“LITERATE FOLK POP” SINGER-SONGWRITER ARIELLE SILVER NAVIGATES PAST CURRENTS AND THE INNOCENCE OF FIRST HEARTBREAK ON “GHOST SHIPS”

SECOND SINGLE FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM WATERSHED PREMIERES VIA AMERICANA HIGHWAYS

“Beautiful” - Cheryl Strayed

“We’ve all been in situations where the plans we made were never brought to fruition — and Arielle asks us to think of those memories on her thoughtfully delivered song of breakups and ghost ships passing in the night.” - Americana Highways on “Ghost Ships

“A beautiful melody, a Silver signature, is combined with her wonderfully clear and ringing alto vocals that leave no doubt that the lyric is king here. It’s a melody that is easy to sing along with and becomes an instant hit between the ears.” - A Little More Vodka, A Little Less Milk on “Bramble Vine”

“Arielle Silver is a baker of pies and a penner of poetry.” - Americana UK

"Lovely songwriting" - The Boston Globe

“With a keen sense of how a song works; expressive lyrics…Silver wrestles with and makes peace with the world.” - Acoustic Music
“What Really Matters”…was born from both an introspective internal analysis of her own life as well as two tragic events near her Los Angeles residence…filled with an infectious percussive groove, hand claps, foot stomps and an urgent commanding vocal.” - American Songwriter on “What Really Matters”

“GHOST SHIPS” : LISTEN | WATCH

LOS ANGELES, CA - LA based singer-songwriter Arielle Silver has released “Ghost Ships,” an evocative folk-pop song and second single from her forthcoming album Watershed, out October 6th. “The video is hopeful, foreboding and simultaneously lovely and soothing, just like the song itself,” says Americana Highways in the premiere for the stunning stop-motion video crafted by accomplished animator Damon Wellner. Navigating through musings on youthful love and the innocence of first heartbreak, “Ghost Ships” finds inspiration from two literary sources, including Cheryl Strayed’s essay “Ghost Ships” from her book Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life From Dear Sugar, as well as writing Silver had previously published. With the official seal of approval from Strayed herself, who described the song as “beautiful,” Silver sets a course through reflective waters on “Ghost Ships.”

“A song about journeys not taken, the idea for this emerged from a flash essay I wrote called ‘The Sleeping Porch,’ first published in Under The Gum Tree.” Silver’s stunning guitar layers, paired with lush vocals and a beautiful cello feature underscores the lessons learned through yesterday’s currents. Joined by an all-star cast of performers and instrumentalists including producer Shane Alexander, Justine Bennett (Jakob Dylan, Liz Phair), Denny Weston Jr. (KT Tunstall, Don Was) “Ghost Ships” is a voyage into the past, while recognizing these lessons and relationships are ultimately a compass for the future. 

The video was completed in collaboration with Wellner, who translated Arielle's vision and journey with the song into what you see today. “When we first talked, I shared the studio recording and lyrics with him, along with the 13-point sketch that I had imagined,” says Silver on the collaborative process. “He showed me some paper-animation work that he had done for a previous project, and it felt like we were exactly on the same page (no pun intended) right from the start.”

Wellner and Silver also snuck in multiple easter eggs in the video that reference her written work, as well as images and details from her everyday life. It's a breathtaking effort that truly enhances the meaning and power of the song. "The story in the opening magazine shot was of ‘The Sleeping Porch.’ The next imagery of the piano was from a home where I was performing a house concert, and the rest of the furniture and pictures are from my living room. That's my cat leaping onto the piano bench."

A literary mind who cites inspiration in writers like Strayed, Jane Austen, Jeanette Winterson, and Mary Oliver (to name a few), Silver's lyrics read like moving self-contained stories, and are further elevated by her striking instrumental and vocal performances. When writing, Silver asks herself “what is the mission for this song in the world? If I’m going to spend time creating a song, and people are going to listen, why is it worth their while? Where’s the real treasure in this song?” 

This consideration carries Silver through the songwriting process to gorgeous results: fully realized songs that waste no space in delivering moving messages to listeners, while recalling past experiences and relationships, or settings that shape these narrative-based stories and emotional musings. In all, Silver crafts moving pieces that capture the heart and soul of the human condition. 

“Ghost Ships” and first single “Bramble Vine” follow Silver’s 2020 acclaimed album A Thousand Tiny Torches. With support from Americana UK, American Songwriter, and more, the album was produced and recorded with Shane Alexander, whose partnership with Silver continued throughout the recording and production of Watershed. 

Silver is a consummate storyteller whose Americana-roots-influenced songs are rich with imagery, empathy, and insight. Conceived in the quiet of the pandemic quarantine, Watershed takes its title as much from that watershed moment in time as it does from the North American spaces where the story-songs take place. Renewing and reflective, water runs through many of the songs as crosscurrents that connect ideas to experiences, and people to places. 

Creative writing adjunct faculty at Antioch University and the founder of Bhavana Flow Yoga studio, Silver’s writing and songwriting pulls inspiration from her childhood and surroundings, from engaging character-based narratives, and a deep sense of spirituality. Growing up with the music of Paul Simon, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and John Denver, all artists introduced to her by her father on acoustic guitar, has led Silver through troubadour traditions across the valleys of the great American music genres; Americana & roots music, folk, blues, county, and more round out Silver’s style. She finds equal inspiration in the sounds and storied histories of Laurel Canyon and Greenwich Village.

Silver serves as the President of FAR-West (Folk Alliance Region West), where she fosters and promotes the work of artists, songwriters, and more across traditional, contemporary, and multicultural folk music, storytelling, and performing arts. She additionally serves as a key team member for the SONA Foundation, a charitable organization that supports songwriters and music creators through resources, programs, and grants for career development, mental health, and financial wellness.

Born on Florida’s Gulf Coast and raised along the Atlantic seaboard, Arielle now lives just a traffic jam away from the Pacific Ocean in her adopted home of Los Angeles. Memories of places and times serve as touchstones through her songs, as does the troubadour music traditions of folk, country, and rock that she heard from her guitar-strumming architect father. Throughout her music and storytelling runs an ethic of care, along with an essential wellspring of interpersonal relationships and ecological notice.

Silver will be performing Watershed in full on October 6th in Los Angeles at the Hotel Cafe with a full band and special guests Alice Howe & Freebo.

Photo by Anabel DFlux

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“LITERATE FOLK POP” SINGER-SONGWRITER ARIELLE SILVER CONTEMPLATES COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS OVER PIE IN “BRAMBLE VINE” - HER FIRST SINGLE IN THREE YEARS

FORTHCOMING ALBUM WATERSHED TO BE RELEASED OCTOBER 6th 

“Arielle Silver is a baker of pies and a penner of poetry.” - Americana UK

"Lovely songwriting" - The Boston Globe

“With a keen sense of how a song works; expressive lyrics…Silver wrestles with and makes peace with the world.” - Acoustic Music

“What Really Matters”…was born from both an introspective internal analysis of her own life as well as two tragic events near her Los Angeles residence…filled with an infectious percussive groove, hand claps, foot stomps and an urgent commanding vocal.” - American Songwriter on “What Really Matters”

“Silver builds upon the tradition of performers like Carole King and Sarah McLachlan…With crystal-clear lyrics weaving considerable narrative depth.” - Neufutur 
“...creative and inventive tunes that capture your soul and make you want to fly. The songs are “sad” in feeling, yet very uplifting and enriching in context, and leave you feeling refreshed and vibrant.” - Music Connection

“BRAMBLE VINE” : LISTEN | WATCH

LOS ANGELES, CA - Today LA singer-songwriter Arielle Silver released the folk-pop ballad “Bramble Vine,” the first offering from her forthcoming fifth album Watershed out October 6th. Silver was inspired by the blackberries that grew outside her childhood home for the song, and leads the viewer through piemaking and a performance in the Kevin Rhoades directed and produced music video. “One day I was making pie and thinking about relationships,” says Silver, “and thinking that some kinds of love are complicated but worth the work.” An earthy, scenic singer-songwriter ballad in 6/8, “Bramble Vine” is grounded in acoustic guitar and tender piano, and exemplifies Silver’s literary approach to songwriting, or in her words - “literate folk pop.” 

“Some kind of love is like that / sweetness buried in a thorny patch / bramble vine, heat, and time / form a heart from the scraps,”  sings Silver over delicate acoustic strumming and an understated Wurlitzer. “Bramble Vine” is rounded out by memorable performances from celebrated musicians including producer-singer-songwriter Shane Alexander (backing vocals, electric guitar, glockenspiel), composer Darby Orr (bass, piano, Wurlitzer), and Denny Weston Jr. (drums, percussion). 

As a longtime yoga practitioner and storyteller, Silver’s goal as a songwriter is to carry these practices and philosophies into her music, and to imbue the songs with a sense of purpose for those listening. When writing, Silver asks herself “what is the mission for this song in the world? If I’m going to spend time creating a song, and people are going to listen, why is it worth their while? Where’s the real treasure in this song?” 

This consideration carries Silver through the songwriting process to gorgeous results: fully realized songs that waste no space in delivering moving messages to listeners, while recalling past experiences and relationships, or settings that shape these narrative-based stories and emotional musings. In all, Silver crafts moving pieces that capture the heart and soul of the human condition. 

“Bramble Vine” follows Silver’s 2020 acclaimed album A Thousand Tiny Torches. With support from Americana UK, American Songwriter, and more, the album was produced and recorded with singer-songwriter Shane Alexander, whose partnership with Silver continued throughout the recording and production of Watershed. 

Silver is a consummate storyteller whose Americana-roots-influenced songs are rich with imagery, empathy, and insight. Conceived in the quiet of the pandemic quarantine, Watershed takes its title as much from that watershed moment in time as it does from the North American spaces where the story-songs take place. Renewing and reflective, water runs through many of the songs as crosscurrents that connect ideas to experiences, and people to places. 

Creative writing adjunct faculty at Antioch University and the founder of Bhavana Flow Yoga studio, Silver’s writing and songwriting pulls inspiration from her childhood and surroundings, from engaging character-based narratives, and a deep sense of spirituality. Growing up with the music of Paul Simon, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and John Denver, all artists introduced to her by her father on acoustic guitar, has led Silver through troubadour traditions across the valleys of the great American music genres; Americana & roots music, folk, blues, county, and more round out Silver’s style. She finds equal inspiration in the sounds and storied histories of Laurel Canyon and Greenwich Village.

Silver serves as the President of FAR-West (Folk Alliance Region West), where she fosters and promotes the work of artists, songwriters, and more across traditional, contemporary, and multicultural folk music, storytelling, and performing arts. She additionally serves as a team member for the SONA Foundation, a charitable organization that advocates on behalf of songwriters and music creators. 

Born on Florida’s Gulf Coast and raised up and down the Atlantic seaboard, Arielle now lives just a traffic jam away from the Pacific Ocean in her adopted home of Los Angeles. Memories of places and times serve as touchstones through her songs, as does the troubadour music traditions of folk, country, and rock that she heard from her guitar-strumming architect father. Throughout her music and storytelling runs an ethic of care, along with an essential wellspring of interpersonal relationships and ecological notice.

Photo by Anabel DFlux

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ISAAC WATTERS CONTEMPLATES LONELINESS, UNDERSTANDING, AND THE SEA ON NEW SINGLE “MY HEART IS AN OCEAN” VIA hi-res records

FORTHCOMING EXTENDED PLAY 002 TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 30TH

“Watters is haunting and archival in the way he approaches songwriting, retracing memory with deep contemplation of the human experience. Sonically, Watters’ music has a lingering effect.” - Impose Magazine

“There are few more compelling narrators of the human condition right now than Watters, who turns his writerly eye toward the disparity in wealth in Los Angeles on the new single.” - Buzzbands LA on “Coconut In The Street”

“Watters has been dipping his toes in assorted genres over the years, but he seems to rest most comfortably along the mesmerizing continuum between minimalist folk and moody theatricality.” - Magnet Magazine

“Blending unique sounds with deep and sometimes haunting lyrics, Watters conjures up a new perspective for listeners and burgeoning artists.” - Los Angeleno

“Extended Play 001 offers a first full glimpse of his restless and idiosyncratic artistic impulses, with tracks diverting towards minimalist art pop, funky indie rock, and off-kilter balladry… the EP closes off with “Sliding,” a slinking and smoky effort carried by bass-driven grooves and Watters’ decadent vocal melodies.” - Under The Radar

“...it’s hooked me, line and sinker. ‘Everywhere I go, I leave a little sadness,’ sung in the vein of Wolf Parade’s wobbly warbles? Take my money.” - Monster Children

“The result is a collection of songs (with more to come) that reflect different shadows of Watters’ LA life, but also process fears and anxieties about the natural world, climate change, and apocalypse that’s very much “in the air” for the artist.” Glide Magazine
Watters has the ability to connect on a higher level, and his work signifies his sincere way with words, his adeptness at creating moments of innocence, and the way his music reverberates. All of this while at the same time not being raucous.” - The Review Geek

“My Heart is an Ocean”: LISTEN

LOS ANGELES, CA - Today LA based multi-disciplinary artist and songwriter Isaac Watters has released his latest single “My Heart is an Ocean,” the third offering from his forthcoming release Extended Play 002, out August 30th via hi-res records

There’s a stunning spaciousness to Watters’ sound across the single- full but never crowded, and ample space for the humanity in his voice and songwriting to shine through. Watters finds loneliness in the vastness of the ocean, always connecting the natural world to his internal compass, overtop of gentle acoustic strumming and dynamic synth sonics. “It’s a lonely place and there’s a lot of trash floating / I wish I was floating back into your arms,” he sings, equally pensive and forlorn.  Watters describes “My Heart is an Ocean” as a love song, “but not just romantically, it’s about a longing to understand and be understood.”

A howling post-chorus caps off a captivating echoing chorus from Watters, a rallying call for connectivity and understanding in a sea of isolation. “They say the Earth’s oceans are mostly getting warmer / that the ice is melting and I know it’s true,” sings Watters, tapping into the changing climate in this extended metaphor. “Maybe someday soon, maybe sooner than later / the whole world will be ocean, and you’ll be lonesome too.”

Watters’ knack for evoking deeply personal emotions by using nature and his surroundings as an extended metaphor is what separates him from other songwriters in this day and age. There’s a constant conversation happening between the self and the surrounding environment, and the way the two shape each other has always been at the forefront of his storytelling.

“My Heart is an Ocean,” follows previous singles including the stunning “All I Need” and haunting “Coconut in the Street,” both to be included in Extended Play 002. His second release through Los Angeles based label hi-res records, the EP captures Watters’ singular voice and widescreen vision to songwriting, which is further supported by the warmth of the labels analog-recording approach.

Watters will be performing in Los Angeles at Gold-Diggers on July 28th with Clara-Nova, with more performances slated throughout the summer.

Photo by Robbie Jeffers

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ISAAC WATTERS TRAVERSES THE STREETS OF LOS ANGELES IN ETHEREAL SINGLE “COCONUT IN THE STREET” VIA hi-res records

FORTHCOMING EXTENDED PLAY 002 TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 30TH

“Watters has been dipping his toes in assorted genres over the years, but he seems to rest most comfortably along the mesmerizing continuum between minimalist folk and moody theatricality.” - Magnet Magazine

“Isaac Watters, too, poignantly connects with his past on the typically immersive “Child in the Rain,” - Buzzbands LA

“Blending unique sounds with deep and sometimes haunting lyrics, Watters conjures up a new perspective for listeners and burgeoning artists.” - Los Angeleno

“Extended Play 001 offers a first full glimpse of his restless and idiosyncratic artistic impulses, with tracks diverting towards minimalist art pop, funky indie rock, and off-kilter balladry… the EP closes off with “Sliding,” a slinking and smoky effort carried by bass-driven grooves and Watters’ decadent vocal melodies.” - Under The Radar

“...it’s hooked me, line and sinker. ‘Everywhere I go, I leave a little sadness,’ sung in the vein of Wolf Parade’s wobbly warbles? Take my money.” - Monster Children

“The result is a collection of songs (with more to come) that reflect different shadows of Watters’ LA life, but also process fears and anxieties about the natural world, climate change, and apocalypse that’s very much “in the air” for the artist.” Glide Magazine
”Watters has the ability to connect on a higher level, and his work signifies his sincere way with words, his adeptness at creating moments of innocence, and the way his music reverberates. All of this while at the same time not being raucous.” - The Review Geek

“Coconut In The Street”: LISTEN

LOS ANGELES, CA - Today LA based artist and storyteller Isaac Watters has released the ethereal “Coconut In The Street,” his latest single and second offering from his forthcoming release Extended Play 002, out August 30th via hi-res records. A stunning and haunting single that presents a number of harrowing vignettes while traversing the streets of Los Angeles, “Coconut In The Street” examines the ever-growing chasm between wealth and poverty in the city, and the potential tragic ends that await all sides of this divide. 

Watters’ signature setting-based storytelling narrative thrives on the scenes he paints from roaming nighttime crosswalks, traveling LA’s most recognizable arteries, and passing its disenfranchised inhabitants. A steady, contemplative acoustic strum accompanied by shimmering, delayed-out synth sonics set the pace for this uncanny nighttime walk as Watters reflects on his place throughout it all. “We’re all going to the corner bar / see you in the morning if I don’t make it that far / either way it’s been a real good time / tired of trying to bring it back.” As the song progresses, a chilling call-and-response from Watters solidifies the songs’ identity in the sidewalk, filling the space within the cracks.

Anyone who has spent time in the city will recognize the scenes that Watters sees at night, as well as the contrasts between the haves and have-nots in a shadowed cityscape. A group of friends on their way to the next bar while passing a homeless man sleeping on the street, a man trying to sell mangoes from a plastic bag on the intersection in 110 degree heat, an addict who wanders to the edge of the freeway, a construction worker who removes his harness and helmet and leaps from the newest luxury highrise. 

“These are all scenes I was thinking about while writing “Coconut In The Street,” says Watters. “But really it's just a song about being out in Los Angeles at night. Roaming the streets with your friends, or trying to find someone to be your friend. All these images are things that happen in LA. I think it's something about the compression of wealth and poverty, facelessness and celebrity. It drives people to the extremes.”  

It’s true that the city attracts hopeful dreamers hellbent on dreams of grandeur, but Watters’ ability to hold a mirror to Los Angeles’ less examined subjects that live in the shadows is what separates him from other LA based artists and songwriters, and carves a place in a storied tradition of deeply moving, meaningful songwriting.

“Double back flip of the new glass tower downtown / Is that you they found? Is that your enemy? / Is that the friend you always meant to be,” sings Watters, a reminder of the stakes facing the city’s vulnerable.

“Coconut In The Street” joins previous single “All I Need” as the first two offerings from Extended Play 002, his second release via Los Angeles based label hi-res records. Watters found a partnership in the label, and in producer/engineer Matt Linesch, whose analog-first approach to recording and production perfectly encapsulates and supports the warmth of Watters’ artistic vision and songwriting approach. 

Watters will be performing in Los Angeles at Gold-Diggers on July 28th, with more performances slated throughout the summer.

Photo by Robbie Jeffers

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2023 She Rocks Announcement

Icon Judy Collins, Noelle Scaggs of Fitz and the Tantrums, and Hit Songwriter Shelly Peiken to be Honored at the 2023 She Rocks Awards

The Women’s International Music Network presents 11th annual event celebrating

women in music on April 13, 2023 at The Ranch, Anaheim. Tickets on sale now.

L to R: Judy Collins (Photo: Shervin Lainez), Noelle Scaggs (Photo: Catie Laffoon), Shelly Peiken.

ANAHEIM, Calif., January 10, 2023 – The Women’s International Music Network (the WiMN) reveals Judy Collins, Noelle Scaggs and Shelly Peiken as the first announced honorees at the upcoming 2023 She Rocks Awards. Recognizing women who stand out as innovators and role models in the music industry, the 11th annual live awards event will take place on Thursday April 13, 2023 6:30 p.m. at the Ranch in Anaheim, CA during the NAMM Show. Tickets to attend are on sale now here.

Judy Collins is an award-winning singer-songwriter esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers, has been entered into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame. Judy’s dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, won "Song of the Year” at the 1975 GRAMMY Awards. She’s garnered several top-ten hits and gold- and platinum-selling albums. This cultural treasure’s 55th album, Spellbound has been nominated in the Best Folk Album category at the 65th Recording Academy GRAMMY Awards in 2023. 

Elektra recording artist Noelle Scaggs may be best known for her larger-than-life vocals and magnetic stage presence as the co-front person for multi-platinum group, Fitz and theTantrums, but the talented songstress is also an accomplished songwriter, whose credits include co-writing her band’s chart-topping, platinum-certified singles “Out Of My League” and “The Walker.” Beyond music creation, Scaggs is immensely passionate about two things: good food and world travel. In 2018 she launched her production house,  Adventures with Scaggs, LLC. Noelle is currently working on her newly founded initiative, Diversify The Stage created to foster more accessible pipelines to careers in concerts, events and touring for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Female-Identifying, and Gender Nonconforming communities. 

Two-time GRAMMY-nominated songwriter Shelly Peiken has been a prolific, behind-the-scenes force in the music business for more than two decades. She is best known for co-penning culturally resonant, female-empowerment anthems such as Christina Aguilera’s No. 1 hit, “What a Girl Wants,” and Meredith Brooks’ smash, “Bitch.”  Shelly has written for and with The Pretenders, Keith Urban, Britney Spears, Brandy, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Celine Dion, Michelle Branch, Natasha Bedingfield, Bebe Rexha, the list is long…Her songs have appeared in numerous films and television shows. Confessions of a Serial Songwriter earned Shelly a second GRAMMY nomination for Best Spoken Word Album. The memoir chronicles her journey from a young girl falling under the spell of magical songs to writing hits of her own.  Currently Shelly is an educator, a fierce advocate of creators’ rights with SONA (Songwriters of North America) of which she is a founding member. 

“I am always astounded by the passionate and meaningful accomplishments of the ground-breaking women in music that we honor,” says Laura B. Whitmore, founder of the WiMN and co-producer of the She Rocks Awards,“This year we’ll turn it up to 11 for our 11th anniversary! I am excited to shine a spotlight on these fantastic role models…with more to come!”

The She Rocks Awards has solidified itself as the  premier event during the NAMM Show, bringing together industry professionals, music icons, artists, fans and the media. The annual event honors women who are groundbreakers, innovators and have displayed exceptional leadership within the music and audio industry. Past honorees of the She Rocks Awards include The Go-Go’s, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson, Lzzy Hale, Gloria Gaynor, Linda Perry, Melissa Etheridge, Pat Benatar, The B-52s, Colbie Caillat, Sheila E, Chaka Khan, Ronnie Spector, Orianthi, The Bangles, and many more, plus a collection of trailblazers and role models from all walks of the music and audio industries.

The 2023 She Rocks Awards will take place on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at The Ranch in Anaheim CA at 6:30 p.m. This high-energy evening includes live music, awards and speeches, celebrity appearances, a fabulous silent auction, amazing gift bags and so much more! Tickets are now on sale, and include dinner and more. This event is open to the public; a NAMM Show badge is not required to attend the She Rocks Awards. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s awards will benefit the NAMM Foundation and Diversify the Stage. Find out more and purchase tickets at sherocksawards.com.

The 2023 She Rocks Awards is sponsored by Sweetwater, PRS Guitars, Positive Grid, Reverb.com, Fishman, D’Addario, Shure, Berklee Online, M.A.C Cosmetics, NAMM, 108 Rock Star Guitars, Sennheiser,  Earthquaker Devices, WRiiG, dw Drums, KORG, Cuccio, Hit Like a Girl, Guitar Girl Magazine, Music Connection, AXS TV and more. For information regarding She Rocks Awards sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@thewimn.com.

More 2023 She Rocks Awards honorees will be announced soon. Learn more about the She Rocks Awards and get tickets at sherocksawards.com. 

About The Women’s International Music Network (WiMN)  

Founded in 2012, the Women’s International Music Network unites women who work within all facets of the music and audio industries. With theWiMN.com as its hub, the WiMN provides a community for women within the industry while enriching their careers and musical experiences through networking and sharing. Founded by music industry veteran Laura B. Whitmore, the Women’s International Music Network produces and hosts events such as, the WiMN She Rocks Showcase series, the She Rocks Awards, and a variety of workshops and panels throughout the year. For more information, visit www.TheWiMN.com.

GRAMMY® AWARD WINNERS CATHY FINK, MARCY MARXER, & TOM PAXTON PREMIERE NEW SINGLE “SINCE YOU” VIA BLUEGRASS TODAY

GRAMMY® AWARD WINNERS CATHY FINK, MARCY MARXER, & TOM PAXTON PREMIERE NEW SINGLE “SINCE YOU”  VIA BLUEGRASS TODAY 

 LIVE ALBUM PROJECT ALL NEW SET FOR RELEASE ON JULY 29TH 

Photo: Michael G. Stewart

LISTEN: “SINCE YOU” 

GRAMMY® Award-winning folk icons Tom Paxton, and Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (who make music as Cathy & Marcy), have released “Since You,” the latest barn-burner from their forthcoming live, double album collaboration, ALL NEW, set for release on July 29th.  

“It’s a sprightly number that makes you feel good for listening,” said Bluegrass Today in their premiere. “It’s a story of true love, and good times on the horizon which Paxton says still occurs even in a topsy turvy world.” 

"Tom and I write all kinds of songs and one of our goals in co-writing has been to write Bluegrass songs. We may have crossed the line writing a happy Bluegrass love song, but we did it! And with Kimber Ludiker on fiddle, Marcy Marxer on mandolin, and Alex Lacquement on bass, how could we lose?” Fink told Bluegrass Today. “Love always wins." "It happens; don’t try to tell me it doesn’t. You’ll meet more than one person in a lifetime who will bring you up short and change your way of thinking - sometimes permanently,” added Paxton. “Usually, the change is for the better. Usually." 

“Since You” follows the release of the trio's first single, “Pete’s Shoulders: The Power Of Song,” a tribute to the legendary Pete Seeger and in honor of his birthday. “Pete Seeger was a Lincolnian figure to me and an avatar who never let us down,” says Paxton. “Pete once sent me a copy of one of his songbooks, nicely inscribed, and when I sent him one of my own I wrote on the title page, ‘To Pete, on whose aching shoulders I have stood for 50 years.’”  

The songs on ALL NEW began in weekly co-writing sessions on ZOOM with Paxton and Fink in 2020. The results include love songs, comedy, history, social justice, and great storytelling, spanning styles from folk to bluegrass to swing to round-singing. In January 2022, the three recorded 28 of the songs live in concert and in-studio.  

They also recently released “Don’t Say Gay,” a topical, tongue-in-cheek song and video in response to Florida’s controversial House Bill 1557. The song and video feature the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC. 

LISTEN // WATCH: “PETE’S SHOULDERS (THE POWER OF SONG)” 

WATCH: DON’T SAY GAY (ft. THE GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF WASHINGTON, DC) 

GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Tom Paxton has become a voice of his generation, addressing issues of injustice and inhumanity, laying bare the absurdities of modern culture, and celebrating community. In describing Paxton's influence on his fellow musicians, Kennedy Center Honors Awardee Pete Seeger has said: "Tom's songs have a way of sneaking up on you. You find yourself humming them, whistling them, and singing a verse to a friend.”  

A catalog of hundreds of songs serves to document Paxton's 57-year career and the power his songs have had on major artists who have recorded them including Willie Nelson, Placido Domingo, Porter Waggoner and Dolly Parton, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, and more. 

TWO-TIME GRAMMY® Award Winners, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are an eclectic folk festival on their own terms. They have entertained the Queen of Thailand, been keynote singers for the AFL-CIO, performed at hundreds of folk festivals, and appeared on the "Today Show" and on National Public Radio. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, cello-banjo, and more.  

The duo, whose past students include Kaki King and Rhiannon Giddens, are the artistic directors of the Ola Belle Reed Songwriting retreat and of The Music Center at Strathmore’s annual Ukefest. They are closing in on their 50th recording and have been honored with 65 Washington Area Music Awards, 12 GRAMMY® nominations, and a multi-generational following of fans.   

Tom Paxton begins a tour on June 9th, details are listed below.  Check your local listings for PBS this month and tune in to catch Cathy & Marcy featured on David Holt’s State of Music, and be sure to follow Tom Paxton and Cathy & Marcy at the links below for the latest news and updates. 

TOM PAXTON ON TOUR 

6/9 - Godfrey Daniels - Bethlehem, PA 

6/10 - City Winery - NYC 

6/11 - Hurdy Gurdy Folk Club - Fair Lawn, NJ 

6/12 - Caffe Lena - Saratoga Springs, NY 

6/14 - Club Passim - Cambridge, MA 

6/16 - Norwood Village Green Concert Series - Norwood, NY 

6/17 - Smith Center for the Arts - Geneva, NY 

6/18 - 1891 Fredonia Opera House - Fredonia, NY 

6/24 - McCabe’s - Santa Monica, CA 

6/25 & 6/26 - Kate Wolf Music Festival - Laytonville, CA 

6/28 - Hopmonk Tavern - Novato, CA 

6/29 - Freight & Salvage - Berkeley, CA 

10/30 - The Birchmere - Alexandria, VA  

COMING-OF-AGE MUSIC-COMEDY FILM “ELECTRIC JESUS” PREMIERES AT FILM FESTIVALS THIS FALL

COMING-OF-AGE MUSIC-COMEDY FILM “ELECTRIC JESUS”

PREMIERES AT FILM FESTIVALS THIS FALL

Fictional band 316 Released First Single And Video “Commando For Christ”

With Distribution Through Joyful Noise Recordings

Original Score by Daniel Smith (Danielson Famile) and Original Songs by Smith and Director Chris White

WATCH VIDEO FOR “COMMANDO FOR CHRIST”: HERE

GREENVILLE, SC – “Electric Jesus” is a wistful coming-of-age music-comedy that follows the ill-fated journey of a never-famous 80’s Christian hair metal band who spends the summer of 1986 playing rock music meant to ‘make Jesus famous.’ The film will screen at film festivals all over the United States this fall - most notably competing for Best Narrative Feature at the 2020 Nashville Film Festival, October 1-7.  

Written and directed by Chris White, the film features Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Brian Baumgartner (The Office), Shawn Parsons, Rhoda Griffis and Claire Bronson. The film is produced by Chris White and Emily Reach White with Emily Reach White, Ryan Bury and James Andrew Felts serving as Executive Producers. John J. Thompson, Christian Rock’s most noted historian, is music supervisor and historical advisor to the film. 

With original score and music by Daniel Smith (Danielson Famile, Sufjan Stevens, Jad Fair, et al), fictitious band 316 plays an otherworldly mash-up of 80’s hair metal and vacation Bible school that wears its teenage protagonists’ hearts on its sleeve while rocking their socks off.  

The first single from the film’s soundtrack, “Commando For Christ,” is a blistering Christian hair metal anthem co-written by film composer Daniel Smith and writer/director Chris White.  It was released through Joyful Noise Recordings on June 26th with the official video featuring movie band 316 which is made up of four new/emerging stars: Wyatt Lenhart (singer/guitarist), Will Oliver (lead guitarist), Gunner Willis (bassist) and Caleb Hoffmann (drummer). Close watchers will glimpse star Brian Baumgartner as 316’s lovable but shady manager Skip Wick and newcomer Shannon Hutchinson who plays a preacher’s daughter who runs off with the band.

Featuring music that spans hard rock, metal, bluegrass, cow-punk, and pop, “Electric Jesus” transports its audience back to where we all want to be: young, free, on the road and alive with purpose and possibility.

As “Electric Jesus” looks to Fall 2020 film festivals and a worldwide release to follow, record label Joyful Noise Recordings will release several songs from the film over the course of the summer and fall — on limited edition, 7” vinyl, and on all major streaming platforms. These releases and the accompanying music videos will coincide with a crowdfunding campaign for the full movie soundtrack — to be released on streaming, vinyl, and CD in November.

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FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS

9/4 \ SPECIAL EVENT

Image Journal Summer Stages Screening & Talkback

9/10 \ FILM FEST

Iowa Independent Film Festival, Mason City, IA

9/10-19 \ TORONTO FILM FEST

Screenings via MPX for Distribution

9/17 \ FILM FEST

Boston Film Festival, Boston, MA

9/26 \ FILM FEST

Footcandle Film Festival, Hickory, NC

10/1-7 \ FILM FEST

Nashville Film Festival, Nashville, TN

10/9-11 \ FILM FEST

Tryon International Film Festival, Tryon, NC

MATT LOVELL PREMIERES WES ANDERSON-INSPIRED NEW VIDEO “ALLIGATOR LILLY”

PHOTO: JASON LEE DENTON

Nashville-based singer/songwriter Matt Lovell has unleashed “Alligator Lilly,” a sultry juxtaposition of beauty and danger, an allegory of lost innocence, and the newest single and video from his debut album, Nobody Cries Today, out on June 5th. 

WATCH: “ALLIGATOR LILLY”

“Need some escapism? With his magnificent new video, Matt Lovell has you covered,” said PopDust in its premiere. “Inspired by Wes Anderson films and the ominous allure of Florida beaches, it's full of eye-candy visuals and striking, hypnotic imagery,” notes PopDust. “Sonically, the arrangement is soulful and simple but laden with teasing moments of dreamy synths that briefly open up the track to a more psychedelic plane. Thematically, the song explores the dichotomy between innocence and danger that defines so much of youth. The product was a joyful and exuberant single, a celebration of seduction and freedom, both spiritual and physical. In the days of social distancing, it feels like a time capsule of a former era, when we could just touch each other without risk—a time that will certainly come again, but that seems far away.” "Someone once told me that they couldn't tell if this song was really innocent or really risqué. And that's exactly what 'Alligator' has been from the moment we sat down to write it," Lovell said.

LISTEN: “ALLIGATOR LILLY”

Written with friends Mandy Cook and Tim Jackson, the song was inspired by a lake near the Gulf of Mexico in Florida's panhandle. "One day we were driving along the coast and passed a lake covered in lily pads—so many of them that you could hardly see the water," Lovell told PopDust. "When we noticed the lake was called Alligator Lake, we laughed about what a strange juxtaposition of danger and beauty this was. I started singing the opening lines 'Alligator Lilly, twinkle in your eye, tide is rolling in pulled by the moon up in the sky.' Mandy gasped and we were like two kids in that moment." They drove back to Jackson's house and told him they wanted to write a "silly song about lost virginity."

“Alligator Lilly” follows the video for the album’s soulful lead single “90 Proof,” which premiered via American Songwriter, written during attempts to let go of a relationship that had ended. “Just one listen to Lovell’s voice as he delivers assertive but smooth blue eyed-soul during the song’s conflicted refrain (‘I got 90 proof / that I ain’t over you’) and that’s all the authentic connection the song needs,” said American Songwriter. “Lovell knows how to tap into a part of himself that can bring the emotions of ’90 Proof’ to the surface and doing so is all the more honorable, knowing the story he’s trying to tell, isn’t a made up screenplay; it’s one man being willing to revisit challenging parts of his life and do so with performative solemnity and grace.”

WATCH: “90 PROOF”

LISTEN: “90 PROOF”

All but one of the album’s songs were recorded in 2016 - just months before  Lovell nearly lost his life. On January 20, 2017, he was shot in the chest by a sixteen-year-old who attempted to steal his car. Miraculously, he lived. “This moment created a new center of gravity and re-ordered my understanding of everything I’ve experienced in this lifetime,” he explains. “Many people who experience acute trauma go through somewhat of a euphoric period immediately after the incident occurs, and this was definitely my experience. The level of peace I felt was something I had never touched before. I wrote profusely, I gardened, I brought new life and vigor to my musical ventures, and I made peace with complicated friendships. More than anything, I found a level of great self-acceptance and this created space for me to begin to learn how to live this life.”  

This era ended with the abrupt onset of PTSD, causing the most difficult time Lovell had ever faced. He began to question everything and struggled to find a way to articulate the horrors he was experiencing.  Now, on the other side of recovery, Lovell is excited to sing these songs again for anyone who will listen. “In these years of writing and recording, I have gathered quite a wild palette of paints,” he says. “In a way, Nobody Cries Today has actually been my teacher.  As I have written these songs, each of them has been like a tiny rowboat to get me from one day to the next. They have witnessed me in the years that I was in the throes of trying to find acceptance for myself and for the world I’m living in.  As a gay man of Southern origin, this proved to be a tall order. These songs have also helped me to explore things like zest for life, discontent, hunger, truth, and hope,” he continues. “Nobody Cries Today contains every bit of earnestness, desire, and love that I have to give. 

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