Shannon McNally - Bailey James - A.A. Triggs - Muca & La Marquise - Breena Rose
“I have always loved his defiantly existential but immediately accessible common man’s music and how it boogies,” says Shannon McNally of the man whose timeless music is the subject of her new album The Waylon Sessions, Waylon Jennings. Upon the album’s completion, McNally’s collection of tunes ended up being not so much a tribute as it is a recontextualization; a nuanced, feminine rendering of a catalog long considered a bastion of hetero-masculinity. “The world has changed a lot since these songs were first recorded,” says McNally. “I have never heard a woman sing any of them, but these tunes are poignant and relevant to me and to women in general right now.”
With The Waylon Sessions, McNally set out to revisit the songs and spirit of Waylon Jennings, a legend with whom she’s always had an ongoing fascination. Over and over again, she manages to locate a smoldering intensity, a searing hurt buried deep within the music’s deceptively simple poetry, and she hones in on it with surgical precision on this new album, which features special guests like Jessi Colter, Buddy Miller, Rodney Crowell, and Lukas Nelson. “The world has changed a lot since these songs were first recorded,” says McNally. “I have never heard a woman sing any of them, but these tunes are poignant and relevant to me and to women in general right now. As a songwriter, bringing a song to its full potential so that a larger or different audience can connect is all I’ve ever cared about.”
McNally knew that assembling the right band would be essential to capturing Jennings’ mix of laid back charm and swaggering bravado, so she called AMA-winning guitarist Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart, Lucinda Williams) to help her assemble a team that included drummer Derek Mixon (Chris Stapleton), pedal steel legend and longtime Jennings bandmate Fred Newell, Texas keyboard mainstay Bukka Allen (Robert Earl Keen, Jerry Jeff Walker), and bassist Chris Scruggs (Marty Stuart, Charlie Louvin). Working live and raw, they tracked sixteen songs in just five days, relying on instinct and intuition to guide their decisions at every turn. As brilliant as the band’s performances are, it’s McNally that breathes new life into the music here, tackling the tunes with an honesty and a maturity that transcends genre and gender. She doesn’t swap pronouns or couch her delivery with a wink; she simply plays it straight, singing her truth as a divorced single mother in her 40’s in all its beauty, pain, and power.
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Teen country sensation Bailey James just released "Over You" as her latest single. Arriving in the wake of "Swore I Was Over It" and "Bitter," this uptempo rocker marks the prolific young songstress' third single of 2021. With incredible guitar riffs accompanied by a rhythmic, almost jazzy piano part, “Over You” is a true country rock hit. The high-energy intro sets the tone for the rest of the song. James rides its wave for the entirety of the track, never letting the beat falter or the music slow. The verses’ gorgeous harmonies showcase her unbelievable range. The 18-year-old’s old-school voice is smooth as whiskey.
“Over You” isn’t your typical country anthem about pickup trucks and dirt roads. It’s also not your typical breakup ballad with woe-was-me lyrics and gentle guitar. This is a feel-good anthem for the strong-willed and independent. The lyrics are about being able to leave an unworthy lover in the dust without needing to find a rebound. In the chorus, James cleverly asserts that anyone who thinks she “needs another lover to get under, to get over you” is “dead wrong.” No more crumpled-up tissues and running mascara –– this song will make you forget all about your ex and empower you to find strength within yourself instead.
You would be hard-pressed to find another 18-year-old with a resume like Bailey James'. With more than 200,000 followers across her social media channels, this breakout artist is stamping her name all over the music industry. With a Top 40 hit under her belt, well over a quarter of a million combined streams on Spotify alone, a golden ticket to Idol and many more noteworthy accolades, this PA native is only just getting started. She has appeared and performed at legendary venues such as the Bluebird Café, the Wildhorse Saloon and The Listening Room as well as at CMA Fest and on WSM-AM, the home of the Grand Ole Opry. She recently became involved with Song Suffragettes, the only all-female country music singer-songwriter weekly showcase in Nashville.
Outside of her solo work, she is a member of the Highway Women, an all-female country group fronting a musical movement to support other women in country music and beyond. She has also followed in the footsteps of country music icons Rascal Flatts and the late Charlie Daniels by joining The Jason Foundation as their first national teen ambassador. This foundation is dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide by raising awareness through education and empowerment. She's partnered with them for numerous campaigns, including their current "Tennessee Won’t Be Silent" campaign, which calls attention to the silent epidemic of suicide. Bailey’s genuine love for music and helping others shines through in everything she does and only promises to grow stronger as she continues her musical journey.
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The second single for my A.A. Triggs project is out now. Check out “The Florist and The Moon” on any platform.
"Coming from his humble beginnings as a street busker, the track is a relieving liberation to Triggs’ imaginative potential, pursuing music as a full time career after 20 years; “It felt scary, liberating and cathartic – it felt like a homecoming,” he shares.
The Florist and The Moon is, in essence, a lustful indie-folk track that will pull you into a distant longing for love, and a fantastically theatrical dream.
Triggs’ lyrics are saturated with harmonic, golden synths in a wonka-like fixture of violets and pale blues. All while his calming and abundantly grounding voice echoes in the breeze, similar to the tones of King Krule, with the longing of Tom Waits.
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Following their previous singles and having received coverage on Amazing Radio, Essentially Pop, A&R factory, Lost In The Manor, Home Cooking Share, Listen To Discover and Vally FM 98.5 (to name but a few). The latest addition to their growing discography is the single 'Cheap Red Wine’.
It’s a thoughtful and mellow ballad, building up to a big ending, reminding of a mix of Kate Bush and Foioanna Apple blended with Chris Isaack’s Wicked Games
The music is accompanied by a beautiful video animation by Kelly Emrich, who completely captured a women’s moment of sadness and thoughtfulness
“When I first started storyboarding and deciding on color palettes for the video, I knew that I wanted to convey the aching loneliness, anger, and resignation that the song evokes. My animations generally tend to be emotionally driven over having concrete plots, so I wanted to give this song a companion piece that delved into the despair of the song. The swirling abstractions reflect the increasing inebriation of the girl throughout the video as red wine is bought and then steadily consumed. The video and song finishes as the afternoon slips into dusk. Overall drawing and editing this video was a great process. I work with hand drawn frame by frame, so it was definitely laborious but also really fun to create.”
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From Breena - "I would like to share my latest release “Back to the Memories”, a song that tells the story of a relationship that took a twist."
I am a singer-songwriter originally from Denver Colorado creating music based on my own life and story.
Beyond that we do not know that much more about Breena beyond the fact that this is one gorgeous song to enjoy!
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