August 13th, 2019
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 LEAF winner, Parker Ainsworth, performs the lead single from the motion picture The Peanut Butter Falcon, starring Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson and Zack Gottsagen. In theaters this August.
From producer Butch Walker: ““When my good friend Tyler Nilson told me about The Peanut Butter Falcon, and played me the song his friend Parker Ainsworth co-wrote for the film, ‘Running For So Long (House a Home)’, I was very excited and couldn’t wait to start recording. I suggested to bring Paris Jackson on board for some accompaniment – she has been a family friend for many years and she had just recently done some backing vocals on a record of my own. Everyone involved thought that she was perfect for the song and her vocals gave it a very special note, just like I feel the movie is.”
Wilder Adkins, 2016 NewSong Grand Prize Winner, recently released a lovely new album titled, In This Pilgrim Way. We love the video, and we hope you give the album a listen on your preferred music platform. Vinyl records are available via the artist’s bandcamp page.
From Adkins: “I actually started working on this album after losing my job right before getting married. I was feeling pretty down and frustrated, made all the worse by being in a time of transition and stress. I began making plans to record some of these old three-quarter hymns of comfort as a way of ministering to myself, but also sharing it with other who might need comforting. I’m already looking ahead to so many projects, but I’m glad to finally be able to put this album out into the world. Hopefully it will be a comfort to those who need it.”
From Alexa Rose via Wide Open Country: “This song is about a love that is failing and that moment when something is about to come to an end. That moment should still be appreciated and enjoyed because it’s still part of love,” Rose says in a press release. “I was trying to reason with myself about something that I had no control over. Medicine for Living is about realizing that all we can do is be loving and reach for love and that in itself can be healing.”
The artist has a show with fellow NewSong LEAF alum My One & Only at Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC Sunday Aug. 18.
Alex Wong, a 2018 NewSong Competition finalist, recently announced plans to release his next solo album with the Nashville-based label, Tone Tree. The first single from the album, “Show Yourself,” comes out this Friday, August 16. Find it on your favorite music platform and follow Alex Wong on Instagram (@alexwongsounds) for updates.
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.
