Local favorites, VITEK, have a brand new single out today called ‘Sunbird’ that I simply can’t get enough of. Between feeling the crud today and taking a sick day and the dreary rain outside, I needed an upbeat synth-laden track to get me up out of bed, get my feet moving and my hips shaking. VITEK simply wants you to get your feet tapping, your head bobbing and your whole body dancing, and they fully execute on that plan with this track. You can hear it on Lightning 100 starting today for the the Local 615.
Also, in really exciting news…Cause A Scene will be presenting VITEK’s album release on June 1!!! So pumped to be working with Gabrahm and the rest of the band on this show and feel honored that they reached out to make it a Cause A Scene show. Stay tuned in the coming months for more details as they surface. For now, all I can promise you is this: It’s going to be a blast and you WILL dance.
If you listen to The CO’s second and most recent full-length album, Keep It Together, you may feel yourself being rapidly sucked into your car stereo by the pulsing beat that jump starts the opening track, “Frequency.” Don’t worry. This is a good thing, because The CO is nothing short of awesome! The dramatic thumping beat is quickly accompanied by the soft, yet powerful and distinctive vocals of front man Colin Brace and the song swiftly culminates to an anthemic chorus that is driven by drummer Nate Fleming’s rhythm section and Troy Akers’ melodic keys. Together they produce a sound that resonates with the soul and remains consistent throughout the entire album without any sense of wear or tire. With an expertly polished sound that lies somewhere in the vast musical galaxy between catchy pop and edgy indie, The CO create a sound that sticks with you.
“Frequency” is perfect sample of what Keep It Together is as a whole bodied piece of work. Throughout the compellation, Brace’s vocals are soulful and tender and helm a sound that consistently tows the line between emotive ballad and catchy, head nod inducing choruses, often blending the two seamlessly from one song to the next creating a fluidity and cohesiveness that is seldom found even in some of the most seasoned artist’s work.
The collaborative approach that the band takes to songwriting is a large contributing factor to The CO’s diverse sound and also yields each songs lyrical depth and emotional variance. Each song is product of an exposed vulnerability, from the hopeful and inspiring title track “Keep It Together,” to the deep and introspective “How To Say Goodbye.” It is quickly evident to anyone who may choose to listen, that this is what The CO is all about. It’s not just the fantastic production on the album, but the soul of each song that sets them apart.
I was fortunate enough to experience this first hand a couple of weeks ago at one of Cause A Scene’s most recent house shows. It was my first time seeing the band live, and it also happened to be my first time hearing the band at all, and that was what stuck with me. Sure, I was struck by Brace’s vocals and Akers’ soaring harmonies, as well as every other aspect that makes them a pleasure to listen to. However, there was something else that couldn’t be put into words, something that resonated on a personal level. At first, I thought it was due to the stripped down semi-unplugged set and the intimate atmosphere of a living room house show, but it wasn’t. That personal connection was just as apparent plugged-in on the album. That is what makes a band great. The ability to connect with listeners, no matter the medium. And that is exactly what The CO does.
One of my favorite things about living in Nashville is hearing so many amazing artists making great music and thinking, “just wait til the rest of the world hears this”. For those of us here in Nashville who are fans of Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, we’ve been waiting a long time. With Chasing Someday, that breakthrough began to happen. Last Tuesday, that it hit like a whirlwind as the band’s newest effort Good Light, found it’s way into the iTunes Top 10.
Good Light is the record we’ve always wanted from Drew and his neighborly posse. Sonically, they’ve departed from the big production of Chasing Someday to a more sparse sound. Bluesy guitar, pedal steel, and melodic piano parts blend together nicely. Embracing this Americana/alt-country vibe leaves so much more room for Drew and Ellie’s vocal chemistry, which, if you’ve seen them live, you know that’s an amazing thing!
More importantly though, it draws your attention to the songwriting. The Holcombs have always been gifted at writing hopeful songs. In Good Light, it seems that they’ve mastered that, with songs that are so very true to the human experience, but taking that pain and sorrow and creating a place where light can seep through the cracks. “Is it possible to be happy and be human?” Holcomb asks, and then immediately follows with “certainly, but not without the pain”. It’s this unromanticized optimism and dreaming that makes this record so inspiring. Yes, there will be hardship, yes there will be sorrow, but you can still find joy within that. And coming from someone who has worked so hard to be where he is now, these songs carry a weight. They’re more than just words crafted together, and it’s spectacular.
There’s nothing better than watching good people, who make good music, succeed. It’s been fun to see these guys do that!
– Jameson Elder
Here’s a brilliant acoustic version of “Tennessee” off of ‘Good Light’. Can’t wait to see the band perform this at Bonnaroo this year!
Every once in a while, an artist comes along that stops me dead in my tracks. In today’s digital, sometimes overproduced world, it takes a truly captivating voice to cut straight through all the chatter and buzz in order to real a listener in. So often we’re drawn in with the grandiosity of a song that we completely miss the musical brilliance found in the honesty of an artist.
I recently had the chance to meet one such artist: Nashville’s very own Sam Pinkerton. I had heard plenty of great things about her as an artist and a person prior to asking her to play a Cause A Scene show during the last part of January, and I could not be more thrilled that I did. It says a lot about an artist when you’re able to look at their fans and be able to feel their level of adoration for an artist simply by the way they engage with the artist on stage.
Watching the capacity crowd at Red Earth back just a few short weeks ago, Sam’s fans would have said all I needed to know about her as an artist, even if I hadn’t been blown away by her music. As I watched Sam perform and studied the crowd, one thing was obvious: this girl pens every word of her songs from the heart, and her songs speak volumes in the lives of her adoring friends and fans in ways that simple words can’t.
Sam is hard at work finishing her debut album right now, and recently released a video from the studio for her song “Stay Here” with another Cause A Scene favorite, Judah and the Lion, bringing a splendid texture to Sam’s song. Not to mention the fact that Sam and Judah’s voices mesh flawlessly together. The first time I saw “Stay Here”, I was finishing up a long, arduous day, hoping for a better, brighter tomorrow. The song proved to be a powerful exclamation and reminder for me that joy always arrives in the morning.
Thank you, Sam, for sharing that joy with the world.
Our good pals CALEB have been road warriors the last few weeks playing a string of dates throughout the Southeast and Midwest, and we’re excited to welcome them back home to Nashville this Sunday night for 3rd & Lindsley’s “Nashville Sunday Night” presented by Lightning 100. If the show is anything like the one we did with them last November at 12th & Porter, it will 1) be packed and 2) be an absolute blast! As luck would have it, Cause A Scene has 2 FREE TICKETS to give away to one lucky fan. Here’s two ways you can win:
1) Leave a comment on what your favorite CALEB song is.
2) Tweet “@causeascenenash loves @calebtheband and so do I!! #freeticketgiveaway” with a link to this post.
A winner will be selected at random on Sunday afternoon and notified via Twitter.
And to get yourself extra excited for CALEB’s show Sunday night, take a few minutes and check out their recently recorded AudioTree session here. The single, “Learning How To Love” can be watched below:
