In an era of computer-made, beat-driven music, Grand Canyon is the antithesis of modern pop music. However, by focusing on musicianship and timeless songwriting, and drawing on the inspiration of the classic sounds and arrangements of the 70s, it is the kind of pop music that will be wafting through the canyons for a long time. Here, vocalist Casey Shea discusses his musical origins, what success looks like, and the value of a good night’s sleep…
Kentucky songwriter Kyle Daniel shines a sympathetic light on the cycle of addiction in his new song “Born to Lose,” a personal track inspired by people he knew in his Bowling Green hometown.
“We live in a time in which addiction has somehow impacted all of our lives,” says Daniel of the song, off his upcoming EP What’s There to Say?, out March 15th. “I felt the need to discuss the hardships of this crisis, without painting it in a negative light, coming from a place or understanding and acceptance.”
Boo Ray and his band are charismatic enough to carry a video just by performing. But the Americana artist adds a wrinkle or two for the video for “Gone Back Down to Georgia,” premiering below from his new album Tennessee Alabama Fireworks.
The plot — about a woman collecting mysterious envelopes that she delivers to Ray to reveal a secret recipe for Nashville’s famous Hot Chicken — was cooked up by Ray after a discussion with director Price Harrison. “Price and I had been talking about stuff —movies, mostly,” Ray tells Billboard. “I’d been talking about a bunch of David Lynch stuff and we looked at some other movies, even Blade Runner and True Romance.” A Harrison photo shoot with the band that incorporated a red light backdrop gave Ray a sense of the feel that he wanted and led him to come up with a treatment for the video.
Welcome to “A Minute In …” — a BGS feature that turns musicians into hometown reporters. In our latest column, Charles Wesley Godwin takes us through West Virginia, a state that inspired much of the music on his notable new album, Seneca.
This does not feel like a debut record. Charles Wesley Godwin’s Seneca is very deep and well thought out both in the lyrics and the music. It’s a songwriter’s album, but at the same time the music is very layered. This album is a love letter to Godwin’s home state of West Virginia and the Appalachian region as a whole. Let’s take a dive into some of these tracks.
The album kicks off with “(Windmill) Keep On Turning”. This track tells a tale of the hard times and hard living in the the West Virginia countryside. The track carries a nice beat and I love the harmonica work throughout. Another favorite track is “Hardwood Floors”. It’s a simple story about two lovers going out on the town and tearing up the hardwood floors. The music is perfect for honky tonk dancing and I can see it playing well with live crowds.
Kyle Daniel vaulted himself onto the scene in 2018 with his self-titled debut EP. Not only did it make our mid-year and year end lists of EP’s, it gained accolades from Rolling Stone on their “10 Best EPs of 2018 & 10 Artists You Need To Know“.
We were blown away by Kyle’s album upon our first listen and then came our first live show. To say Kyle, bandleader Seth Renthrow and crew captivated us would be a disservice to the level of attention they command on stage. You simply cannot look away. That is why we have been so excited for the March 15th release of their follow up EP What’s There to Say.