthcoming album, Chemical Trance, which is set for simultaneous U.S. (Rock Ridge Music), Canadian (Indica), and German (Popup Records) release on August 14, 2020.  For fans looking for another sneak peek at Chemical Trance, the title track is set to be the second single and will be released on July 24, 2020.

Chemical Trance is a psychedelic masterpiece of secular shamanistic humanism.  The Montreal-based musician taps into that holy intersection of divine and mortality, confronting his own vulnerabilities in a beautiful cacophony that, at times, recalls Pink Floyd, late-era Beatles, Leonard Cohen, and Radiohead. And just like the artistic epochs of those great musical masters, the new album is at its best when Krief digs deepest into his most personal moments.

Chemical Trance (the follow-up to his 2019 release, Dovetale) was recorded at Krief’s home studio just outside of Montreal. While Krief helmed most of the drums, bass, piano, guitar, keys, and vocals across the nine songs that comprise the album, joining him on the record were: Kate Maloney (violin), Justin Wright (cello), Lorraine Muller (tenor and baritone sax), Philippe Brunet (trombone), Tony Albino (drums on “Chemical Trance”) and George Donoso (drums on “Line Stepper”). Chemical Trance was produced and mixed by Krief himself. To maintain a feeling of raw “old-school/off-the floor” performances, most of the instrumentation was recorded in one or two takes. The vocals were performed live with an instrument (piano or guitar) and a commitment was made to not using tuning or editing.

While Krief is known for dream pop, shoegaze, classic pop/rock, and folk, he pictured Chemical Trance to be more psychedelic in nature, like an Ayahuasca trip. “It’s like you’ve taken the drug and you’re confronting your whole past – all the darkest stuff,” Krief says. “But you’re not reliving it in a normal way, it’s hyped-up: emotions as demons, that sort of thing.”

The album, conceived to be one continuous listen, is bookended by Krief’s two extremes. Opener “I Am The Pillar of Darkness in Your Life” plays like Dante’s Virgil guiding the listener through the first circle of hell, in this case representing Krief’s own crippling anxiety. By album closer, “Gyp Million Star,” salvation appears in sight. “The idea is by the end of the album it’s beautiful,” Krief says. “Not dark. Peaceful.” Along the way, there’s a sonic journey of truly maximalist proportions – oscillating at will between aggressive, progressive, and groovy (“Line Stepper,” “The Light Between Your Eyes”), and fragile and intimate (“Never Without You”).  Yet for all its bombast, there’s a total freedom of spirit that envelops Chemical Trance.

When he began the recording process in November 2019, Krief decided that he wanted to make an album that took him on a journey in which he could heroically confront his demons and completely escape reality. It is fitting, then, that he will release the album to the world in the midst of a pandemic that leaves many wanting to escape reality themselves. Rooted in exploring anxiety and depression, two states that have become rampant in today’s world, Chemical Trance is a well-timed aural getaway for those who need it most. “When I was a teen cooped up in my room feeling completely isolated, and misunderstood, I used music as an escape,” Krief says. “I still do to this day. Just art, and catharsis, for my ears only. That quickly became the only goal in making this record.”

Continues Krief: “I sat with the idea of releasing for three months. I was riddled with self-doubt about it, as I’d never imagined releasing something so transparent and personal. It’s flawed, it’s lo-fi, and it’s full of the nicks and scratches that usually get buffed out in bigger productions. That is how I like to hear music, as most of my favorite albums were tracked to tape, but it’s always been scary to try and release something that is made that way. My wife convinced me that this music could make other people happy, and that I should share it.”

Nothing short of a reinvention for the Montreal singer-songwriter (who is known by many as the former co-writer for Montreal’s “Orchestral Pop Noir” Band The Dears), Chemical Trance is an assertion of artistic autonomy. “Unlike my previous work, I wanted to write an album that was built out of a vibe – one continuous listen,” Krief explains. “To do that, I brought myself back to the point of being lost in music; just having fun, making art because it pleases me. The songs made me feel young.”

On past releases, American Songwriter called his songs “deeply personal,” Brooklyn Vegan praised his “anthemic, widescreen sound,” while Clash Music lauded his “confident, mature songwriting.”  Bsides & Badlands declared his tunes are “a smokey kind of elixir… [they] carve deeper into the complexities of human nature.” The Waterloo Record proclaimed, “Krief’s music is dark, intelligent, and sonically opulent. His deep voice is a like a hypnotic instrument as he takes the listener through an aural opus of intertwining emotional scenarios.” Exclaim! dubbed his music an “honest musical take on life,” and Jam Magazine called it “a gorgeous listening experience.”

www.krief.ca

Nashville artist George Shingleton releases new single, “Handful of Hell,” on May 22nd | “…grittier… There’s a lost honesty in country music like Shingleton’s and that’s on display in his newest song…” – American Songwriter

For Immediate Release

May 22, 2020

 

Nashville artist George Shingleton releases new single, “Handful of Hell,” today (May 22nd)

 

“…grittier… There’s a lost honesty in country music like Shingleton’s and that’s on display in his newest song, ‘Handful of Hell’…” – American Songwriter

 

Shingleton livestreaming every Tuesday night on Facebook Live

 

Full album coming later in 2020

Nashville-based singer-songwriter George Shingleton released a new single, “Handful of Hell,” today via Rock Ridge Music. Produced by Dave Pahanish (who co-wrote #1 songs recorded by Jimmy Wayne, Toby Keith, and Keith Urban), “Handful of Hell,” which premiered at American Songwriter yesterday (May 21st), is an aural drive down a Southern country road and explores how the love of a good woman can help redeem even the most misguided man. The lyric video for the song premieres on his YouTube channel on May 29th.

Says Shingleton about the song: “This is definitely a song inspired by my wife. It goes back to when she and I first met, and I was probably in the wildest stage of my life. She saved me from heading down a darker path. I guess the story was always there, but it just took some time to put it into words. I think once the hook made itself known, it was much easier to get the rest of it together.”

Co-written by Shingleton and Chris Paterno, the song features Shane Sanders on lead and rhythm guitar, “Cowboy” Eddie Long on pedal steel guitar (Hank Williams Jr., Jamey Johnson), Rachel Loy on bass (Hank Williams Jr., Taylor Swift), Jefferson Crow on keyboards (Gary Allan, Sturgill Simpson, Jamey Johnson), and Shawn Fichter on drums (Tim McGraw, Peter Frampton). “Handful of Hell” is the second single from Shingleton’s forthcoming album, which is due out later in 2020. It follows on the heels of the first single, “Fire or Flame,” which was released in February. Shingleton’s planned tour dates have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans eager to see Shingleton perform can catch him livestreaming weekly on his Facebook page at 7:30 p.m. central time every Tuesday evening for his “Tuesday Night Tunes” series.

A son of rural West Virginia, Shingleton was raised on traditional gospel music in small country churches. Music was in his paternal line, with many family members playing an amalgam of bluegrass and Appalachian “hill country” music. Choir directors encouraged him from a young age to find his voice and let it fill the space between altars and spires, people and pews. That voice, it turns out, would also fill the hollers of the mountains. He spent more time outside than in, providing the soundtrack to crackling campfires and electrified stages, each performance pushing him closer and closer to realizing his sound.
As a teen, he fell in love with the sounds of Hank Williams Jr., Ronnie Van Zant, Gregg Allman, Waylon Jennings, and Merle Haggard, and his music was eventually informed by all of them, toeing the blurry lines between Americana, country, blues, Southern rock, and gospel. Like “Handful of Hell,” a lot of Shingleton’s music has also been inspired by his wife, with many of his songs influenced by her presence in his life; she was the one who saw the potential in his playing and performing and encouraged him to go for it. “She saw the happiness and the light in me when I played,” Shingleton explains, “and that helped me see the light in myself.”

The integrity of his stories and sound has earned him the respect of other artists, including Darryl Worley, John Michael Montgomery, Bucky Covington, Montgomery Gentry, Charlie Daniels, Bo Bice, and Keith Anderson, all of whom have invited him to share their stage.

George Shingleton is managed by Rock Ridge Music in Nashville, TN.

https://www.georgeshingleton.com/

Austin, TX-based Americana singer-songwriter Anthony Garcia to release “Acres of Diamonds” in July | album incorporates aspects of rock, classical, and electronica into a heady, cinematic Americana blend

For Immediate Release
May 14, 2020

 

Austin, TX-based Americana singer-songwriter Anthony Garcia to release Acres of Diamonds in July

Americana album incorporates aspects of rock, classical, and electronica into a heady, cinematic blend

Described as “mariachi-esque Queens of the Stone Age,” “like something out of a Cormac McCarthy Novel,” and “missing tracks from a Robert Rodriguez soundtrack”

Austin, TX-based singer-songwriter Anthony Garcia is set to release his album, Acres of Diamonds, on July 17, 2020.  A guitarist and classically trained pianist, Garcia creates music that is perhaps most accurately been described as “cinematic Americana,” a genre that interweaves songwriting with a healthy dose of genre-blending and expanding, quasi-orchestral sections.

Garcia’s original music mixes a range of influences: guitar solos reaching back to the guitar hero tradition of Zeppelin and Hendrix; lyrics and songs that pay homage to Townes Van Zandt and Leonard Cohen; and haunting violin inspired by J.S. Bach. Press in Texas has described his music as “mariachi-esque Queens of the Stone Age” and “like something out of a Cormac McCarthy novel,” and proclaimed that his songs seem like the “missing tracks from a Robert Rodriguez soundtrack.” Media in Paris, France dubbed his music “Americana Hypnotique.”

The album was recorded at Transient Mic Studios in Austin, Texas in 2018 and 2019, produced by Transient Mic, engineered by Jeremy Fowler (who also played bass on the album), and mixed by Fowler and Charles Godfrey (of Scary American Studios who also played drums on the album and has worked in the past with  Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Trail of Dead, and Swans). In addition to Fowler and Godfrey, musicians joining Garcia in the studio were Megan Berson (violins, viola, cello), and Ileana Nina (fiddle). “While this album took some time to make – recording started in the fall of 2018 – we were given time to really concentrate on every detail and give the album and songs the attention they deserved,” says Garcia of the studio, which is a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of Austin music.

Garcia’s music is mesmerizing, melding his early love of guitar-based heavier rock, the classical piano he studied formally in college and after, the modern chill of electronica, and mixing them all with the dusty twang, storytelling, and songwriting facets of Americana. The result is gorgeously evident on, Acres of Diamonds, which showcases every aspect and musical love Garcia has in glorious, dreamy, intense combinations, exploring ghosts of people and places past, drifting, lost love and, of course, searching for, and the hope of finding, love. Songs run the gamut: “Apparitions,” a classical composition-cum-Americana-rock-anthem, resides beside “The Wind,” which is replete with dark, dusty-ballad folk; the electronica-influenced “Haunted Hotels” (inspired by a visit to the historic Menger Hotel in San Antonio) lives in counterpoint to the slow-burning swing-and-sway of the title track “Acres of Diamonds.”  All of it is quintessentially Garcia.

To assemble Acres of Diamonds, Garcia pulled songs from his arsenal of live fan favorites from over the years. “It’s sort of like a greatest hits album of songs that were never hits,” Garcia laughs. “These are songs I’ve written over the past two to fourteen years, and the collection is a culmination of songs that have endured, evolved, and gotten a facelift for this album. Even the subtitle to the album, ‘Los grande exitos,’ is a nod to this concept: it translates as ‘greatest hits’ in Spanish. I tend to hold onto and hone the songs I write over time.”

Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Garcia draws inspiration for the mood and cinematic feel of his music from a hometown rich in music history. His travels throughout the world have exposed him to a variety of cultures and music that have contributed to his expansive repertoire and knowledge of musical styles. Garcia has played regularly in Austin and in the surrounding Texas Hill Country, and expanded his route across the U.S. when he was able to, including favorite haunts like West Texas, Dallas/Fort Worth, New Mexico, and Colorado. His fluency in five languages makes him adept at engaging with international crowds, and he regularly tours Germany, France, Ireland, Spain, and most recently, Switzerland. A four-year stint in South Korea as an English teacher allowed Garcia to travel and spend time performing for East and Southeast Asian audiences as well.

Versatile is the best word to describe his live performance; Garcia often switches between genres within a set, and sometimes switches between instruments within a single song. A lover of rock, blues, classical piano, and Spanish guitar, and a fan of soulful vocals and old standards, Garcia’s musicianship and eclectic song choices always keep the audience enraptured and inspired. He has shared stages with artists as varied as Ian Moore, Mates of State, Del Castillo, Junior Brown, and Wynton Marsalis.

https://www.anthonygarciamusic.com/

Victoria Bailey channels the best of classic country in the first single, “Honky Tonk Woman,” from her forthcoming album

For Immediate Release

May 5, 2020

 

Victoria Bailey channels the best of classic country in the first single, “Honky Tonk Woman,” from her forthcoming album

“Honky Tonk Woman” to be released on June 5th

Bailey plans livestreams on Facebook and Instagram

Huntington Beach, CA-based classic country singer-songwriter Victoria Bailey is set to release “Honky Tonk Woman,” the first single from her forthcoming album, on June 5, 2020 via Rock Ridge Music. “Honky Tonk Woman” is a melancholy, twangy anthem to the places where she fell in love with live country music. Grounding her timeless country music palette is her crystalline voice; an inviting warm tone with the occasional flutter that transports you back in time to a classic honky tonk, one where Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris were all in heavy rotation. The album – Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline, set for release in the fall of 2020 – is namechecked in the lyrics from the song.

On “Honky Tonk Woman,” Bailey yearns to become the ideal country crooner who has an evergreen catalog of jukebox standards that can provide the soundtrack for life’s memorable moments, like a first dance. “Honky Tonk Woman” was the first song written for the album, serving as the integral centerpiece by leading Bailey in a musical direction of classic country soundscapes and representing an important part of her story. “Everything in that song is so true to who I am,” she shares. “I feel really connected with singing in these kinds of bars and the community that supports that, so this is my ode to them.”

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bailey is unable to tour right now. Fans eager to see her live can catch her livestreaming weekly on her Facebook and Instagram pages at 9 p.m. central every Friday evening. Additionally, she is planning a trio of Tuesday night livestreams (May 12, 19, 26, dubbed the “Honky Tonk Happy Hour”) at 5 p.m. central on her Facebook page leading up to the release of the “Honky Tonk Woman” single. All of her livestreams will be 45-minute sessions and will feature originals and covers.

Produced by Jeremy Long, Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline is a whiskey-smooth concoction of crisp guitars, silky fiddle, and radiant pedal steel that expertly glides beneath Bailey’s magnetic, California sun-kissed soprano. Bailey’s full-length label debut — a nine-song collection featuring eight originals and one cover — paints stunning vignettes spanning from adrenaline-rushing love at first sight and down-and-out heartache, to treasuring country music’s indelible roots, and the wavering journey of resilience when chasing one’s dreams. Bailey brings the classic country spirit to the 21st century through relatably raw, non-sugarcoated songwriting that may seem unexpected from most contemporary female musicians in the country realm. She shines a relevant light on some of the shadier corners of the genre not typically addressed, such as the hypocrisy that can be found in the outlaw country mindset, all while evoking a fiery, no-holds-barred lyrical approach in the vein of Margo Price.

Raised under the rays of the sun in Huntington Beach, CA, the classic country singer-songwriter was surrounded by music in her household from an early age. From her drumming father’s rock ’n’ roll band practices to her mom playing the narrative-driven songbooks of folk icons like Cat Stevens and James Taylor, Bailey was naturally drawn to music and the art of storytelling. After falling in love with the guitar at the age of 12, she quickly developed an affinity for songwriting in her late teens and garnered the kind of support system every musical child would dream of: her father was so impressed by her talent that he called on his three musically-inclined best friends to join him in becoming his daughter’s backing band, eventually performing shows around town.

It was the at-first daunting yet exhilarating aspect of performing live that made Bailey realize this was life’s path for her. She found a sense of community very early on by playing honky tonks and bars that allowed the opportunity to cut her teeth on the craft of traditional country music. With five or six years of diligently working the Golden State’s music scene under her belt, she was ready to transpose her striking penchant for storytelling from the stage into an impressive full-length label debut.

On Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline, Bailey weaves these honest stories together for a refreshing examination of real-life American trials and tribulations through her heartfelt lens. “I hope that listeners get to know me and my story through this album, and what I love the most in life,” she says. “Just to be brought back into what classic country captures and makes people feel good about, I hope that it resonates in that same way.” Indeed, it’s a welcome reminder of country music’s potency — both sonically and thematically — to ease and comfort today’s listeners through relatable storytelling, and Bailey is a promising torchbearer for the genre’s rich legacy and where it’s heading.

https://www.victoriabaileymusic.com/

Julian Taylor (Americana) to release new album, “The Ridge,” on June 19th | first single (title track) due out April 10th, premiering today at American Songwriter

For Immediate Release
April 8, 2020

 

Julian Taylor (Americana) to release new album, The Ridge, on June 19th

First single – “The Ridge” – due out April 10th; premiering today at American Songwriter

 

Award-winning Toronto-based Americana singer-songwriter Julian Taylor is set to release his latest album, The Ridge, via Howling Turtle, Inc., on June 19, 2020.  Composed of eight deeply intimate songs, The Ridge was co-produced by Taylor and longtime collaborator Saam Hashemi, mixed by Hashemi, and mastered by Noah Mintz. The album, which was recorded at The Woodshed (the Toronto-area studio owned by a Canadian alt-country stalwarts Blue Rodeo), is the aural result of a songwriter clearly embracing his prime. Originally scheduled for a fall release date, Taylor decided to release the album sooner in the hope that his songs might bring joy to listeners in troubled times. “I hope people can find solace in this music,” offers Taylor. “It’s meant to draw you in and really touch your heart.”

The title track, an ode to the idyllic childhood summers Taylor spent at his grandparents’ farm in British Columbia, is being released as the first single from the effort on April 10, 2020. “The Ridge” premiered today at American Songwriter, who wrote of the song, “Lush… poignant… Lyrically, Taylor brilliantly displays the months he spent outside of his more urban school-year home. The seasons shared with his sister working on the farm are definitive to his identity. ‘The Ridge’ exudes innocence. The sense of place the song represents was the one that protected Taylor during his early life from the steep terrain he would navigate later in life. The song is one of gratitude for the place that gave him the rooted confidence to express his multi-faceted identity as an artist.”

“Human Race,” a particularly seductive earworm that finds Taylor shaping his own path beyond the intersecting songwriting crossroads of Mark Knopfler, Gordon Lightfoot, and Robbie Robertson, already made its way to listeners’ ears in February via Taylor’s socials. Several more singles will also be released before the album’s street date, including “Love Enough,” which is scheduled to street on May 8, 2020, with a premiere at The Bluegrass Situation on May 6, 2020.

Taylor’s inherently cinematic approach to his storytelling has a lot to do with his heritage and upbringing. “It’s an interesting thing to be part Mohawk and part West Indian, because I’ve always had this feeling that I never fit in anywhere,” he admits. “As a mixed person, it’s like, oh, where do you go, and how do you connect with people? That’s all I’ve been trying to do, and my life experience as a person who is mixed helps me do that. These stories are all coming from a person who tries to fit in, but doesn’t quite fit in. That’s really what my work has always been about — that longing to be a part of something.”

Each song on The Ridge represents an acoustic-driven mixture of styles that reflects Taylor’s range as a creative force by building upon the templates forged during his tenure fronting the chart-topping alt-rocking collective Staggered Crossing as well as the fine funk and rhythm and blues-driven foundation he continues to mine with the still-active Julian Taylor Band. From the hopeful swoon of “Over the Moon,” to the tribal-energy landscape that permeates “Ballad of the Young Troubadour,” to the Tex-Mex Canadian-Western vibe mashup of “Love Enough,” the honest, raw nature of The Ridge enables listeners a myriad of personally relatable entry points into Taylor’s enlightening narrative tales, all of which are about and for his family on this album. “I would go for walks in the forest for meditation, and I made videos of myself talking to all the important people in my life like I was writing them a letter,” Taylor says. “I’d talk about the things they did that might have hurt me and vice-versa, as well as the things they did that were amazing. So, this record is really just like full-on confessionals to the people in my family.”

In addition to working with Hashemi, Taylor also enlisted a collective of in-studio collaborators, including pianist/multi-instrumentalist Derek Downham, and, speaking of family, two of his cousins — Gene Diabo on drums, and Barry Diabo on bass. Taylor had a specific strategy for keeping each take fresh. “I sent the songs to everyone only 48 hours before we went into the studio, because I didn’t want people to get tired of them,” he observes. “One of my cousins said it was a great way to do a session, even though I kept him guessing all the time.”

Taylor plans to donate a portion of the sales from The Ridge to a scholarship he started in honor of Bruce Adamson. “This is something near and dear to my heart,” says Taylor. “Bruce was my bandmate for over a decade before he ended his own life.  I started this scholarship in his name to help at-risk children who are interested in pursuing music.” (http://shineconcert.ca/bruce-adamson/)

With all tour dates currently on hold due to COVID-19, Taylor is doing regular livestreaming for his Patreon supporters (https://www.patreon.com/juliantaylormusic). Additionally, he plans several free public livestreams in the coming days:

* April 10th at 7 pm EP/6 pm CT for the “NAC Canada Performs” livestream series on his own Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/juliantaylormusic/)

* April 18th at 1 pm ET/12 pm CT for TheBoot.com‘s Social Distancing Shows “Noon Tunes” series on TheBoot.com’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/thebootcountry)
Praise from other artists for The Ridge:

“…beautifully recorded, performed, and sung, but the real triumph is the raw honesty at the heart of these stories.” – Rhett Miller

“…a fine record… In these times, we could use a little heart and soul, and Julian Taylor’s latest is all heart and soul. Warm wrap-around-you sounds with that velvety voice. A very beautiful record.” – Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo)

“…comforting… precise, thoughtful wordplay… These songs were dug for. One of the standouts is the timbre of Julian’s voice. At times reminiscent of Neil Diamond, the title track presents a haunting incarnation of the late Willie Dunn. The songs are delivered honestly, and it presents itself as an easy keep amongst today’s Americana.” – William Prince

“…refreshing… To see an artist unapologetically be themselves is exciting, and I can’t wait for him to share this body of work.” – AHI

About Julian Taylor:

A major-label veteran, Toronto music scene staple, and a musical chameleon, Julian Taylor’s versatility as a songwriter is signature; one minute he’s on stage playing with his band spilling out electrified rhythm and blues glory, and the next he’s featured at a folk festival delivering a captivating solo singer-songwriter set reminiscent of Jim Croce. He is a prolific artist who has released ten studio albums since 2001. Via his many musical endeavors, Taylor has toured across Canada numerous times and has shared the stage with such world-renowned acts as Nickelback, Jeff Healey, Midnight Oil, Collective Soul, Blue Rodeo and many others. He was personally invited to perform at the Olympic games in Salt Lake City and Vancouver. Perpetually playing live, Taylor has regularly performed just shy of two hundred shows a year. His songs have landed on TV screens everywhere in shows as varied as “Elementary,” “Private Eyes,” “Kim’s Convenience,” “Haven,” “The Good Witch,” “Younger,” and others.

Past press and radio support for Julian Taylor’s music:

No Depression: “…outstanding music front to back. Album of the Year? I think so.”

Cashbox Canada Magazine: “…one of my favourite albums of all time. This is music I will be listening to for years to come.”

CBC Radio: “…eclectic and all-encompassing; well-crafted songs…”

TorontoMusicReviews: “…euphoric… Taylor’s voice is passionate, versatile, completely soul driven…”

Toronto Star: “Julian Taylor revels in versatility… electrifying and soulful…”

Spill Magazine: “…a stunning record.”

Maverick: 5/5 stars – “Taylor is clearly the driving force… a delightful and distinctive vocal style.”

Classic Rock Magazine: “…airtight…”

102.1 The Edge – Alan Cross: “I’ll say it again: Julian is Toronto’s best undiscovered star.”

Jazz Global Media: “literate, witty, acerbic, poignant… a first-class ride from start to finish.”

Cashbox Canada Magazine: “It’s raw, passionate, gritty, beautiful…”

https://juliantaylormusic.ca/

Siren Songs (Merideth Kaye Clark and Jenn Grinels) is set to release an eponymous album in May, featuring both originals and covers from Americana-folk duo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 30, 2020

 

Siren Songs (Merideth Kaye Clark and Jenn Grinels) is set

to release an eponymous album in May

 

Siren Songs features both originals and favorite covers

from the Americana-folk duo

Siren Songs (the brand-new musical collaboration between Merideth Kaye Clark and Jenn Grinels) is set to release its first album, the eponymous Siren Songs, on May 29, 2020.  Recorded by David Streit at The Hallowed Halls (Portland, OR) and Bryan Daste at Dream Tree Studios NW (Portland, OR), the album features a mix of both original songs written by Grinels (“Goodnight Sun, Hello Moon,” “100,” and “Gray”) as well as a selection of folk and Americana favorites (“Jolene,” “Edelweiss,” “Chelsea Morning,” “Angel from Montgomery,” “For Good,” “Time After Time”).  Powerhouse vocalists, musicians, and national touring artists, the longtime best friends showcase gorgeous harmonies and unique arrangements performed on a variety of stringed instruments (banjo, dulcimer, viola) on Siren Songs.  The duo plans to release three singles in advance of the album – one original and two covers: “Goodnight Sun/Hello Moon,” “Edelweiss,” and “Time After Time.”

 

“We were inspired by capturing the natural, raw chemistry that happens when we sing together so we decided to just set up a couple of mics and recorded everything as live as possible – and it just worked,” says Grinels.

 

Inspired by artists as varied as Indigo Girls, Simon & Garfunkel, Eva Cassidy, Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Carly Simon, the duo has been best friends for many years, and both Grinels and Clark call Portland, OR home now.  When they found themselves living in different cities and touring to different places, they kept their friendship alive by meeting each other on the road when their schedules would allow.  “When I look at her, I’m happy,” says Clark.  “When I’m up there with Jenn, I feel protected and in safe hands.”  Grinels echoes the sentiment, saying, “It feels easy, and it’s joyful, and it’s just right.” After performing together for years now, the pair created Siren Songs to make good music as best friends. “From the beginning, it’s been the most effortless musical collaboration,” says Grinels.  “And the universe has continued to beat the drum of symbiosis as the project marches on.”

 

Their cover of Dolly Parton’s classic “Jolene,” imagined with a kick in the pants and a banjo, received some very high praise when the song was selected by Parton herself and Netflix as the favorite rendition during the #JoleneChallenge.  The #JoleneChallenge was born when Parton and Julianne Hough (who was portraying the character of Jolene in the Netflix series “Heartstrings” last year) issued a challenge for fans to present their best rendition of the classic song. When they heard the news that their song had been selected, Clark “wept tears of joy,” while Grinels added, “When I learned that Dolly Pardon LOVED our rendition – yes, in all caps – I was stunned!”

 

Siren Songs is planning three album release shows, including: May 23rd at the Columbia Theatre in Longview, WA; May 29th at The Old Church in Portland, OR; and May 30th at the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River, OR. (All shows subject to possible rescheduling due to COVID-19.)

 

About Jenn Grinels:

An award-winning songwriter, Grinels has spent the past decade performing her original music on the road, touring with 10,000 Maniacs, Christopher Cross, Marc Cohn, Edwin McCain, and Marc Broussard, and sharing stages with Howie Day, Dar Williams, Berlin, Kevin Bacon & The Bacon Brothers, Rhett Miller, Carbon Leaf, Tony Lucca, Brendan James, The BoDeans, and many more.  She has also headlined concerts from coast to coast and abroad. As an independent artist, Grinels has built a large, grassroots following and sold over 20,000 albums. Last year, she was commissioned to compose a musical for B-Side Theatricals in NYC. “Goodnight Sun, Hello Moon” is the first release from the score. Her music can be heard on television and in film.  Grinels dove headfirst into musical theatre and was in rehearsals and shows as early as 5 years old.  Later, she found joy in writing music, particularly her own, both in a band setting and as a solo artist.  “Performing gave me the greatest sense of fulfillment,” Grinels says. “I’ve always felt like this is who I am, and like this is what I was supposed to do since I was 3 years old.”

 

About Merideth Kaye Clark:

Clark is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, as well as an accomplished leading lady in theater. She has played definitive roles nationwide, such as Elphaba in the national touring company of “Wicked” for three years, as well as Eva Perón in “Evita,” Nancy in “Oliver!,” Alice in “Bright Star,” Cathy in “The Last Five Years,” and Clara in “Light in the Piazza.” Clark has toured the US and Canada performing her acclaimed concert “Joni Mitchell’s BLUE.” She can be seen on the television show “Portlandia,” as well as IFC’s “Documentary Now! Co-op,” for which she is featured on the Emmy-nominated cast album.  Clark started playing piano when she was 3 years old and has picked up a new instrument every few years since. She plays anything with strings, most notably viola, guitar, banjo and dulcimer. “I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t making music,” Clark says.

 

 

Siren Songs promo video:  https://youtu.be/MPjvAWwpiyE

 

Website:  https://www.sirensongsmusic.com/

Salim Nourallah announces new EP, “Let’s Be Miserable Together,” to be released in May | heading back out on the road with Rhett Miller in April

For Immediate Release
March 9, 2020

 

Salim Nourallah announces new EP, Let’s Be Miserable Together

Celebrated Texas singer/songwriter/producer to head back out on the road with Rhett Miller on US tour in April

Let’s Be Miserable Together, which is scheduled for release on May 8, 2020, is the second of five planned 2020 EP releases by Texas songwriter/producer Salim Nourallah. The first one, Jesus of Sad, was released in January to coincide with a handful of East Coast dates opening for his friend Rhett Miller of Old 97’s. The release of Let’s Be Miserable Together will follow the two songwriters reuniting once again for a run of Southern shows beginning in April (see tour dates below).

So why is Nourallah releasing five EPs instead of a single or double LP? “Well, when I first started recording in July 2018 with my friend, Billy Harvey, I wasn’t really expecting to record as many songs as we ended up putting down,” Nourallah explains. “We were having so much fun though, and I was writing a lot, so the list just kept expanding. It all sort of happened like one big, happy song avalanche.”

The resulting 25 songs, all tracked by the two veteran musicians at The Treefort Studios in Austin, TX, are what will comprise the quintet of EPs to be released this year on Nourallah’s own Dallas-based Palo Santo Records label. “Simply put, Billy is one of the sickest musicians on the planet,” says Nourallah. “I first got hooked on his songwriting, but then I realized how unique his guitar playing is. Later, I came to realize that his bass playing is also mind-blowing. He’s inspired me to keep feeding him songs because I just want to hear all the crazy cool parts he comes up with.”

This is hardly the first time Billy and Salim have worked together. Their decades-long friendship has seen many co-bills and collaborations, beginning with Nourallah’s fourth solo album, Constellation, which Harvey produced in 2009, as well as the 2017 NHD album, And the Devil Went Up to Portland, where the combined production and songwriting talents of Harvey and Nourallah were mixed with a fellow songwriting friend, Alex Dezen, from The Damnwells. But this newest collaboration, a sprawling mass of expertly crafted songs and brilliantly idiosyncratic production, has brought Nourallah’s unique vision to new musical heights.

Here’s what Nourallah had to say about the songs he and Billy Harvey put together for the Let’s Be Miserable Together EP:

“The songs ‘Let’s Be Miserable Together’ and ‘Building a Case’ came in back to back. I’ve always looked at the two songs as being siblings. Both of them could have also been performed by my ex band, the Travoltas. They’re playful with a dark undercurrent. The first line of ‘Building a Case’ came directly out of something I said to my girlfriend and the rest of the words quickly followed. I had the whole thing finished in less than an hour. That’s super rare for me.

“‘Assassins’ probably could’ve been a Travoltas song as well. My kids like this one because the assassins in the song weren’t intended to be ‘real’ assassins. It’s a metaphor for our negative thoughts. But if you really want them to be real assassins, they can be. That’s up to you. My kids liked that concept! Musically I wanted it to sound a bit swampy. I was happy with the groove we ended up with. Billy played the drums, and I think they’re pretty awesome.

“I actually started the song ‘Winners’ way back in 2010. I’d been on tour in France and played a couple shows with Wreckless Eric. We became friends and were talking about recording together. I’ve always seen him as the quintessential underdog, he’s a real-life hero of mine. Eric is the king of the DIY aesthetic. Anyway, I sent him a demo of ‘Winners’ years ago and always envisioned him singing the bridge refrain. Our plans to record together eventually fell through, but it didn’t really matter because I was never happy with the words. When I finally revisited it in 2018, I enlisted some songwriting help from my brainiac, English teacher girlfriend and finally sorted out the lyrics!

“‘A Simple Love’ was one that I wrestled quite a lot with. I initially got feedback from a couple close friends that I ultimately didn’t agree with. I ended up being stubborn and sticking to what I believed the narrative should be. Then I second guessed myself and sent it to an esteemed songwriter friend of mine who thought it could go in a direction that might make it the kind of song that people would play at their weddings. I definitely had a knee-jerk reaction to that feedback and ran in the opposite direction. One line that seemed to stir the most controversy was ‘not jealous or petty or cruel, or clutching a beer by the pool.’ The beer by the pool line might be my favorite line in the song. It’s a head-scratcher. It’s a bit skewed. I’m aiming for dysfunctional sincerity here.”

Indeed, Salim has made a career of bucking trends. But with this latest collection of songs, as well as another full-length LP in the works with Marty Willson-Piper of The Church, not to mention the esteemed roster of acts on his ever-expanding label, it would seem that his steadfast resolve is paying off. While you might not hear one of the songs from this new collection being played at a wedding anytime soon, there are more than a few that most certainly tug at your heartstrings.

Salim Nourallah Tour Dates:
3/21 – Lazarus Brewing, Austin, TX
3/22 – Palo Santo Galactic HQ, Dallas, TX (with Emma Kupa and Chris McCrory)
4/20 – City Winery, Atlanta, GA (with Rhett Miller)
4/22 – Red Dragon, Baton Rouge, LA (with Rhett Miller)
4/24 – Granada Theater, Dallas, TX (with Rhett Miller)
4/25 – McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, Houston, TX (with Rhett Miller)

http://salimnourallah.com/