Hailey Whitters - Blue Violet
Iowa-born and Nashville-based rising Country star Hailey Whitters has just released her highly anticipated third album 'Raised' via Pigasus Records/Songs & Daughters/Big Loud Records. Also released is the Harper Smith- directed video for the album’s single “Boys Back Home” that was shot on location in Hailey’s hometown of Shueyville, IA.
Hailey Whitters is currently in the midst of her debut headline Heartland Tour which will culminate with two shows at her hometown honky tonk DanceMor Ballroom in Swisher, IA on May 6 and 7. She will also hit the road this summer with Jon Pardi on his Ain’t Always The Cowboy Tour.
"This song was inspired by the boys I grew up with. On any given Friday night we used to pile in the back of one of their pickup trucks, get a bottle of cheap Hawkeye vodka and drive out to a clearing in the middle of the woods where we’d start a fire and sit around all night drinkin' and talkin' about life,” explains Whitters.
“I grew up with a lot of wild boys that turned into strong, hardworking men. They had my back then and I know they still have it now. I wanted to sing this song as a way of saying thank you and celebrating them. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without ‘em.”
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A raw and minimalist ballad that tactfully grapples with addiction, self-destructive cycles and the powerlessness that comes with watching a loved one go through a hard time, “Rabbit Hole” is a shimmering and stripped-back sampler of the duo’s forthcoming full-length LP.
Gauzy and subtly heartbreaking, with a sound as tender and exposed as its lyricism, guitarist Sam Gotley began laying down the track’s foundations in the car after a long day at the studio. Speaking of “Rabbit Hole”’s inception, he says: “This was one of those songs that exploded onto the page (I had to write and record voice notes frantically to get it all down without forgetting something), but it took a lot of fine-tuning to finish. This was an emotional song to record. Musically speaking, we kept things very bare and wanted to shy away as much as possible from electronic instruments and excess overdubs, so the end result is something quite natural using a lot of acoustic instruments, which the live room at Middle Farm Studios captured beautifully.”
Citing a series of vintage influences, including Nick Cave’s “Nobody’s Baby Now” and Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel”, “Rabbit Hole” contends with two differing perspectives: one spiralling and self-destructive, and the other determined to pick-up the pieces and cobble them back together.
And for all its vulnerability, the track proved an emotional one to lay down in the studio. Feeling compelled to retreat into herself and create an atmosphere where she felt completely alone with nobody listening, vocalist Sarah Gotley was “met with four weeping men in the control room” after she recorded the track’s vocals.
Expanding on “Rabbit Hole”’s backstory, she explains: “To me this song is about protection. Whether that’s protection of self or protection of others. It has always felt like a very delicate subject to approach, being that so many people can relate to it on some level. So, approaching it with honesty, personal experience and sensitivity was the only way that felt right. Addiction from the viewpoint of someone who is on the outside looking in is such a fragile topic. Trying to address these emotions without feeling contrived, or playing on the pain of others for personal gain is difficult.”
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