MARK ERELLI LAUNCHES FUNDRAISER WITH NEW SONG & VIDEO "THE GIG AT THE END OF THE WORLD"

MARK ERELLI RELEASES NEW SONG & VIDEO "THE GIG AT THE END OF THE WORLD" 

AVAILABLE ONLY AT BANDCAMP

PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT THE PASSIM EMERGENCY ARTIST RELIEF FUND

NEW LP BLINDSIDED  OUT NOW VIA SOUNDLY MUSIC

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WATCH: “THE GIG AT THE END OF THE WORLD”

Today, Boston-based singer/songcrafter Mark Erelli has independently released "The Gig At The End Of The World,” a new song and video created and animated entirely by himself and his two young sons, Caleb and Owen. Of the song, Erelli explains:

”In early March, I went out to see my friend’s band play a late Wednesday night set at a small Boston rock club,” Erelli explains. “Concerns about the virus were just beginning to ramp up, but life was still normal enough that I convinced my wife I’d be fine. I’ll stand in the back of the room, as far from the crowd as I can, I told her. I was determined to unplug and just enjoy the music, but I kept overhearing bits of developing news in the changeovers between bands. The NBA is suspending its season. The president just banned travel to Europe. Tom Hanks is sick. The next morning, I woke up and wrote a tongue-in-cheek song about my previous night called ‘The Gig At The End Of The World.’ A day later, my kids’ school would be canceled for what has become the remainder of the academic year. Before the district fleshed out its plan for home education during quarantine, it was largely up to parents to preserve some sense of normalcy and structure. One of the tasks on our hastily-drawn agenda was ‘Home Recording with Dad,’ and over the next few weeks we worked daily on a full-band version of the new song I had just written. I recorded Owen playing drums and keyboards, and he would engineer for me when it was time to track vocals and guitars.

As the quarantine extended into the foreseeable future and the kids home schooling got more official, I needed a new project to preserve my own sanity. I didn’t feel much like writing or singing, and the normal tools in my creative toolbox felt blunt and useless. I don’t know exactly what made me begin work on a home-animated video for ‘The Gig At The End Of The World,’ but I quickly became consumed by the project and the creative challenge of working in a medium with which I have no experience. It provided me precious time out of mind (see the below picture of the flossing zombie from the video), and it kind of saved me at a time when I felt adrift and despondent. 

It is, of course, not the actual end of the world. But right now I can’t envision when it will be safe again for me to travel to your town or to ask you to gather together for live music. Many artists will be out of work for a long time, and I want to use my home school recording project to help them during this unprecedented crisis.

The song is only available for download on his Bandcamp page and is not a part of his regular streaming catalog. Today, Bandcamp is waiving its revenue shares. and all proceeds from the sale of "The Gig At The End Of The World" will benefit the Passim Emergency Artist Relief Fund (PEAR). The PEAR Fund offers grants of up to $500 and is open to any musician who has performed or taught at Cambridge, Massachusetts folk mainstay Club Passim in the last decade. Visit passim.org/pearfund for more information. Click HERE to download "The Gig At The End Of The World.”

On March 27th, Erelli released his highly-acclaimed new album, Blindsided, via Soundly Music. Blindsided, an unflinching examination of the distance between innocence and experience from “the middle” of life’s fantastic journey, is a step in a different sonic direction for the award-winning artist. In it, Erelli contemplates the delicate tension between love and commitment, faith and family, disillusionment and hope. But this isn’t a confession from the therapist’s couch, it’s rock ’n roll, and Erelli is clearly taking his cues from heroes like Petty and Prine. Against the backdrop of Blindsided’s hungrier, hook-laden sound, with the inspired addition of a string quartet on half of the album, Erelli has never sounded more passionate or vital. Over the course of Blindsided’s 11 tracks, the message of each song is distilled to its purest form, as fearlessly honest in perspective as it is straightforward in its delivery. 

LISTEN: BLINDSIDED

WATCH: “THE RIVER ALWAYS WINS”

WATCH: “I CAN’T STAND MYSELF”

WATCH: “BLINDSIDED”

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CONNECT WITH MARK ERELLI:

Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || Spotify || YouTube || Bandcamp

NEW SINGLE GLENN THOMAS UNLEASHES NEW SINGLE “GIVE A DAMN”

NEW SINGLE “GIVE A DAMN” FROM GLENN THOMAS PREMIERES VIA THE BLUEGRASS SITUATION 

 REASSURE ME THERE’S A WINDOW LP OUT  MAY 15TH VIA PALACE FLOPHOUSE RECORDS

Reassure Me There's a Window veers from his previous releases in the realm of atmospheric and visceral rock and into contemplative indie-folk - PopMatters

Folky, calm, with a skip in its step, its rhythm is familiar and bright…raised in New England, Thomas encapsulates that ambience of small town daydreaming" – Atwood Magazine

Gently reflective - Americana-UK

Indie-folk backing, with drips of steel guitar and this bubbling melancholy - Backseat Mafia

Quite enthralling - A1234

A powerful a sentiment - Ear To The Ground 

Straddling the line between harmonica-laced folk and cheerful Brit-pop - Underground Music Collective

You can literally feel the emotion behind Thomas’s voice. His soulful sound is matched by the simple, yet powerful instrumentation - Gas Mask Magazine 

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Nashville-by-way-of-New England singer/songwriter Glenn Thomas released new single “Give A Damn” via The Bluegrass Situation. “Give A Damn” appears on his forthcoming LP Reassure Me There’s A Window, out May 15th via Palace Flophouse Records. “I wrote this song in the beginning stages of a new relationship I was in,” Thomas explains of of the rowdy, pedal steel-laden track. “I really cared about the person and wanted it to work, but still carried the ghosts of past relationships and dating woes. I felt like I didn’t really have anything new to bring to the table, but ultimately what mattered was I cared and was going to do what it took to make it work. Ultimately, the past is exactly that — the past,” he continues. “I remember sitting on a friend’s speedboat a couple of summers ago getting bounced around by the waves, and the fast up and down movement put this melody into my head. I had the lyrics in my phone notes and sang it into a voice memo right there on the boat.” 

LISTEN: “GIVE A DAMN”

“Give A Damn” follows the release of “All You Can Do,” a Shins-esque song about accepting that things don’t always go as planned, and “Catherine Ames,” a much-needed slice of catharsis and sonic sunshine, inspired by Cathy Ames, the antagonist of John Steinbeck’s East Of Eden - a song about holding on to pain and anger as though they are part of your identity, and understanding that healing and moving forward takes time. Lead single “Oriole,” written after a recurring bout of insomnia about that moment when the sun begins to rise and the birds began to sing. “I thought it would be funny to ask the birds the questions that were keeping me up, since they were all unanswerable anyway,” Thomas has said. “When I set the words to music, I thought it would be fun to make the music sound…lively, like a 60s pop song with serious lyrics.”

LISTEN: “ALL YOU CAN DO”

LISTEN: “CATHERINE AMES” 

LISTEN: "ORIOLE"

Reassure Me There’s A Window features tight fingerpicking guitar-based tunes with introspective lyrics fleshed out with resonant string arrangements. Each of the album’s 11 tracks center around the human condition - ideas of love and loss, isolation and connection, and wondering what more is out there. Thomas writes songs that cut straight to his truths; by putting his life and the human condition under the microscope, his songs articulately observe the big questions with small details, paying careful attention to his understanding of himself and the seasonality of life. 

Thomas, who cut his teeth fronting Rhode Island rock outfit Wild Sun, has shared stages with bands like Langhorne Slim, The Wombats, and Blitzen Trapper. He began writing songs that didn't fit within the rock-centric framework and decided he would strike out on his own, stretching his creative muscles. The album was produced by Jordan Lehning (Rodney Crowell, Andrew Combs, Joshua Hedley); with its throwback flair, Reassure Me There's A Window is a lush, sweetly-arranged collection of articulate folk-tinged songs. 

CONNECT WITH GLENN THOMAS:

Website || Facebook || Instagram || Spotify || YouTube

Destroy Boys Release "Honey I'm Home" Single

DESTROY BOYS RELEASE THE PERFECT QUARANTINE SINGLE TO RELEASE PENT UP ANXIETIES AND AGGRESSION WITH  “HONEY I’M HOME”

“’Honey I’m Home’  heightens its predecessor’s viscous bite and matches it’s theme of frustrated constriction. “FLOOD Magazine

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LISTEN TO “HONEY I’M HOME” : HERE

The San Francisco Bay Area trio Destroy Boys have released their latest single “Honey I’m Home.”  The song is about feeling trapped. Even if your body is physically free, if something has control over you, that control follows you wherever you go, and you always end up returning to it. “It was written at a time in my life where I felt mentally trapped on all sides,”  guitarist Vi Mayugba told FLOOD Magazine.  “I was boxed in by everything around me. Even though there were no physical restraints keeping me from escaping my situation, I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I was able to free myself a few months back, and now the song is more of a redemption song than anything. No more bars on the window, freaky cliff metaphors, et cetera. It’s a perfect quarantine anthem, considering we are all trapped at home.”

The band has been redefining West Coast punk with their blistering take on teenage grind. The band has found champions in West Coast punk royalty Billie Joe Armstrong who not only talked about the band’s debut album Sorry, Mom in  Green Day’s last Rolling Stone cover story (HERE) but has shown public support via Instagram HERE, all before Destroy Boys graduated from High School.

Led by singer Alexia Roditis’ sarcastic and wistful singing and Vi Mayugba’s shredding guitar, held down by Narsai Malik on drums, they pay homage to and represent an evolution of all things classically punk making music that is a searing reminder of how recklessly expressive punk rock was designed to be.  Their second full-length album Make Room led to touring the U.S. and UK with Mannequin Pussy and SWMRS. They were scheduled to support Against Me! this spring, which due to COVID-19 has been postponed, and will be a part of the Sad Summer Festival with All Time Low, The Story So Far, The Maine.

 

 

KEEP UP WITH DESTROY BOYS

Press Materials: http://smarturl.it/DestroyBoysPR 

https://www.destroydestroyboys.com/

https://www.instagram.com/destroyboysband/

https://www.facebook.com/destroyboys

 

 

 

MATT LOVELL RELEASES TIMELY NEW SINGLE "BE FREE"

MATT LOVELL’S NEW SINGLE "BE FREE" PREMIERES

VIA GLIDE MAGAZINE 

DEBUT LP NOBODY CRIES TODAY OUT JUNE 5TH

PHOTO: JASON LEE DENTON

PHOTO: JASON LEE DENTON

Nashville-based artist Matt Lovell has unveiled “Be Free,” a timely new single from his debut album, Nobody Cries Today, out on June 5th. “Lovell grew up learning to sing three-part harmonies in a household steeped in soul...Those roots anchor the tracks on his forthcoming LP,” says Glide Magazine in its premiere. “Be Free,” which Lovell says reminds him of his upbringing, was inspired by the Aretha Franklin-style gospel heard in his youth, music he revisited during the writing and recording process. “Subdued organ and a laid-back rhythm section provide a dreamy, vintage-washed landscape for Lovell’s soulful, velvety vocals,” Glide Magazine adds. “Spendin’ all our days/Trying to make it to the sun/But I don’t wanna go/Unless there’s room for everyone…Somebody tell me when we gon’ be free,” he implores, a question the entire world seems to be asking today – when will we be free of bigotry, free of racism, free of classism, and even free from the sickness currently ravaging our planet?” 

LISTEN: “BE FREE” 

“Be Free,” the third selection from Lovell’s album, follows the release of “Alligator Lilly,” a playful allegory of lost innocence accompanied by a quirky, Wes Anderson-style video filmed at the Gulf Of Mexico. PopDust said “Alligator Lilly” was “full of eye-candy visuals and striking, hypnotic imagery.” Lead single “90 Proof” was written during attempts to let go of a relationship that had ended. “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,” said American Songwriter. “It’s one man being willing to revisit challenging parts of his life and do so with performative solemnity and grace.”

WATCH: “ALLIGATOR LILLY” 

WATCH: “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.” 

CONNECT WITH MATT LOVELL:

Website || Facebook || Instagram || Spotify || YouTube

GLENN THOMAS RELEASES NEW SINGLE “ALL YOU CAN DO”

GLENN THOMAS RELEASES NEW SINGLE 

“ALL YOU CAN DO” VIA POPMATTERS 

 REASSURE ME THERE’S A WINDOW LP OUT 

MAY 15TH VIA PALACE FLOPHOUSE RECORDS

Photo: Annelise Loughead

Photo: Annelise Loughead

Today, singer/songwriter Glenn Thomas has released “All You Can Do,” the timely new single from his forthcoming LP Reassure Me There’s A Window, out May 15th via Palace Flophouse Records. “Reassure Me There's a Window veers from his previous releases in the realm of atmospheric and visceral rock and into contemplative indie-folk,” says PopMatters. “There's bittersweet reflection to be unearthed in Thomas' new single, the ‘All You Can Do.’ A subtle melange of string instrumentation helps to paint a plaintive image, swirling into a percussive, low-key folk jam…there can be a hopeful tinge garnered from its message, the implication being to let some of life's low-points be and to focus on what can be changed.” Thomas wrote “All You Can Do” about the resolve to accept things the way they are, which often is the hardest thing to do, and says “The lyrics came pretty quickly thinking of how sometimes, despite our best intentions, things aren't always as we want them to be, and not to get too worked up about it."

LISTEN: “ALL YOU CAN DO”

“All You Can Do” follows the release of “Catherine Ames,” a much-needed slice of catharsis and sonic sunshine, inspired by Cathy Ames, the antagonist of John Steinbeck’s East Of Eden - a song about holding on to pain and anger as though they are part of your identity, and understanding that healing and moving forward takes time. Lead single “Oriole,” written after a recurring bout of insomnia about that moment when the sun begins to rise and the birds began to sing. “I thought it would be funny to ask the birds the questions that were keeping me up, since they were all unanswerable anyway,” Thomas has said. “When I set the words to music, I thought it would be fun to make the music sound…lively, like a 60s pop song with serious lyrics.”

LISTEN: “CATHERINE AMES” 

LISTEN: "ORIOLE"

Reassure Me There’s A Window features tight fingerpicking guitar-based tunes with introspective lyrics fleshed out with resonant string arrangements. Each of the album’s 11 tracks center around the human condition - ideas of love and loss, isolation and connection, and wondering what more is out there. Thomas writes songs that cut straight to his truths; by putting his life and the human condition under the microscope, his songs articulately observe the big questions with small details, paying careful attention to his understanding of himself and the seasonality of life. 

Thomas, who cut his teeth fronting Rhode Island rock outfit Wild Sun, has shared stages with bands like Langhorne Slim, The Wombats, and Blitzen Trapper. He began writing songs that didn't fit within the rock-centric framework and decided he would strike out on his own, stretching his creative muscles. The album was produced by Jordan Lehning (Rodney Crowell, Andrew Combs, Joshua Hedley); with its throwback flair, Reassure Me There's A Window is a lush, sweetly-arranged collection of articulate folk-tinged songs. 

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A sycamore sways in spite of its weight,

like unmeant words that you can’t unsay.

Past days hang in a frame on the wall,

constantly come to pass, but they still linger on.

Cries for the everyman, cries for the law,

cries for the ones who have given up.

Prayers will be said, but they work too slow

when you have to fix the things that someone else broke.

It’s all you can do.

I looked to the crowd and I felt so small.

Have to wonder why I even worry at all.

Got the tools in the box and a plan and a game,

but the bartender winks and I order the same.

It’s all you can do.

Secondhand premonitions

can’t solve the world in a day.

Keep keeping on with the thinking,

but I still don’t know what to say.

It can patter like the rain or rush like the flood,

all that’s gonna be left are the things you’ve done.

So say one for me and I’ll say one for you.

Cheers to trying to make it through.

It’s all you can do

CONNECT WITH GLENN THOMAS:

Website || Facebook || Instagram || Spotify || YouTube

NATALIE SCHLABS PREMIERES NEW SINGLE “HOME IS YOU” & ANNOUNCES NEW LP "DON’T LOOK TOO CLOSE" SET FOR RELEASE ON OCTOBER 16TH

PHOTO: FAIRLIGHT HUBBARD

PHOTO: FAIRLIGHT HUBBARD

Singer/songwriter Natalie Schlabs has announced her forthcoming album Don’t Look Too Close,  due out October 16th, with the release of lead single “Home Is You.” The song was co-written with Bekah Ham and features backing vocals from Katie Herzig. “Romantic, timeless love songs are great, but what about other kinds of love? Best friends, childhood neighbors, brothers and sisters, a mentor and mentee, family. This is just the kind of angle singer-songwriter Natalie Schlabs poses in many of her songs, including her latest, “Home Is You,” said American Songwriter in its premiere of the track, inspired by that person who is your “person.” “Schlabs’ voice possesses an audible kindness to it, that allows her to carry her performance with the calmness and sincerity necessary to portray a song crafted on the kind of love that overreaches any one type of relationship.” “Home Is You”

LISTEN: “HOME IS YOU”

The nine tracks that comprise Don’t Look Too Close, the second full-length effort from the Texas-bred Nashville-based artist, live in the tension between the beauty and heartbreak surrounding our closest relationships. The songs were written when Schlabs was pregnant with her first child, which caused a lot of reflection on her own upbringing and how she wanted to raise him. The album’s title came from the idea that "he’s going to see all the worst of me, be hurt by the worst of me, as much as I don’t want him to, and, as much as I want to be the best for him. I was thinking about how to raise a child, how to pass down values. There’s a dismantling of what I thought I knew,” she explains. “What do I value in my life and where did those things come from? What do I want to share with my children and what do I want to spare them from?” 

The tracks on Don’t Look Too Close traverse the spectrum of feelings that tend to coincide with love, from bittersweet consideration of “the wilderness caused by depression or illness” in “See What I See,” to the haunting gentleness of “Ophelia,” written for a friend who lost her daughter. The title track addresses the everyday aches and pains people tend to hide from loved ones, and reflects on love’s blindness, how “sometimes the ones you love will never know how much you love them.” The album as a whole represents a place, a time, and a pocket of feelings that are as distinctly human as they are beautiful. “Growing up surrounded by family in the flatlands, there’s not a whole lot going on outside of the people. The climate is extreme, and isolation binds you to the people around you. Everyone’s in each other’s business, and you learn that love can go in many directions. Sometimes it’s about solidarity and sacrifice, sometimes it’s obsessive or painful,” Schlabs says. “This record is about navigating those feelings within our closest relationships.”

Don’t Look Too Close steps into indie territory with a compelling mix of instrumentation laced with solo vocals that bloom into easy, delicate harmonies. Co-produced by Juan Solorzano and Zachary Dyke, with Caleb Hickman on saxophone and Joshua Rogers on bass, the album swells and ebbs with elegant, absorbing shapes. The songs are moody, candid, and tender, each featuring Schlabs’ characteristically sleek vocals front-and-center, backed by charming instrumental moments that add form and depth to the melodies.

CONNECT WITH NATALIE SCHLABS:

Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || Spotify || YouTube || Bandcamp

MARK ERELLI PREMIERES “THE RIVER ALWAYS WINS” VIDEO 

MARK ERELLI PREMIERES  “THE RIVER ALWAYS WINS”

VIDEO  VIA FOLK ALLEY

NEW LP BLINDSIDED  OUT NOW VIA SOUNDLY MUSIC 

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 “...soars on the wings of jangly guitars, heartfelt vocals and soulful harmony lines...Yep, that's the sweet spot right there. And there's enough of it to make this album matter." - The Associated Press

Erelli’s not going to blindside you. He’s going to give it to you straight.” - The Boston Globe

"...finds him trimming back the guest list and nodding to another icon, heartland hero Tom Petty, whose influence looms large over the song’s 12-string guitar jangle and straightforward vocal hooks." - Rolling Stone

"Comes out swinging" - The Boot

"...Blindsided may be his best yet" - Medium

Blindsided is a bit of Americana alchemy, a concoction that can only be served up by someone who knows the rules inside and out — enough to break them when needed.” - No Depression

"For Erelli, music is a way to appreciate the world and the people in his life. And perhaps most acutely, the practice of music has taught Erelli the beauty of sublimation and reinforced the joy of helping others achieve their dreams, which, in turn, helps Erelli also achieve his." - American Songwriter 

"...a really wonderful record. Go for a walk… listen, become happy." - Maine Public Radio

"...echoes Tom Petty and John Prine" - PopMatters

"...a serious, talented artist, but he also understands his role as a storyteller and entertainer...Erelli pulls from lots of places and makes things his own." - Glide Magazine

"Blindsided is ballad heavy with a rocker cut here, a mid-tempo groove there, it is a nod to Mark Erelli’s diversity that the album showcases an ability to cross genre lines." - The Alternate Root

"You know those artists who release a great first record and then have enormous trouble following it up with anything as interesting? Yeah, that’s not Mark Erelli. Mark has consistently expanded his sound while also not chasing whatever wave seems to be cresting at any given moment. The result is a catalogue of depth and heart." - Red Line Roots

"Erelli's always been a brilliant songsmith, but here he finds a dynamic that melds the cerebral with the celebratory." - Country Standard Time

"Erelli has a way with words that really hits in the world we live in now…this album is very well done, and Erelli shows that as a songwriter, he is worthy of emulation.” - Americana Highways

"Mark Erelli has taken a new direction, delving deeper into his rockier side.  A roots-rockier side that has room for a few strings and a pile of melody." - Americana-UK

"...songs and songwriting of a quality rarely encountered. Mark Erelli’s Blindsided. Don’t tell me you didn’t see it coming. Most highly recommended." - Fervor Coulee

__________________________________________________________________________

WATCH: “THE RIVER ALWAYS WINS”

Boston-based singer/songcrafter Mark Erelli has unveiled a new music video for “The River Always Wins,” a track from his highly-acclaimed new album, Blindsided. "I wrote this song with Berklee College of Music professor and singer/songwriter Susan Cattaneo,” Erelli told Folk Alley, who premiered the video. “It started out simply enough, trying to describe the tension between a small town and a river. One needs the other, but the cycles of disaster and rebirth started to make us wonder if the reverse was true. When we decided to write it as if the river itself were the song’s protagonist, things got far more interesting. The central riff of the song is one of the favorite things I’ve ever written. I could play it for days.” Of the video, Folk Alley, who called Blindsided a “career-best,” said, “the song leans into a darkly edgy groove that feels like something Steve Earle would throw down, as Erelli runs through the ramblings of life as viewed from the crystal clear perspective of the river, itself.”

LISTEN: BLINDSIDED

The album, an unflinching examination of the distance between innocence and experience from “the middle” of life’s fantastic journey, is a step in a different sonic direction for the award-winning artist. “For Blindsided he has amped up with a superb band,” noted The Boston Globe in its premiere of the album. “Blindsided says just as much about who he is as it does about where he’s been. The secrets are embedded in the restraint of the 11-song set, a collection efficient yet varied, emotional yet exact,” said No Depression, who called Erelli “an expert craftsman.”

WATCH: “I CAN’T STAND MYSELF”

WATCH: “BLINDSIDED”

Blindsided was forged in a process of reckoning, of taking stock of the soul, and being pleasantly surprised. In it, Erelli contemplates the delicate tension between love and commitment, faith and family, disillusionment and hope. But this isn’t a confession from the therapist’s couch, it’s rock ’n roll, and Erelli is clearly taking his cues from heroes like Petty and Prine. Against the backdrop of Blindsided’s hungrier, hook-laden sound, with the inspired addition of a string quartet on half of the album, Erelli has never sounded more passionate or vital. Over the course of Blindsided’s 11 tracks, the message of each song is distilled to its purest form, as fearlessly honest in perspective as it is straightforward in its delivery. 

Erelli has forged a colorful career by making the art of “being everywhere all the time” seem effortless. It’s hard to think of another artist who seems equally at home serving as a sideman for GRAMMY-winning artists like Paula Cole, Marc Cohn, and Josh Ritter, or producing albums for Lori McKenna, as he does writing and producing his own material, like last year’s “By Degrees,” on which he was joined by a host of voices including Rosanne Cash and Sheryl Crow. That song was nominated for “Song Of The Year” at the 2019 Americana Music Awards and served to reintroduce Erelli to a wider audience. And just in time, because Blindsided combines the exuberance of Erelli’s signature sound with the wisdom that comes with over 20 years of songwriting, capturing an artist at a point in his career where he is clearly digging deep and swinging for the fences. “In one of my favorite Tom Petty songs, he sings ‘it took a world of trouble, took a world of tears, it took a long time to get back here,’” Erelli says. “I think I know exactly how he felt.”

ZAYDE WØLF RELEASES A SWEEPING LOVE SONG FOR OUT TIMES  “I GOT YOU (END OF THE WORLD)” W/ PROCEEDS GOING TO THE MUSIC HEALTH ALLIANCE

ZAYDE WØLF RELEASES THE LOVE SONG FOR OUR TIMES 

 “I GOT YOU (END OF THE WORLD)”

“Perhaps the perfect description of ZAYDE is simply the dark rock child of Imagine Dragons and The Black Keys.” - Ones to Watch

ZAYDE WØLF is unconventional, in every sense of the word. Scrawling a poetic lyric on a massive pop-rock wall of sound--hinting at Imagine Dragons and Bastille influence.”  - Pop Dust 

“ZAYDE WØLF has slowly but surely started to take over the world.” - Alternative Addiction

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LISTEN TO “I GOT YOU”: HERE

 Zayde Wølf has released an uplifting and powerful love song for our times “I Got You (End of the World).” “Two years for, I started writing this song during a very hard time in my life.” says Zayde Wølf mastermind Dustin Burnett. “I have been unsure if I should release such an honest relationship-pop-song. But things have changed since Covid-19 and life seems so fragile right now. It even feels like the end of the world sometimes. But through it all, we have each other. We have love, hope, and meaning... and we need to share those things. This song is all about that, it's about feeling the world is going crazy, but always having each other!” A portion of the proceeds from the song will go directly into the Music Health Alliance’s COVID-19 Relief Fund to assist musicians and music professionals who have been affected by the pandemic. Learn more about the Music Health Alliance HERE.  

“With this electric and in your face musical creation he inspires us to speak up and follow your dreams. He embraces his own fire to give life to this soundscape as it unites melodies and lyrics to craft something that is sure to trigger something in all of us. The track comes as a breath of fresh air in these troubling times as it reminds us that we still have something to fight for once all of this is back to normal.”  - Wolf In A Suit (on “Let’s Go”) 

“Here whispery intensity blossoms into a melodic and sonic tour de force as the song is triumphantly orchestrated.” - Parade Magazine  (on “Let’s Go”)

“ I Got You”  Zayde Wølf’s second new single this year and follows his triumphant return to releasing new music with, “Let’s Go,” his first new release of 2020. These two singles  succeed the “Reimagined” series that saw Burnett reinventing some of his biggest hits, including “New Blood  (Reimagined)” and “Oblivion (Reimagined).” The “Reimagined Series” pulled Burnett through a bout of writer’s block opening up a new well of creativity, forecasting an abundance of new music from Zayde Wølf for 2020.

 “Zayde Wolf had the boldness to “take his launchpad song and make it better” (apologies to “Hey Jude”).......Zayde Wolf worked with Nick Box to reimage the single into an orchestral, cinematic force that demands and commands attention.”

Indie Obsessive (on “New Blood” Reimagined)

“Zayde Wolf‘s new rendition of their 2016 hit “New Blood” is nothing short of chilling.”

 - Apiate (on “New Blood” Reimagined)

 With ZAYDE WØLF, Burnett has built a reputation for music that inspires, motivates and most importantly connects. His latest full-length album Modern Alchemy charted in over 25 countries on the iTunes overall charts and debuted in the top ten Alternative charts here in the U.S. Since he started releasing music just a few short years ago, the ZAYDE WØLF has grown to 203K YouTube subscribers, 63 million views, and his music has been streamed over 25 million times.  His musical success has led to placements in hundreds of films, TV shows, trailers, commercials, and video games. The list includes Shameless, Skyscraper movie, Love-Simon movie, the Jack Reacher 2, The Maze Runner 3, Pride Prejudice & Zombies, spots for UFC, MLB, NFL, Dodge, Jeep, WWE, Xbox, NBA, and more. Burnett has also creatively expanded his reach by cultivating relationships with partners such as Dude Perfect, one of the top YouTube sports channels with over 40 Million subscribers and 7 Billion views. "I get all these emails, sometimes one a week,” Burnett told Billboard, “with all these stories about how the music has moved people in some way. I wanted to continue to make music for people to be inspired by." Most recently Burnett has been getting notes about how his music has been a beacon of light shining through the heavy cloud of uncertainty the world finds itself in.  “Your songs are pure power, and are helping this immunocompromised family navigate such strange times, and to appreciate what's important,” read an email that came in from Australia. “We are all definitely living life like we never have....”

 In addition to Zayde Wølf, Burnett is also the co-owner of a drum sample and loops company called That Sound that has gone on to serve nearly 50,000 customers in over 30 countries around the world. This year the company has joined forces with the leading platform for music creation, Splice, whose users include over 3 million musicians — from Top 40 hitmakers to bedroom producers. The partnership enables That Sound to provide their signature sounds to Splice’s expansive global user base of music makers and creatives.

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LOVE GHOST RELEASES “CHASIN’ MONEY AND BITCHES”

 

LOVE GHOST RELEASES “CHASIN’ MONEY AND BITCHES”

VIDEO + SINGLE

“ The L.A. rockers sound as bratty as any of multi-platinum miscreants who’ve had hits on KROQ, but they fall in more with the play-actin’ bad boys. What the song reflects, though, is having come of age in an era when popular culture glorifies materialism and hedonism, which makes it the saddest kind of parody: funny but true.” - Buzzbands

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LISTEN TO “CHASIN’ MONEY AND BITCHES” : HERE

Los Angeles band Love Ghost have released their new single “Chasin’ Money and Bitches,” produced by Danny Saber (The Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper,  the Charlatans, Public Enemy  etc.)  with an accompanying video directed by Julian SK of SK Films (Alicia Keys. Soulja Boy, Rich the Kid and more).  The song is a comedic and hedonistic look on what it is that our culture values most, from the viewpoint of a teenager living in Los Angeles “‘Chasin’ Money & Bitches’ is supposed to be a fun song,” frontman Finnegan Bell told Buzzbands LA. “There’s a lot to be upset and distraught by right now. Coronavirus, politics, world hunger, mental illness, etc. This song is tongue-in-cheek, and I hope it provides relief and healing to anyone that’s suffering right now.”

The video follows the tongue in cheek narrative of the song following a group of teenagers through a day in the hyperbolic reality of carefree living, reminiscent of legendary music videos from Beastie Boys and the Foo Fighters, who take the music seriously but don’t take themselves seriously. “Right when I heard their music I was really drawn to the talent oozing out of every piece of the record, “ said the video’s diretor Julian SK of SK FIlms.  “Finn's voice is one of a kind and the instruments make you bang your head. We shot the video over a two day period in Los Angeles. We rented an old school whip and got pulled over by the police and kicked out of a liquor store on the first day, we didn't care because we knew we got some great footage. We wrapped the first day shooting in Boyle Heights at a house where Ty Dolla $ign filmed his video for ‘Stand For.’ The second day was the bigger day of the two, we had over 50 extras and actors. We did a whole classroom scene as well as a house show and party vibe on the soundstage. This shoot was one of the most fun I've had directing a music video and I couldn't be more excited for everyone to see it."

WATCH “CHASIN’ MONEY AND BITCHES” HERE

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The song is the follow up to their breakout single, the grunge era-inspired  "Let It All Burn," part of a collection of songs all produced by Danny Saber and the scorcher of a video, directed by Dean Karr (Queens of the Stone Age, Mark Lanegan).  The song was featured on Spotify’s coveted "New Noise" playlist in addition to Apple’s "Breaking Hard Rock" and "Fresh Blood" playlists, having garnered over 1 Million streams since its release with close to half a  million streams on the video alone.

"There’s something cruelly superior about ‘Let It All Burn.’” - Rawckus Magazine

Love Ghost is Finnegan Bell (guitar and lead vocals), Ryan Stevens (bass and background vocals), Samson Young (drums and background vocals), Daniel Alcala (guitar) and Cory Batchler (keyboards). Although the band is young, barely in their 20’s, Love Ghost has been in existence since Bell was in Junior High, so their resume reads as that of bands twice their age. They have toured  Ireland, Japan,  Ecuador, played the mainstage at Festival fff in Ambato,  and have sold out shows in their hometown of Los Angeles. They have supported Buckcherry, Berlin, Smash Mouth, The Young Dubliners, The Tubes, Fuel, and Irish singer/songwriter Mundy. Their music videos have won numerous awards from over 30 film festivals around the world and the band was awarded Best Alternative Rock Band by the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and received The Jean Luc Goddard Award from Cult Critic Magazine.

As with all touring bands, Love Ghost’s Spring tour was put on hold due to COVID-19 but the band will continue to release music throughout the Spring with plans for an EP this summer.

 

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OUT TODAY: MARK ERELLI’S NEW LP "BLINDSIDED" VIA SOUNDLY MUSIC

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...soars on the wings of jangly guitars, heartfelt vocals and soulful harmony lines...Yep, that's the sweet spot right there. And there's enough of it to make this album matter." - The Associated Press

Erelli’s not going to blindside you. He’s going to give it to you straight.” - The Boston Globe

"...finds him trimming back the guest list and nodding to another icon, heartland hero Tom Petty, whose influence looms large over the song’s 12-string guitar jangle and straightforward vocal hooks." - Rolling Stone

"Comes out swinging" - The Boot

Blindsided is a bit of Americana alchemy, a concoction that can only be served up by someone who knows the rules inside and out — enough to break them when needed.” - No Depression

"For Erelli, music is a way to appreciate the world and the people in his life. And perhaps most acutely, the practice of music has taught Erelli the beauty of sublimation and reinforced the joy of helping others achieve their dreams, which, in turn, helps Erelli also achieve his." - American Songwriter 

"...a really wonderful record. Go for a walk… listen, become happy." - Maine Public Radio

"...echoes Tom Petty and John Prine" - PopMatters

"...a serious, talented artist, but he also understands his role as a storyteller and entertainer...Erelli pulls from lots of places and makes things his own." - Glide Magazine

"Blindsided is ballad heavy with a rocker cut here, a mid-tempo groove there, it is a nod to Mark Erelli’s diversity that the album showcases an ability to cross genre lines." - The Alternate Root

"You know those artists who release a great first record and then have enormous trouble following it up with anything as interesting? Yeah, that’s not Mark Erelli. Mark has consistently expanded his sound while also not chasing whatever wave seems to be cresting at any given moment. The result is a catalogue of depth and heart." - Red Line Roots

"Erelli has a way with words that really hits in the world we live in now…this album is very well done, and Erelli shows that as a songwriter, he is worthy of emulation.” - Americana Highways

"Mark Erelli has taken a new direction, delving deeper into his rockier side.  A roots-rockier side that has room for a few strings and a pile of melody." - Americana-UK

"...songs and songwriting of a quality rarely encountered. Mark Erelli’s Blindsided. Don’t tell me you didn’t see it coming. Most highly recommended." - Fervor Coulee

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LISTEN: BLINDSIDED

Today, Boston-based singer/songcrafter Mark Erelli released his highly-acclaimed new album, Blindsided - an unflinching examination of the distance between innocence and experience from “the middle” of life’s fantastic journey. It’s also a step in a different sonic direction for the award-winning artist; “Erelli is…a foursquare acoustic songwriter in an age of digital audio workstations. For Blindsided he has amped up with a superb band,” noted The Boston Globe in its premiere of the album. “Blindsided says just as much about who he is as it does about where he’s been. The secrets are embedded in the restraint of the 11-song set, a collection efficient yet varied, emotional yet exact,” said No Depression, who called Erelli “an expert craftsman.”

To create the soundtrack that reflected this reinvigorated approach to songwriting, Erelli consulted his mental list of fellow musicians with whom he had forged connections in recent years, and realized they all lived in Nashville. So he made the trek to Music City, with best friend and multi-instrumentalist/producer Zachariah Hickman (Josh Ritter, Ray LaMontagne) in tow, curious to see what effect a change in geography, personnel, and context would produce. With the help of drummer Jamie Dick (Rhiannon Giddens, Our Native Daughters), guitarist Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbell, Josh Ritter), Kai Welch (Molly Tuttle, Kacey Musgraves) on keys, producer Hickman on bass, and Dan Knobler (Lake Street Dive, Caroline Spence) recording and mixing, the result couldn’t have been more unanticipated.  

WATCH: “I CAN’T STAND MYSELF”

WATCH: “BLINDSIDED”

Blindsided was forged in a process of reckoning, of taking stock of the soul, and being pleasantly surprised. Mining the same gritty yet soulful territory as John Hiatt’s Bring The Family or Bonnie Raitt’s Nick Of Time, Erelli contemplates the delicate tension between love and commitment, faith and family, disillusionment and hope. But this isn’t a confession from the therapist’s couch, it’s rock ’n roll, and Erelli is clearly taking his cues from heroes like Petty and Prine. Against the backdrop of Blindsided’s hungrier, hook-laden sound, with the inspired addition of a string quartet on half of the album, Erelli has never sounded more passionate or vital. Over the course of Blindsided’s 11 tracks, the message of each song is distilled to its purest form, as fearlessly honest in perspective as it is straightforward in its delivery. 

Erelli has forged a colorful career by making the art of “being everywhere all the time” seem effortless. It’s hard to think of another artist who seems equally at home serving as a sideman for GRAMMY-winning artists like Paula Cole, Marc Cohn, and Josh Ritter, or producing albums for Lori McKenna, as he does writing and producing his own material, like last year’s “By Degrees,” on which he was joined by a host of voices including Rosanne Cash and Sheryl Crow. That song was nominated for “Song Of The Year” at the 2019 Americana Music Awards, and served to reintroduce Erelli to a wider audience. And just in time, because Blindsided combines the exuberance of Erelli’s signature sound with the wisdom that comes with over 20 years of songwriting, capturing an artist at a point in his career where he is clearly digging deep and swinging for the fences. “In one of my favorite Tom Petty songs, he sings ‘it took a world of trouble, took a world of tears, it took a long time to get back here,’” Erelli says. “I think I know exactly how he felt.”  

Erelli will live stream an album release show on April 9th at 8:00 pm EDT from The Parlor Room in Northampton, Massachusetts, click HERE for more information. Be sure to follow him via the links below for updates.

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

PHOTO: JASON LEE DENTON

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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WILL DAILEY ANNOUNCES ISOLATION TOUR TO BENEFIT BOSTON VENUES

WILL DAILEY’S VIRTUAL ISOLATION TOUR LOOKS TO RAISE MONEY TO SUPPORT STAFF AT BOSTON AREA VENUES & BARS

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“He’s thinking about each person in his audience, and he’s thinking about the connection he has with them.”  - WGBH 

Boston Musician and community organizer  Will Dailey has embarked on his Isolation Tour in support of local Boston venues and bars.  Two weeks ago Dailey  announced on his socials a  virtual  bar series, where he posts up and performs on a Livestream as viewers make online donations, with one specific venue as that “show’s” benefactor, as if he was physically performing in that particular room. His first three shows, that benefitted Great Scott, Toad and The Burren raised more than $4,300 thus far all of which will go to help support the staff at each venue. Tips can be made during each show (details HERE) all of which go to benefit the bar, sound and security staff at each venue.  “This all unfolded slowly for me because I had a 2020 tour in China coming together that fell through in late January,” Dailey tells Vanyaland. “I was set to travel to record but that was cancelled at the end of February. Any planning for mid summer to fall froze in its tracks last week. I don’t know when my next gig will be. I need to work now. Not only for money but also, my sanity. I keep in mind that the anxiety from all this can only be assuaged by focusing on the things that bring us peace.”

See details on upcoming shows below and more information can be found below.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Club Passim (3/24) MORE INFO

The Plough & Stars (3/25) MORE INFO

Paradise Rock Club (3/26) MORE INFO

The Sinclair (3/27) MORE INFO

Atwood’s Tavern (3/30) MORE INFO

ZUMIX (4/1) MORE INFO

  

“How good is Will Dailey? He wrote a song called ‘When It Dies’ that magically uplifts. A gem of a melody sits at the center of a wonderfully musical mess with huge vocals — the man crushes you with the repeated refrain of ‘All we ever really want is not to be forgotten!’ All at once the tune recalls James Taylor’s simplicity, Ray LaMontagne’s intensity and Tom Waits’ weirdness. The rest of the new album, ‘Golden Walker,” possesses the same magic.” - The Boston Herald

MORE ON WILL DAILEY

In 2018 Will Dailey released his second independent record,  Golden Walker, a critically acclaimed and heady album initially intended to  be a handbook on accountability, but as the writing progressed it morphed into so much more.  Not only do the songs on Golden Walker, serve as social commentary, but they are meditations on life and the struggles, both internal and external, that come with aging and just plainly existing on the planet. The album was a follow up to National Throat, his indie debut, that went on to receive numerous awards including Album and Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards, Song of the Year and Producer of the Year at the New England Music Awards, Best of the Year by Improper Bostonian Magazine, debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, and garnered over 9 million streams on Spotify. In addition to being a wildly successful independent artist Will has become and artist advocate. He has taken to mentoring artists and developing programs like the Fenway Rooftop Sessions to create a space for independent and up and coming artists to exercise their craft, and to ensure that there is always a space for art to grow and thrive.

 

 

 

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SLOW DAKOTA EXAMINES THE FUTURE USING FOLKLORE AND LEGAL PROWESS ON "COMING TO THE NUISANCE" SINGLE

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LISTEN TO “COMING TO THE NUISANCE” : HERE 

“ In contrast with the space-y, almost post-rock sound of the song, Sauerteig’s vocals have a certain early 00s indie feel to them, think Ben Gibbard as a reference point.” - MXDWN 

Slow Dakota the project from Chicago (by way of  New York and Indiana)  based songwriter and label owner Paul Sauerteig has released, “Coming to the Nuisance,”  the second single off his upcoming album Tornado Mass for Voice & Synthesizer due out May 1 on Massif Records.

Slow Dakota mastermind Paul Sauerteig, who is a practicing lawyer,  was in law school while writing this album was naturally super inspired by his surroundings....the law. “Coming to the Nuisance” is an old legal maxim that means,  if you know someone is loud and obnoxious and messy, you can’t move in next door and then sue them for being a loud and obnoxious and messy neighbor. You’ve “come” to the nuisance, and that’s your fault because you knew better.   “A song I wrote years ago, and a release date planned months ago – it’s a strange coincidence to release ‘Coming to the Nuisance’ right now, in our current and collective state of crisis,” Sauerteig told MXDWN . “After all, the song is about trying to prepare for a looming, mass disaster. Battening down the hatches. I had global warming in mind, but COVID-19 has stolen the show, I suppose. The song’s narrator is preparing for a disaster that he knows is coming, but no one around him takes it seriously – not even friends and neighbors. I had Noah in mind, from the old story of Noah’s Arc. He was shrugged off by his community, and no one wanted to wrap their heads around the “flood” he was warning them about. I think a lot of people feel like Noah today, for a lot of different reasons, in the bated breath before a lot of different floods.”

The name Slow Dakota comes from Sauerteig's great grandfather who spent final years in and out of hospitals and the occasional psychiatric institute. As his mental health started to deteriorate he began writing letters to The President of the United States, and would always sign them “Yours, Slow Dakota.," although having no relation to North or South Dakota.  During one family visit to the hospital when Sauerteig was only 5 or 6,  his great grandfather slipped him one of these letters and asked him to deliver it. The letter was addressed to President Lincoln. So,  years later, when Sauerteig began releasing music, Slow Dakota felt like an appropriate pen name. Long letters to no one. 

Sauerteig’s music is known for blending baroque pop, folk, classical, and electronic influences like Vangelis and Sufjan Stevens. Sauerteig often employs "spoken word" interludes, and his lyrics fixate on myth, rural folklore, and fairy tale. In 2016, he was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Sauerteig began releasing music as Slow Dakota from his Columbia University dorm room in 2012. As an undergraduate, Sauerteig pursued Creative Writing and Psychology, and quietly released his first few albums: Our Indian Boy (2012), Bürstner and the Baby (2013), and The Junior EP (2015). While at Columbia, Sauerteig also founded a small record label, Massif Records, to release his own music, and the music of close friends – including the lovely Margaux. Sauerteig spent two years recording in various cities and tapped longtime producer, Sahil Ansari, and legendary mastering engineer, Greg Calbi for Tornado for Voice and Synthesizer. The album, which will be the fourth Slow Dakota full-length album, will be released on Sauerteig’s own label  Massif Records this spring. 

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WEBSITE: http://www.slowdakota.com/

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INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/slow.dakota

ZAYDE WØLF RELEASES THE ANTHEMIC SINGLE “LET’S GO”

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 LISTEN TO “LET’S GO”: HERE

Zayde Wølf has released, the anthemic and hard-hitting single “Let’s Go.” "It's been a heavy start to 2020,” says  Zayde Wølf mastermind Dustin Burnett.  “I wanted to finish and release this song because I felt like we all needed something fun. I wear black most of the time, but I'm always trying to live in color... Let's Go!"

“Let’s Go” is the first original piece of music from Zayde Wølf this year and is the follow up to the “Reimagined” series that saw Burnett reinventing some of his biggest hits, including “New Blood  (Reimagined)” and “Oblivion (Reimagined).” Doing the “Reimagined Series” helped Burnett break through a bout of writer’s block opening up a new well of creativity.  “Last year I hit one of those songwriting walls,” says Burnett on how the concept of the series started. “I couldn’t get over it. No new idea seemed compelling. I was listening to a lot of soundtracks and started writing mini orchestral type themes and song ideas and mixing those with my older songs. The best news is that these reimagined songs have helped me break out of the creativity slump”  The release “Let’s Go” kicks off what will be a prolific year for Burnett, with news multiple songs and two full EP’s planned for release this year.

“.... whispery intensity blossoms into a melodic and sonic tour de force as the song is triumphantly orchestrated.” - PARADE MAGAZINE (on “New Blood : Reimagined”) 

With ZAYDE WØLF, Burnett has built a reputation for music that inspires, motivates and most importantly connects. His latest full-length album Modern Alchemy charted in over 25 countries on the iTunes overall charts and debuted in the top ten Alternative charts here in the U.S. Since he started releasing music just a few short years ago, the ZAYDE WØLF has grown to 203K YouTube subscribers, 63 million views, and his music has been streamed over 25 million times.  His musical success has lead placements in hundreds of films, TV shows, trailers, commercials, and video games. The list includes Shameless, Skyscraper movie, Love-Simon movie, the Jack Reacher 2, The Maze Runner 3, Pride Prejudice & Zombies, spots for UFC, MLB, NFL, Dodge, Jeep, WWE, Xbox, NBA, and more. Burnett has also creatively expanded his reach by cultivating relationships with partners such as Dude Perfect, one of the top YouTube sports channels with over 40 Million subscribers and 7 Billion views. "I get all these emails, sometimes one a week,” Burnett told Billboard, “with all these stories about how the music has moved people in some way. I wanted to continue to make music for people to be inspired by." Fans have gravitated to his music in the millions showing their devotion on social media with comments like, “ I love your music. It seriously gets me pumped up to face the day! So thank you! I hope one day I can see you live” (Steph K Mullins via Instagram), to “Thank you Mr. Wolf for creating music that has motivated, made me cry and joyous, the songs for my universe and so much more,” (Sage Asher via Instagram) and  “I listen to your music every day and my life is so much richer and happier because of it.” (Hannah Mae Hathway via Instagram).

“Oblivion’ is a beautifully layered and theatrical slow-burn that builds with stirring harmonies and intense instrumentals. It has all the makings of a sci-fi or superhero blockbuster movie soundtrack.” –Forbes Magazine (on the last reimagined track “Oblivion: Reimagined” ) 

In addition to Zayde Wølf, Burnett is also the co-owner of a drum sample and loops company called That Sound that has gone on to serve nearly 50,000 customers in over 30 countries around the world. This year the company has joined forces with the leading platform for music creation, Splice, whose users include over 3 million musicians — from Top 40 hitmakers to bedroom producers. The partnership enables That Sound to provide their signature sounds to Splice’s expansive global user base of music makers and creatives.

 

KEEP UP WITH ZAYDE WØLF:

PR Materials: http://smarturl.it/ZaydeWolfPR

http://www.zaydewolf.com

https://www.facebook.com/zaydewolf

https://twitter.com/zaydewolf

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HIT SONGWRITER SHELLY PEIKEN RELEASES HER  SONIC LOVE LETTER TO THE BEATLES  “GEORGE & JOHN”

SONGWRITER SHELLY PEIKEN RELEASES HER

 SONIC LOVE LETTER TO THE BEATLES

 THE SINGLE  “GEORGE & JOHN”

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LISTEN TO “GEORGE & JOHN”: HERE 

“Brilliant Beatles Inspired Love Song...a beautifully dreamy original track laden with Beatles analogy and simply performed as a tribute both to the Fab Four and her own brilliance.” - PARADE

Hit Songwriter Shelly Peiken has released a gorgeous new single, her sonic love letter to the Beatles “George & John.”

I always wanted to write a song that would be an emotional analogy between losing half of myself in a break-up and the heartbreak of losing half the Beatles,” Peiken explained to Parade Magazine. “On a songwriting trip to London I relayed the idea to Phil Thornalley, a fellow Beatles enthusiast. His eyes lit up. A few weeks after returning home he sent me some music. When I pressed play my jaw dropped. I didn’t take the headphones off until every word was written. ‘George & John’ is a sonic love letter to the Beatles. Anyone who ever loved them as much as I did is gonna dig it!”

Peiken who is a career songwriter is responsible for penning some of the most memorable songs of the past twenty years many of which went on to become anthems of empowerment such as Christina Aguilera’s "What a Girl Wants" and "Come on Over Baby,” Meredith Brooks' "Bitch," Mandy Moore's "I Want to be With You," Brandy's "Almost Doesn't Count," The Pretenders "Human," Jessie J’s “Who You Are,” “Rotten To The Core” from Disney’s Descendents and hundreds more songs for artists such as Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Reba, Natasha Bedingfield, N'Sync, INXS, Celine Dion, Keith Urban, Mark Wills, Cher, Smash Mouth and more. Collectively her songs have sold an excess of 50 Million records (see the full list HERE).

This year after years of writing and working for other artists, Peiken is celebrating her incredible career in music by revisiting some of her biggest hits by recording her own versions of her most beloved songs along with a number of originals, such as “George & John,” culminating into an album entitled 2.0 etc. coming out this summer. “George & John” is the second single off of the 2.0 etc. album, and follows up Peiken’s version of “What a Girl Wants,” released last month, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the song becoming the first number one of the new millennia on January 1, 2000.  Peiken shared the story of writing “What A Girl Wants” and her experience of it hitting that number one spot with Billboard this month as part of their “My Billboard Moment” feature, along with American Songwriter,  Variety and SiriusXM.

Peiken got her start as a young writer in New York in the 90's, but a lot has changed since then. The digital economy has made it nearly impossible for most songwriters to sustain a livelihood so Shelly made it her business to do something about it.  She became a founding member of SONA (Songwriters of North America) a creators’ rights advocacy organization that has been making a name for itself preserving the value of songs and songwriters in a new music marketplace. 

In 2018 she penned a memoir, Confessions of a Serial Songwriter, which gave a humorous and honest look at her career as a working songwriter who has navigated the shift from physical to digital, weathered ageism, sexism and most importantly, showcases her love for music and the pure joy that she gets from the creative process. The book was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Spoken Word Album at the 60th GRAMMY Awards.

 

KEEP UP WITH SHELLY PEIKEN:

Press Materials | http://smarturl.it/ShellyPeikenPR

https://www.shellypeiken.com/

https://twitter.com/Shelly_Peiken

https://www.instagram.com/shellypeiken/

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https://www.facebook.com/serialsongwriter

MARK ERELLI EXPLORES FAITH & DOUBT IN “I CAN’T STAND MYSELF"

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Boston-based singer/songcrafter Mark Erelli has unveiled a live performance video of “I Can’t Stand Myself,” a new track off his LP Blindsided, due out via Soundly Music next Friday, March 27th. The track pairs a Bo Diddly beat with an exploration of faith and doubt. “We value faith highly in America, and there is an overarching feeling that you have to believe in something. But doubt can be as powerful as a locomotive, and on this song, I tie myself to the tracks,” Erelli explains of “I Can’t Stand Myself. “I’ve always thought of myself as a good person, but if that is true, then why do I occasionally let people down or hurt them?” “'I Can't Stand Myself’ comes out swinging with a jangly piano riff, then leads into Erelli's distinctive vocals,” says The Boot in its premiere of the video, which features Erelli along with Jake Armerding on fiddle.

WATCH: “I CAN’T STAND MYSELF”

“I Can’t Stand Myself” follows “Rose-Colored Rearview,” in which Erelli confronts the current haze of nostalgia about “the good ol’ days,” which has a way of allowing us to gloss over certain parts of the past. "I wanted to land a bit of a lyrical gut-punch to finish the song, and just couldn't let go until I felt the last verse's visceral impact,” Erelli told Wide Open Country, who premiered the song. “Though we certainly have a ways to go to improve things for all colors and creeds, I am fairly certain that longing for the 'good ol' days' is mainly another form of white privilege. I love how this track feels nostalgic and almost like a classic rock song you might have heard before -- until you pay attention to the lyrics.”

LISTEN: “ROSE-COLORED REARVIEW”

Erelli released a video for the title track via The Bluegrass Situation, and call to empathy “A Little Kindness” via American Songwriter, who said, “For Erelli, music is a way to appreciate the world and the people in his life…And perhaps most acutely, the practice of music has taught Erelli the beauty of sublimation and reinforced the joy of helping others achieve their dreams, which, in turn, helps Erelli also achieve his.” 

LISTEN & WATCH: “BLINDSIDED”

LISTEN: A LITTLE KINDNESS”

Blindsided, a step in a different sonic direction for Erelli, is an unflinching examination of the distance between innocence and experience. The album was forged in a process of reckoning, of taking stock of the soul, and being pleasantly surprised. Mining the same gritty yet soulful territory as John Hiatt’s Bring The Family or Bonnie Raitt’s Nick Of Time, Erelli contemplates the delicate tension between love and commitment, faith and family, disillusionment and hope. But this isn’t a confession from the therapist’s couch, it’s rock ’n roll, and Erelli is clearly taking his cues from heroes like Petty and Prine. Against the backdrop of Blindsided’s hungrier, hook-laden sound, with the inspired addition of a string quartet on half of the album, Erelli has never sounded more passionate or vital. Over the course of Blindsided’s 11 tracks, the message of each song is distilled to its purest form, as fearlessly honest in perspective as it is straightforward in its delivery.  

In light of show cancellations and concerns over the spread of COVID-19, Erelli and a number of other folk and Americana artists will participate in an online festival, “Shut In & Sing,” streaming live via StageIt.com between March 19th and April 11th. Erelli will perform on Friday, March 20th, along with Anne Heaton, Mary Bragg, and Becky Warren. Tickets, on a pay-what-you-can basis, can be purchased HERE. Tour dates are listed below, be sure to follow Mark Erelli via the links below for updates.

TOUR DATES
5/6 - Rockwood Music Hall - New York, NY

5/7 - Philadelphia Folksong Society - Philadelphia, PA

5/8 - The Parlor Room - Northampton, MA

5/9 - Club Passim - Cambridge, MA

5/12 - Woodbury Brewing Company - Woodbury, CT

5/13 - One Longfellow Square - Portland, ME

5/14 - Caffe Lena - Saratoga Springs, NY

5/15 - The Word Barn - Exeter, NH

5/17 - Cotuit Center for the Arts - Cotuit, MA 

5/19 - Hangin’ & Sangin @ Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY 

5/21 - The Kessler Theater - Dallas, TX*

5/22 - The Paramount Theatre, Austin, TX*

*w/ Lori McKenna   

CONNECT WITH MARK ERELLI:

Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || Spotify || YouTube || Bandcamp

GLENN THOMAS UNVEILS STEINBECK-INSPIRED SINGLE “CATHERINE AMES”

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Nashville-by-way-of-New England singer/songwriter Glenn Thomas has unveiled the latest single from his forthcoming LP Reassure Me There’s A Window, out May 15th via Palace Flophouse Records. “Catherine Ames,” a much-needed slice of catharsis and sonic sunshine, inspired by Cathy Ames, the antagonist of John Steinbeck’s East Of Eden. “She’s pretty evil and causes a lot of pain for the main character,” Thomas explained to Americana-UK in its premiere of the track. “This song is about holding on to pain and anger as though they are part of your identity. Forgiveness is not the same as forgetting, and as with any kind of healing and moving forward, it takes time.” When Thomas realized he had let go of something from his past that had been a painful burden for years, he wrote “Catherine Ames” to embody the purifying effect from relief he experienced, using a character name from one of his favorite authors given the similar and relatable themes of resolution and moving forward in East Of Eden. Americana-UK called Thomas’s new single is “a gently reflective song which concentrates on the healing virtues of time – and how pain has made him a better, more resilient, person.”

LISTEN: “CATHERINE AMES” 

“Catherine Ames” follows “Oriole,” written after a recurring bout of insomnia. “There was that dreaded time before the sun began to rise where the birds would start chirping. I thought it would be funny to ask the birds the questions that were keeping me up, since they were all unanswerable anyway,” Thomas told Atwood Magazine. When I set the words to music, I thought it would be fun to make the music sound…lively, like a 60s pop song with serious lyrics.”

LISTEN: "ORIOLE"

Thomas, who cut his teeth fronting Rhode Island rock outfit Wild Sun, has shared stages with bands like Langhorne Slim, The Wombats, and Blitzen Trapper. He began writing songs that didn't fit within the rock-centric framework and decided he would strike out on his own, stretching his creative muscles. The album was produced by Jordan Lehning (Rodney Crowell, Andrew Combs, Joshua Hedley); with its throwback flair, Reassure Me There's A Window is a lush, sweetly-arranged collection of articulate folk-tinged songs. 

The album's 11 tracks - tight fingerpicking guitar-based tunes with introspective lyrics fleshed out with resonant string arrangements - center around the human condition - ideas of love and loss, isolation and connection, and wondering what more is out there. He writes songs that cut straight to his truths; by putting his life and the human condition under the microscope, his songs articulately observe the big questions with small details, paying careful attention to his understanding of himself and the seasonality of life. 

Thomas will celebrate Reassure Me There’s A Window with an album release show on May 13th at The 5 Spot in Nashville. Be sure to follow him via the links below for updates.

CONNECT WITH GLENN THOMAS:

Website || Facebook || Instagram || Spotify || YouTube

MARK ERELLI CONFRONTS PRIVILEGE IN NEW SINGLE “ROSE-COLORED REARVIEW”

Photo credit: Joe Navas

Photo credit: Joe Navas

Boston-based master songcrafter Mark Erelli has released his new single “Rose-Colored Rearview,” a track from his forthcoming LP Blindsided, out March 27th via Soundly Music. “Nostalgia has a way of allowing us to gloss over certain parts of the past…Mark Erelli examines the ‘good old days’ through a different lens,” Wide Open Country said in its premiere of the song. “The song's final verse looks at how privilege plays a role in how you view days gone by.” "I wanted to land a bit of a lyrical gut-punch to finish the song, and just couldn't let go until I felt the last verse's visceral impact,” Erelli told Wide Open Country. “Though we certainly have a ways to go to improve things for all colors and creeds, I am fairly certain that longing for the 'good ol' days' is mainly another form of white privilege. I love how this track feels nostalgic and almost like a classic rock song you might have heard before -- until you pay attention to the lyrics.”

LISTEN: “ROSE-COLORED REARVIEW”

“Rose-Colored Rearview” follows the release of the title track via The Bluegrass Situation last month, and “A Little Kindness” via American Songwriter in January. “For Erelli, music is a way to appreciate the world and the people in his life,” American Songwriter remarked. “And perhaps most acutely, the practice of music has taught Erelli the beauty of sublimation and reinforced the joy of helping others achieve their dreams, which, in turn, helps Erelli also achieve his.” 

LISTEN: “BLINDSIDED”

LISTEN: A LITTLE KINDNESS”

Blindsided, a step in a different sonic direction for Erelli, is an unflinching examination of the distance between innocence and experience. The album was forged in a process of reckoning, of taking stock of the soul, and being pleasantly surprised. Mining the same gritty yet soulful territory as John Hiatt’s Bring The Family or Bonnie Raitt’s Nick Of Time, Erelli contemplates the delicate tension between love and commitment, faith and family, disillusionment and hope. But this isn’t a confession from the therapist’s couch, it’s rock ’n roll, and Erelli is clearly taking his cues from heroes like Petty and Prine. To create the soundtrack that reflected this reinvigorated approach to songwriting, Erelli consulted his mental list of fellow musicians with whom he had forged connections in recent years, and realized they all lived in Nashville. So, he made the trek to the Music City, with best friend and multi-instrumentalist/producer Zachariah Hickman in tow, curious to see what effect a change in geography, personnel, and context would produce. With the help of drummer Jamie Dick (Rhiannon Giddens, Our Native Daughters), guitarist Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbell, Josh Ritter), Kai Welch (Molly Tuttle, Kacey Musgraves) on keys, producer Hickman on bass, and Dan Knobler (Lake Street Dive, Caroline Spence) recording and mixing, the result couldn’t have been more unanticipated. Against the backdrop of Blindsided’s hungrier, hook-laden sound, with the inspired addition of a string quartet on half of the album, Erelli has never sounded more passionate or vital. Over the course of Blindsided’s 11 tracks, the message of each song is distilled to its purest form, as fearlessly honest in perspective as it is straightforward in its delivery.  

Erelli has forged a colorful career by making the art of “being everywhere all the time” seem effortless. It’s hard to think of another artist who seems equally at home serving as a sideman for GRAMMY-winning artists like Paula Cole, Marc Cohn, and Josh Ritter, or producing albums for Lori McKenna, as he does writing and producing his own material, like last year’s “By Degrees,” on which he was joined by a host of voices including Rosanne Cash and Sheryl Crow. That song was nominated for “Song Of The Year” at the 2019 Americana Music Awards, and served to reintroduce Erelli to a wider audience. And just in time, because Blindsided combines the exuberance of Erelli’s signature sound with the wisdom that comes with over 20 years of songwriting, capturing an artist at a point in his career where he is clearly digging deep and swinging for the fences.  

TOUR DATES

3/6 - The Stone Church - Brattleboro, VT

3/7 - Narrows Center For The Arts -  Fall River, MA

3/20 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI

3/21 - The Kent Stage - Kent, OH

3/25 - Club Passim - Cambridge, MA

4/5 - G.A.R. Hall - Peninsula, OH

4/16 - The Basement - Nashville, TN

~

4/23 - Ripspique Lier, Lier, Belgium

4/24 - Tivoli Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands

4/25 - SPOT Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

4/26 - Theater Junushoff, Wageningen, Netherlands

~

4/29 - Rogue Theatre - Grants Pass, OR

4/30 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR

5/1 - Historic Everett Theatre - Everett, WA

5/2 - McMenamins Elks Temple - Tacoma, WA
5/6 - Rockwood Music Hall - New York, NY

5/7 - Philadelphia Folksong Society - Philadelphia, PA

5/8 - The Parlor Room - Northampton, MA

5/9 - Club Passim - Cambridge, MA

5/12 - Woodbury Brewing Company - Woodbury, CT

5/13 - One Longfellow Square - Portland, ME

5/14 - Caffe Lena - Saratoga Springs, NY

5/15 - The Word Barn - Exeter, NH

5/17 - Cotuit Center for the Arts - Cotuit, MA 

5/19 - Hangin’ & Sangin @ Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY 

5/21 - The Kessler Theater - Dallas, TX

5/22 - The Paramount Theatre, Austin, TX 

MICHELLE MANDICO OFFERS HOPE WITH PICTURESQUE NEW VIDEO "PTARMIGAN"

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Nashville-based Colorado-bred singer/songwriter Michelle Mandico has unveiled a beautiful new video for “Ptarmigan,” the title track of her widely-praised LP released in 2018. "Ptarmigan" was filmed on the ski slopes at Loveland Pass in Colorado; Mandico, who grew up on these same slopes, wrote the song on Christmas Day in 2015, after she skied the silent, empty slopes alone, contemplating a challenging time she was going through personally and within her family. She spent most of her time using a lift called Ptarmigan - a ptarmigan is a cold climate-dwelling bird that changes color (from dark to light) with the seasons for survival. She wrote the song that night and began to identify with the ptarmigan's symbology, thinking of it as a metaphor for that season of her life, an artist passing through darkness into the light. "The stripped-down acoustic-guitar based song features Mandico’s delicate vocals as she contemplates her place in the world," said Billboard in its premiere. “My hope is that this video as a visual story conveys the metaphor that this album has become for me. The courage and awareness to speak up about the blind spots that depression can cause and in contrast to the bright, wide ideas that artists flow through, oftentimes quietly riding the ups and downs of life, purpose, and existence," Mandico told Billboard of the video. The song features Scott Mulvahill and Luther Dickinson on guitars, and Ryan Joseph (Alan Jackson, Kacey Musgraves) on fiddle. The song (and album) was co-produced by Mandico and Kevin Houston and was executively produced by Dickinson.

WATCH: "PTARMIGAN" 

Mandico traded in the snowy Colorado slopes for the warm sounds of Nashville to deepen her career as a writer and musician. Encouraged by a musical family, she grew up singing with her sisters before learning to play piano at age five and began songwriting shortly after. Her debut full-length album, PTARMIGAN, is a colorful tribute to her crossing from the Rocky Mountains to Music City. Venturing into Americana, Western-folk, and roots, Mandico began recording with Kevin Houston in Coldwater, Mississippi at Zebra Ranch, the legendary studio of Jim Dickinson. Stripped down to live takes with no click and a handful of esteemed collaborators, the songs of PTARMIGAN lead with vocal intimacy and devoted lyrical imagery. Besides pursuing her music career, Mandico teaches yoga and encourages others to practice emotional wellness by holding space for honest conversation around mental wellness, openly sharing her struggle with anxiety and depression, and how she’s directed these dark times towards artistic inspiration, like the ptarmigan. 

On April 10th, Mandico will release Something New, a three-song piano and vocal collaboration with jazz pianist Eunha So. Be sure to follow her for the latest updates.

 

 

GLENN THOMAS RELEASES NEW SINGLE “ORIOLE” & ANNOUNCES NEW LP "REASSURE ME THERE'S A WINDOW"

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Nashville-by-way-of-New England singer/songwriter Glenn Thomas has released “Oriole,” the lead single from his forthcoming LP Reassure Me There’s A Window, out May 15th via Palace Flophouse Records. “I wrote this song after a bout of insomnia, where I wouldn’t fall asleep until early in the morning each night,” Thomas told Atwood Magazine in its premiere. “There was that dreaded time before the sun began to rise where the birds would start chirping. I thought it would be funny to ask the birds the questions that were keeping me up, since they were all unanswerable anyway. When I set the words to music, I thought it would be fun to make the music sound…lively, like a 60s pop song with serious lyrics.” “Folky, calm, with a skip in its step, its rhythm is familiar and bright,” Atwood Magazine said. “Raised in New England, Thomas encapsulates that ambience of small town daydreaming. “Oriole” is a reminder that, whether we’re with our own thoughts or sharing company with nature, we’re never solely alone- regardless of how delirious we feel.”

LISTEN: "ORIOLE"

Thomas, who cut his teeth fronting Rhode Island rock outfit Wild Sun, has shared stages with bands like Langhorne Slim, The Wombats, and Blitzen Trapper. He began writing songs that didn't fit within the rock-centric framework, and decided he would strike out on his own, stretching his creative muscles. The album was produced by Jordan Lehning (Rodney Crowell, Andrew Combs, Joshua Hedley); with its throwback flair, Reassure Me There's A Window is a lush, sweetly-arranged collection of articulate folk-tinged songs. Of Reassure Me There’s A Window, Atwood Magazine said, “The album, recorded in Nashville, follows a similar easy-going reflectiveness as ‘Oriole,’ with the additional guitar twangs and the sound of violins like hazy streaks of sunset while traveling solitarily on an open road.” 

The album's 11 tracks - tight fingerpicking guitar-based tunes with introspective lyrics fleshed out with resonant string arrangements - center around the human condition - ideas of love and loss, isolation and connection, and wondering what more is out there. He writes songs that cut straight to his truths; by putting his life and the human condition under the microscope, his songs articulately observe the big questions with small details, paying careful attention to his understanding of himself and the seasonality of life. 

Thomas will celebrate Reassure Me There’s A Window with an album release show on May 13th at The 5 Spot in Nashville.