It takes a community to create great art. Musicians, producers and technicians put in thousands of hours into mastering the instrument(s), artistry, and skills to write and record original pieces of music. Friends, family, and fans make the journey meaningful. On May 3, 2024 that community will gather at The State Room to host record release celebrations for two of Salt Lake City’s beloved local artists: singer/songwriter Daniel Young and the Americana group, The Hollering Pines.
Young released Leave It Out To Dry in February and The Hollering Pines new album Here’s to Hoping drops on May 3, 2024. I look forward to hearing these new works at The State Room, the intimate venue known for nurturing and celebrating musicians on the rise.
Daniel Young
With a country croon reminiscent of Nashville Skyline,Young takes us on a musical journey on Leave It Out To Dry, his fourth full-length solo album. Young describes the album’s thematic arc as embracing life in the now and not focusing too much on the after-life. The record’s gestalt is best felt on “Slow Morning,” a dreamy meditation on embracing the simple beauty of daily life. Julianne Brough’s soothing backing vocals compliment the piano and pedal steel to create a blissful melody.
Young credits John Prine, The Band, Bob Dylan, and The Grateful Dead as his musical influences–it shows. “When I Awake” is stylistically Prine-esque, full of hopeful optimism. A great record takes us somewhere. Where that journey leads, is up to the listener. The record’s Flying Burrito Brothers/Gram Parsons vibe landed me in the early 1970s. Probably my favorite track, at least it’s the one I keep coming back to, is “Here Comes The Flood.” The song builds like a rising tide. The masterful guitar work punctuates the foreboding tempo while the drums, keyboards, and pedal steel carry the song toward a psychedelic rock crescendo. Young said the track nearly didn’t make it on the album. In the studio it just wasn’t working, but the crew of musicians kept at it and after several arrangements they struck gold with the final version.
“Have You Ever Died?” triggers the same emotional response in me as Justin Townes Earle’s “Harlem River Blues” and the Rolling Stones “Dead Flowers.” The song lands somewhere in between. Young said Joshy Soul’s B3 organ work in the studio took the song to a new level. It certainly infuses the rockabilly tune with a subtle hymnal quality. I think it’s the whimsical lyrics that give the song its wings, especially when Young sings “when I die don’t put flowers on my grave/ please gather round and sing me a song/ I’ll be more likely to sing along.”
This record illustrates the value of collaboration and teamwork. Young said he and Ryan Tanner produced the record. With little to no rehearsal they put the right musicians in the room, and let the magic happen. It surely did. The record is solid from start to finish. The production value is superb and the cast of local musicians really make the beautifully written songs pop.
The dream-team of great local talent who contributed to this 10-song treasure include:
- M. Horton Smith- Mandolin, electric guitar, tenor guitar, lap steel, vocals
- Dylan Schorer- Pedal steel guitar, electric guitar
- Ryan Tanner- Piano, synth, vocals, and co-producer
- Muskrat Jones- Pedal steel
- Marcus Bently- Bass guitar
- Ronnie Strauss- Drums
- Joshy Soul- B3 organ
- Pat Boyer- Electric guitar
- Jo Miner- Fiddle
- Julianne Brough- Harmony vocals
- Melissa Chilinski- Harmony vocals
- Tony Hannah- Harmony vocals
- Denney Fuller- Trumpet
- Patrick Buie- Trombone
- Candido Abeyta- Saxophone.
For the record release show many of the musicians who contributed to this work will gather as The Rambling Roses, a supergroup who will replicate the magic they created in the studio to bring the album (in its entirety) to life for us at The State Room. It’s a one-of-a-kind event.
There’s one-degree of separation between Young and the Hollering Pines. As the band’s drummer and collaborating singer/songwriter on their first three records before committing to a full-time solo career, Young co-produced, engineered, and mixed The Hollering Pines Here’s To Hoping project at Orchard Studios, his North Salt Lake City home studio.
The Hollering Pines
Here’s to Hoping is the band’s much anticipated fourth full-length studio album. The Hollering Pines released their debut record Long Nights, Short Lives and Spilled Chances in 2013. The sisters Marie Bradshaw and Kiki Jane Sieger were members of The Folka Dots, before forming the Hollering Pines with Daniel Young, M. Horton Smith, and Dylan Schorer. In the five years since the release of their last album, the band experienced significant changes. Sieger left for the West Coast and took her bass guitar with her. Young went solo. Veteran musicians Marcus Bently joined the band on bass and Jagoda on drums. Nevertheless, the original bandmates remained tight and their sound stayed fresh.
The new album won’t drop until the day of the record release show at The State Room, so fans will get a rare treat to hear the new album for the first time–in its entirety– live! We have a few early teasers to whet our sonic appetite prior to the full download. The band released the single “Bitter Sweet” in March. The song finds Marie Bradshaw in fine form as a poetic storyteller singing about a chance encounter with a long-forgotten love, reflecting on the road not traveled. She blends the tale with a haunting country melody to deliver a soul-stirring composition. Sieger returns as a guest backing vocalist to give the song the blood harmonies fans know and love. Spoiler alert: Seiger’s backing vocals are all over the album.
The second single, “Olive Branch,” released in early April, is another masterful Bradshaw tune. She pens a lyrical jewel on this well-crafted number. She sings: “Your weapon is an olive branch/ presented as a gift/ now you wear it like a crown of thorns/ like a counterfeited savior scorned/ You were a guardian/ now an adversary/ it’s a passing with no bones to bury.” Now that’s a lyric that would make Bob Dylan proud!
A new batch of Bradshaw songs brought to life by the skilled members of The Hollering Pines is something worthy of celebration. Here’s To Hoping is a 9-song triumph. To experience the new material first-hand at The State Room is a not-to-be-missed experience.
In the interest of full disclosure, my wife and I have been huge fans of The Hollering Pines since 2013 (and The Folks Dots before that.) Their sound suits our musical tastes, my wife is a little bit country and I’m a little bit rock ‘n’ roll. The Hollering Pines music occupies that fertile middle ground.
The dual record release will be an epic celebration of great new music by many of Salt Lake City’s finest artists. I’m looking forward to gathering at The State Room with other live music fans to support the remarkable musical achievements of Daniel Young, The Hollering Pines, and a supporting cast of fabulous artists.
Who: Daniel Young and The Hollering Pines
What: Double Record Release Show
Where: The State Room
When: Friday, May 3, 2024
Info and tickets: https://thestateroompresents.com/the-state-room, https://www.danielyoungsongs.com/, http://www.theholleringpines.com/
