Nashville-based songwriter and past NewSong winner Mel Bryant continues to treat fans to new music, and we eagerly await each new release! Follow Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers on YouTube for a new video every week.
To learn more about Mel Bryant and her upcoming album release on NewSong Recordings, read our Q&A with the artist here.
Mel Bryant, grand prize winner of the 2018 NewSong competition, will release a new single on Feb. 14, 2020.
The band will premier “I Love You I’m Sorry” live on Today In Nashville, News channel 4, on February 13, and celebrate with a show at The Basement that night.
Mel Bryant records new EP at Echo Mountain Recording Studios.
The NewSong team was thrilled to welcome 2018 NewSong Grand Prize Winner, Mel Bryant, to Echo Mountain Recording Studios last month. The songwriter and her Nashville-based band, Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers, were joined by producer and NewSong founder, Gar Ragland. Melding classic rock and contemporary indie influences, Bryant has compiled a group of songs that tackle big themes, ranging from love and relationships to social justice.
The opportunity to record at Echo Mountain is part of the musician’s grand prize package, and the EP will be released on NewSong Recordings in 2020.
Mel took a break from recording to answer a few questions about the upcoming record.
Mel Bryant: A lot of the songs are justice focused, in a way. There is kind of a dichotomy between the songs that are about, you know, relationship stuff — the really relatable, personal things that everyone goes through … and the songs that zoom out a bit and look at more grand issues that are less personal and more political.
I like to think of things that are political, not in terms of candidates or government issues, but, instead, political as in a woman’s inability to walk alone on a street alone past midnight. That’s a political issue to me, and that is the kind of thing I like to write about. Or the fact that when I was in college, I was scared of being shot on my campus. That’s a political issue, and it’s something that we all have a stake in and we are all worried about and we all want to fix. Those are the things that are important to my music: things that matter. Sometimes things that matter are life and death situations, and sometimes things that matter are when I can’t communicate properly in my relationships. Making those statements in these songs was really important to me.
This has definitely been our best treatment of a recording setup that we have ever had. The crew is so accommodating and patient. The energy in here is amazing. There is such a beautiful ambiance, and the availability of the gear they have here is like nothing we have been able to access before, so from that standpoint it’s been incredible. But also just the feeling of being in that cathedral with stained glass light coming through. And, of course, it sounds amazing.
From a sound perspective, the EP is a marriage of the different sides that this band has been developing over the past few years. We definitely have one foot in really classic rock roots, blues, and delta music roots, coming from our guitarist, and then we have the more modern roots of my childhood musical influences and now. We are continually inspired by music being put out and indie rock influences. So certain songs are more in the classic rock tradition, and certain songs are in the modern. Our goal has been marrying those ideas within each song, and within the whole EP, showing that these two things can coexist to create something that isn’t derivative of classic rock or just another indie rock band. We are paying homage to the historic greats and constantly taking in new musical influences and applying that as well.
For more about Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers, visit the band’s website. Stay tuned for updates about the new EP release via NewSong Recordings in 2020!
NewSong is proud to announce that Mel Bryant — winner of the 2018 NewSong Competition — will return to Asheville this November as a guest performer for this year’s final competition.
The 18th NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition final event takes place at Isis Music Hall on Saturday, November 23. Tickets available here.
We are thrilled to have Bryant return to the Isis stage. We recently asked the artist about her music career post-win, as well as her advice for the new group of finalists.
“Focus less on yourself and more on who you’re surrounded by,” says Bryant. “The best thing about the NewSong Competition, aside from the amazing prizes and the beautiful show that’s put on for the finale, is the community created by all the wonderful musicians that have come through this program.”
There are so many talented artists who are part of the NewSong family — it can sometimes be difficult to keep up! That’s why each week, we compile a list of new releases, shows, and videos from past NewSong artists who we think deserve your attention.
2018 NewSong Grand Prize Winner, Mel Bryant, is returning to her New York City roots with a four-show run this summer. Mel and her Nashville-based, indie rock band will play at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse on July 27; Grace Plaza on July 31, a SoFar Sounds show on July 31; and Brookfield Place on August 1. All performances are free to the public. Learn more about Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers on the band’s website.
Suzie Brown, Nashville-based songwriter and finalist in our 2018 competition, will be on tour this summer supporting her new album, Under the Surface. Parade Magazine calls the album an “honest record that finds her fronting a full-sized band, with layers of Telecaster twang, Southern soul and swirling keyboards.” For full list of tour dates and locations, check out Suzie’s website.
Slowpacker — the stage name of Asheville, NC-based musician Jack Victor — will be touring this summer across the Southeast, plus two shows in New York City. His Aug. 15 show in NYC at Brookfield Place is part of NewSong Music’s free summer concert series.
“Songs are made from starts and stops, periods of fullness followed by periods of emptiness,” says Victor. “I’ve been around this cycle many times in the last few years. Each time, there is one song that is the inspiration for many others to come. This initial song becomes like a mission statement – a set of ideals and values – to expand upon.” Learn more about Slowpacker at slowpacker.bandcamp.com
Americana duo and past NewSong LEAF finalists My One & Only are on the road this August. The Nashville-based band will team up with fellow LEAF finalist Alexa Rose for a show in Asheville, NC on August 18. Kassie and Benjamin meld old-school country, singer-songwriter, and alternative folk-rock into a sound that can only be described as “Southern-Soul and Curious-Grit.” Learn more about the band on My One & Only’s website.
This year’s grand prize winner will receive an all-expense paid six-song EP, recorded and mixed at Asheville, NC’s Echo Mountain Recording Studios and released on the NewSong Recordings label.
The grand prize winner will also receive a performance showcase at the esteemed 2019 ASCAP Music Café at the Sundance Film Festival (January 23 – February 3, 2020) in Park City, Utah, and a be booked for a paid, featured main stage performance at this summer’s Arts Brookfield Summer Plaza Series in New York City.
Submit your music here.
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There are so many talented artists who are part of the NewSong family — it can sometimes be difficult to keep up! That’s why each week, we compile a list of new releases, shows, and videos from past NewSong artists who we think deserve your attention.
Thinking about submitting to this year’s NewSong Music Singer Songwriter Competition? The Early Bird Deadline is July 15th. Submit your music here.
2018 NewSong finalist Alice Howe released a new album, Visions, this spring, and it’s a beautiful collection that deserves a spot in your summer rotation.
Via alicehowe.com: “Vistas and the faces and emotions they summon unfurl with compelling grace on Visions, Howe’s anticipated debut album. A modern love letter to 60s and 70s folk and timeless blues, Visions pays homage without succumbing to imitation, and offers an intimate snapshot of a young artist discovering her own power.”
We met Ben Lubeck, frontman of the band Farewell Milwaukee, in 2010 when he was a finalist in the NewSong competition. He recently released a series of singles, one of which is the lovely “For You Again.” This song, explains Ben, “explores the many emotional ups and downs of a couple’s relationship as they add members to their family and the daily practice of cultivating each other’s hearts through the complex and mundane parts of life.” Check out this song as well as his other singles, “Mrs. Bluebird” and “The Show,” on the artist’s website.
Ana Egge recently released a dreamy new single, “Cocaine Cowboys,” which premiered on PopMatters.
Via PopMatters: “This one started out as a song in tribute to life on the road and the camaraderie and friendship of bandmates and it quickly crossed into territory of honky-tonk life on the road,” says Ana Egge, reflecting on her new single, ‘Cocaine Cowboys.’ Hailing from her upcoming album, Is It the Kiss, Egge’s latest is a mellow, sweetly ruminant folk tune that explores the romantic haze surrounding the stories of old-school country stars.”
Is It the Kiss is due for release in early September via StorySound Records. It is now available to pre-order.
Enjoy new original music inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Beatle’s Abbey Road album on Wednesdays, July 10, 17, 24 and 31, from 12:30 – 1:30 PM at One New York Plaza and Thursdays July 18, August 1 and August 15 at Brookfield Place. Performers include past NewSong finalists Kaiti Jones, Crys Matthews, Suzie Brown and Mel Bryant, as well as Asheville, NC-based bands Slow Packer and For Def. For event info, visit our Facebook page.
We are proud of our ever-growing NewSong community and the support, camaraderie and networking that goes on among finalists stretching back through the competition’s 18 years.
Will this be the year you will submit your original music? The Early Bird Deadline is July 15! Visit our submissions page here.
There aren’t many albums that are more iconic or influential than the Beatles’ Abbey Road. Arts Brookfield and NewSong Music have come together to present the New York City spring outdoor concert series ‘Come Together: New original music inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ last studio album. This Wednesday, May 29, we are excited to welcome 2018 NewSong Grand Prize Winner, Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers, to perform.
The ‘Come Together’ series features five free outdoor lunchtime concerts taking place every Wednesday in May. Each concert begins at 12:30 PM at the Grace Plaza, located at 1114 6th Avenue, just north of Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan.
We took some time to talk to 2007 NewSong Music Competition finalist and ‘Come Together’ performer Mel Bryant to learn more about her songwriting, and how she has been influenced by the the well-loved album.
To learn more about Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers, visit the band’s website.
To Join our ‘Come Together’ Facebook event, click here.
We love keeping you up-to-date on all the great shows, releases and collaborations that are in store this year for the ever-growing and talented community of NewSong artists.
These performing songwriters live and perform across the continent and beyond, and their work spans multiple genres. To keep track of it all, we’ve put together a list of shows, album releases and other happenings that we think you should be paying attention to this week.
2018 Grand Prize winner Mel Bryant will travel to Park City, Utah to showcase in the Sundance Film Festival’s esteemed Sundance ASCAP Music Café on Thursday, January 31 and Friday, February 1.
From Mel: “Post-NewSong, the band and I have been really invigorated with a new excitement about the future and our upcoming new music releases. We are really stoked to get to Park City and perform at Sundance. What I’m most looking forward to is meeting the fellow ASCAP Music Café artists and hearing their sets, connecting with them and exploring the Sundance Festival. We got a bunch of tickets for screenings that we’re really excited about. I studied media composition at the Frost School of Music, so music and movies have always been a very big part of my life.”
We’ll be doing a ‘Facebook Live’ webcast of her two performances from our Facebook page. Both shows begin at 2 PM MST / 4 PM EST.
RSVP for the Facebook Live webcast here.
See the full lineup and schedule of the ASCAP Music Café.
2018 finalist Suzie Brown will perform at Nashville’s City Winery on Monday, January 28 at 7PM with Zoe Sky Jordan. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter is also an Advanced Heart Failure/Heart Transplant cardiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. After years of working hard for success in the medical field, Brown discovered a relentless pull towards music that has now yielded five albums, a succession of songwriting awards, featured placement of her music at retailers like Starbucks and the Gap, and invitations to TEDMED and other conferences around the country to speak about finding a vulnerability through music that makes her a better doctor.
Learn more about Suzie Brown and her upcoming shows on her website.
The Bluegrass Situation premiered Rachael Kilgour’s newest video, “Game Changer,” off her latest album.
In Their Words: “After my divorce I took a long time to think about what kind of person I wanted to be and how best to share that self with another human. I obsessively deconstructed our ideas of romance and relationship and tried to pinpoint what exactly made a connection a healthy one. I met my current partner after a few years of living a fulfilling single life and was heartened to find someone who shared my sense of cynicism. With equal portions of self-awareness, hope and caution, we forged a relationship I have grown very fond of.” — Rachael Kilgour
Alexa Rose, a finalist in the 2018 LEAF Competition and performer in the upcoming “NewSong in Nashville” performance showcase, will perform on Thursday, Feb. 7 at Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC. Moving deftly between complex dexterity and heart-tugging familiarity, Rose achieves a sound that pushes gently alongside the bright vocal experimentalism of Joni Mitchell and Joanna Newsom while maintaining the brassy attitude and simple refrains that run straight through American roots music from mountain ballads to rock n roll.
Learn more about Alexa Rose and her upcoming shows on her website.
Buy tickets for the Feb. 7 show here.
2018 NewSong Music Competition Grand Prize Winner, Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers, will perform at the 2019 Sundance ASCAP Music Café on Thursday Jan. 31 and Friday Feb. 1.
All are invited to watch the live webcast of the performance. Both shows start promptly at 2 pm MST (5 PM EST). Join the Facebook Live event here.
About the Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe:
Whether it’s enhancing drama, building atmosphere, or underscoring an unforgettable moment, music is essential to the movies. The Sundance ASCAP Music Café honors the love affair between music and film with eight days of performances from artists and songwriters you need to know (and some you already know). Stop by to discover some great tunes and find a collaborator for your next project. Courtesy of your friends at ASCAP, home to more than 690,000 of the world’s greatest music creators, and proud partners with the Sundance Film Festival for 21 years.
The Sundance ASCAP Music Café takes place at 751 Main Street, Park City, UT. It is open to all Festival credential holders (21 and older).
Get to know the full lineup of the 2019 Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe at www.ascap.com/sundance19.
About Mel Bryant:
Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers are a Nashville based indie rock band comprised of lovers and friends. Led by bassist and songwriter Mel Bryant, they exude an infectious energy that is equal parts powerful and sensitive, groovy and grungy, memorable and true. The four musicians run their own recording studio, Electric Church Records, and work as the backing band for various local artists. They are currently self producing their debut album, to be released in Spring 2019. Their debut single, “In My Head,” can be heard on all major music outlets.
www.melbryantmusic.com
instagram.com/melbryantmusic
twitter.com/melbryantmusic
facebook.com/melbryantofficial
