Soulful singer-songwriter Michael McArthur finds a ray of hope in the darkest of times with his forthcoming LP, Ever Green, Ever Rain.
Due out January 25, the new record shows an entrancing new side of the artist. With his emotionally confessional ballads, cinematic sounds, and hushed intimacy, he achieves and conveys a sort of state of grace, most evident perhaps on the song “Elaine”
Over the past decade, Florida native Michael McArthur has filled a handful of EPs with his own mix of raw soul and lushly layered folk. In 2019, he makes his full-length debut with Ever Green, Ever Rain, an album that shows the range of McArthur’s gorgeous voice and ability to craft emotionally resonant songs.
Recorded with Grammy-winning producer Ryan Freeland and inspired by a period of isolation and self-repair, Ever Green, Ever Rain is earthy, creative, and introspective. Here, the singer-songwriter answers his e8 and speaks about the album’s title, trusting yourself, the romanticism of the road, and more.
Seneca Creek is the new single from West Virginia-based songwriter Charles Wesley Godwin, a deeply introspective character sketch about the oft-romanticized agrarian lifestyle of Appalachia. It’s a threadbare tune featuring acoustic guitar and Godwin’s singular vocal delivery, as he croons about a life he has lived and left behind. It’s neither a positive or negative outlook on such a life–rather a “call it as you see it” offering to listeners. The video shows Godwin performing in-studio, letting the song speak for itself. This version of the song is the last track on his debut album Seneca, (out on 15th February) a moving snapshot of his 26 years of life and well-soiled roots in the Appalachian hills.
Los Angeles-based folk-rock band Grand Canyon deliver an ode to the open road with “Kansas City.” The song celebrates getting back to your roots over a ’70s rock groove that would sound at home on a mixtape between Fleetwood Mac and Jackson Browne.
Lead singer Casey Shea says the tune was partially inspired by the classic Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller song of the same name, which was recorded by Little Richard, The Beatles and more.
Following celebrated musical collaborations with Americana singer Lilly Winwood (daughter of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Steve Winwood) and accomplished chef and musician Sean Brock, Nashville’s beloved country-rocker Boo Ray is releasing another album. READ MORE…
If you do a deep dive into the resumés of the members of Grand Canyon, the L.A. folk-rockers qualify as a supergroup, even if not one of them is a household name. They have been side players and/or session musicians for a freeway full of artists in a wide array of genres, and on the sextet’s debut album, “Le Grand Cañon,” they find a sweet spot in harmony-rich and richly narrative classic rock, 1970s style.
The touchstones here are the likes of Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, Fleetwood Mac and even Warren Zevon, but Grand Canyon’s style is not so much a nostalgia trip as it is a natural vehicle for their big-hearted stories. The band, fronted by singer-guitarist Casey Shea and vocalist Amy Wilcox and featuring songwriting by Shea and guitarist Joe Guese, finds plenty of topical currency on “Le Grand Cañon,” whether in “Lucinda” and “Theory of Everything” (the emotional ballads that bookend the album), “Made in LA” (a tale of drugs and the Valley) or the Petty-esque open-road rocker “Standing in the Shadows.”