FEATURE: JOHNNY GATES - "OVER YOU"

East Music Row rockstar, Johnny Gates gives an awesome new take on his genre-crossing sound with new single, “Over You.” This is the first single off of his upcoming record, “East Music Row” to be released Sept 17.

“ ‘Over You’ was a song where we really wanted to show my rock side. - I grew up in punk band and lived in California for a while. Nashville is a small town and when you break up with someone here it’s like.. do I just leave town.. do I move back to California?”

Listen to “Over You” below.

FOLLOW JOHNNY ON SOCIALS:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK

FEATURE: KID POLITICS - "WHY CAN'T IT BE US"

Check out “Why Can’t It Be Us” this epic new tune from Nashville’s vibey-est new pop / rock duo, Kid Politics. Fans of Twenty One Pilots, 5 Seconds of Summer, Imagine Dragons and OneRepublic, etc - will go wild on these guys! Stream the song below.

“Why Cant It Be Us” is a song about young, shy love and the feeling of dancing big under the moonlight. Written as a quirky joke to a friend who fell in love too hard and too fast, this song quickly became a favorite song to perform live. In a landscape of moody and sad pop songs, we bring back happy, loud pop with this anthem. Why Can’t It Be Us is for all the young romantics out there familiar with the electric energy of falling in love.

-Kid Politics

SPOTIFY | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE

PREMIERE: WHITNEY FENIMORE FT. WILL PELLERIN - "SILVER BELLS"

Check out the premiere of this dope new cover of “Silver Bells” by indie Folk Pop artist Whitney Fenimore ft. Will Pellerin, recorded at Nashville’s Gnome Studios.

SITE | INSTA

FEATURE: SAM VARGA - "HALF HEART HALLELUJAH"

Emo rocker, Sam Varga gets real af in his brand new single "Half Heart Hallelujah". Check out the backstory below:

"The worst hangover every year is consistently the one you get from going out in your hometown when you're back for the holidays. Throw a break-up and a death in there and that morning really sucks. The chorus came to me as a hymn Christmas morning with my head buried as far down as possible in a couch back home in Louisville. You just gotta own it, write about it, laugh it off, and try to do better tomorrow. (Produced by William Stone)

Listen to Half Heart Hallelujah:

More Sam Varga below:

instagram | facebook

JAMES DUPRE HITS HOME WITH NEW ALBUM 'HOME AND AWAY'

James Dupre spills the tea on the alcohol infused new track, “Home and Away” and hits us with the highlights of the new record of the same name. Watch the brand new music video below!

Q+A":

• I know it might be hard to choose, but if you had to, what song on the new album is your favorite and why?

“I Pulled It Off.” That one is special to me. It was one of the first songs I’d written solo after moving to Nashville. It became my favorite original to sing at writer’s nights, and people loved to hear it live. Really happy it made it onto Home and Away. 

• Can you tell us a little bit about your songwriting process for the title track “Home and Away”?

I wanted to create an analogy between football and a relationship. I wanted to talk about teamwork and make it feel nostalgic, taking you back to high school. I thought using the Home team and Away team was a great direction to go in, and thankfully my co-writer Greg Bates was very receptive to the idea.

• How do you think your music and/or writing has grown since you’ve started music?

Part of the growth comes from experience, the more you write, the better you become. But I think initially I was writing what I thought I was supposed to write, and now I’m focusing on what I want to write. Maybe it’s because I trust myself more, I have more confidence in my creative instincts.

• What was your thought process when you were putting together the album and figuring out the sequencing for the tracks?

At first I didn’t really know how I was going to sequence the tracks, but then I just tried to put them in chronological order of when they were written. It really worked! Somehow, that scientific approach really made the songs flow so beautifully across the album.

• What do you hope fans take away from the album after listening to it in its entirety?

I hope that they feel the emotion and authenticity of the lyrics and the music. It’s not an album you can really rage to or play beer-pong to (though I’m not opposed), it’s something you sit down with a drink and really listen to as the story unfolds.

• What was the inspiration behind the "Home and Away" music video? 

I wanted to do the shoot somewhere in small-town Texas because of its rich high school football culture. Thankfully, Gordon High School came through for us and were very happy to let us shoot their homecoming game. The action scenes from the game, the cheering crowd, the sunset over the field, all make the video so fun to watch. As in the song, the couple in the video went to high school together and went to every home game together, up until now. I really love how the video captures the story, and very happy with how it turned out. 

• You’ve worked closely with Randy Travis and even had the chance to tour with him. What have you learned from working with a country music legend?

I’ve learned a lot from him. I knew him briefly before his 2013 stroke, and to know him since then after going through the enormous obstacles that he faced was nothing short of inspirational. When we did the tour last year, his loyal fans showed up and he made time to do meet and greets and let people love him and tell him stories. He really loves seeing his fans. I hope to continue learning from him as I grow as an artist. 

• Do you have any fun stories from recording or production on the album that you’d like to share with our audience?

This album was made during quarantine, so you’d probably expect that it wasn’t nearly as fun as getting together with the whole band in the studio and making memories. Well one thing that I loved was watching my baby girl, Rellie, as she listened to each track grow, all the way from a basic track to a mastered track. Her little one year old brain has soaked in the bare bones of this album, and she lights up anytime she hears one come on. I think that’s special.

INSTA | WEBSITE

YMC EXCLUSIVE: VID PREMIERE - "LIKE A DAYDREAM" - JONATHAN PLEVYAK

Nashville-based Rock/Americana artist, Jonathan Plevyak takes us on a cool, nostalgic ride in his sick new video for “Like A Daydream.”

YMC has the first look for you:

The accompanying single is officially available on all platforms. Click here to check it out, as well as more from JP.

Connect with Jonathan below!

Website | Instagram

FEATURE: JOHNNY GATES - "SCOTCH TAPE"

Don’t miss the anthemic new single from music row’s coolest new alt-country rocker, Johnny Gates! The song debuted Oct 16 on American Songwriter.

“I really wanted to describe a relationship that was just a little different, or rough around the edges, in the best way,” says Gates. “As a musician, those relationships look different to some people, but even through the craziness, and the time apart, etc, we always get through, because of what we have, which is that little something extra that’s holding it all together. And even after a fight or a tough night, that’s the stuff that brings you back.”

INSTA | SPOTIFY | SITE

PREMIERE: JACKSON WOOTEN - "FLOWER"

Here’s a debut listen of Jackson Wooten’s latest folk, rock, pop release, “Flower,” as well as the accompanying video.

This is the fourth release from Jackson’s upcoming album, set for release January 2021. If you’re into moody melodic tones and dreamy emo lyrics - look no further! Watch the video below.

"Flower was written as a love letter to someone who was going through some serious struggles at the time. The song grew to become a symbol of hope for the two of us - no matter how terrible the world was around us, we had each other and our love. I hope others hear it and know they aren’t alone in feeling overwhelmed with dismay, and even in this crazy messed up world we live in, there is a light in darkness.”

JACKSON WOOTEN - “FLOWER” OFFICIAL VIDEO

INSTA | SPOTIFY