If it seems like Nashville’s well of talented singer-songwriters is never-ending, that’s probably because it is. And Mercy Bell, living in Music City by way of Boston and New York City, is another distinct voice with a potent, progressive take on emotive, modern folk. It’s a perspective clear on her new song “Home,” where Bell confesses to the coping mechanisms that have let her avoid life’s harshest moments, and a path to redemption that’s better late than never.
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Uproxx Premieres New Elijah Ocean Video
Elijah Ocean makes warm, homespun Americana that spans the country’s expanse, from his origins in the east coast harbors of New York and Maine, and moving all the way through his more recent encampment on the west coast, out in Los Angeles. Following up his last album, 2017’s self-titled release Elijah Ocean, he recently shared the one-off track, “Down This Road,” a song that is an overt homage to the styling of Tom Petty. Today, we’re premiering the video for the song, which kicks off a mini west coast tour for Ocean.
Check out his story of the song, in his own words, along with those tour dates, below, and watch the clip above.
Wide Open Country Premiere’s New Single From Elijah Ocean
L.A.-based singer songwriter Elijah Ocean knows a thing or two about finding inspiration on the road. Raised in rural Maine, he landed on the West Coast a few years ago and he’s spent the years since traveling the freeways and rural byways of America. It’s that sense of restlessness and the realization of the cyclical nature of life at the heart of his latest single “Down This Road.”
The first single from his upcoming fifth album, “Down This Road” is a song nearly four years in the making. Ocean first started writing the song when he moved to L.A. in 2014. He then teamed up with his friend and keyboardist Zach Jones to co-write the track. After putting it aside for a few more months, Ocean finished writing the song in Las Vegas on a particularly difficult day.
“I ended up finishing the chorus and third verse in a hotel room in Vegas last fall. I was in town doing some casino gigs and I had been spending my days writing and finishing up the (Tom) Petty bio by the pool,” Ocean tells Wide Open Country. “It happened to be the same weekend Petty died and there was that horrible shooting. It felt like the sky was falling. Anyway, I decided to take it into the studio with my band and we tracked it live to tape, overdubbing the doubled 12-string acoustics, and a few other things.”
Tom Petty ended up being an obvious source of inspiration in the studio, along with Laurel Canyon legends like The Byrds.
Ocean says the song is inspired by our habitual need to repeat our own patterns in life and how that impacts our relationships.
PopMatters Premieres New Music From Great Peacock
Andrew Nelson, Blount Floyd, Nick Recio, and Frank Keith IV are Great Peacock. Together, the Nashville quartet has been working to challenge perceptions of Americana since it’s hit the mainstream, blurring the lines between rock and folk further along the way. Compared to that overarching mission—which has seen them sharing the stage with the likes of Cage the Elephant and Margo Price—what they had set out to accomplish with “Miss You Honey” almost seems too simple. This Valentine’s Day, Great Peacock is giving those who are alone a shoulder to cry on, reminding their audience that they can relate to being brokenhearted on the most commercially romantic holiday of the year.
Wide Open Country Premieres New Video From Derek Hoke
There’s a brooding darkness that comes with Derek Hoke’s latest album, the ominous Bring The Flood. For much of the record, the East Nashville singer-songwriter dives deep to examine the unease, gloom and struggle found within America’s modern experience.
“It seemed like a dark cloud coming over America, watching a lot of people hurting, going through hard times, harder than ever,” says Hoke.
Rolling Stone Says You Need to Know Karen & The Sorrows
Sounds Like: Seventies-era folk rock, accented by generous amounts of pedal steel and a steady social conscience
For Fans of: Emmylou Harris, Lilly Hiatt, the idea of Dolly Parton fronting Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers
Why You Should Pay Attention: Led by singer-songwriter Karen Pittelman, Brooklyn-based Karen and the Sorrows are central figures in New York’s burgeoning queer country scene, a sprawling group of performers that includes My Gay Banjo and the Paisley Fields. New York native Pittelman founded the inclusive performance round-ups the Gay Ole Opry and the Queer Country Quarterly, and organized the 2017 Another Country festival in July to support and promote fellow country-loving musicians identified as queer or trans.