Speaking of new beginnings, “Kindred Spirit,” is the first single from songcrafter Annie Keating’s forthcoming album (Bristol County Tides). The song is about finding commonality in our humanity and brokenness; the narrator is speaking about someone that has become a special part of the narrator’s life, acknowledging that life’s experiences have shaped the narrator and the narrator’s friend, and finding the common threads of hardship that make the bond formed between them even stronger.
Annie’s new LP, Bristol County Tides (out on June 4th), pays tribute to relationships forged in difficult times – Annie, who lives in Brooklyn, relocated herself and her children to coastal Massachusetts to wait out the pandemic. Escaping the pandemic hotbed that NYC had become, Annie experienced time to process and forged new friendships in the midst of isolation. She was treated with kindness and compassion and inclusion by her new neighbors, her city-raised children became country kids, learning to fish and all of that fun stuff, and she was able to write for the first time in a while. This album tells the stories of the love given and friendships forged in the middle of major hardship and pays homage to the people who embraced her and welcomed her family with open arms.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lucinda Williams. John Prine. Bob Dylan. Allison Krauss. Willie Nelson. Johnny Cash. Bonnie Raitt. Emmylou Harris. Patty Griffin. This is a short list of the musicians Annie Keating has been compared to over the last 15 years. Keating writes and sings like a woman who knows deep down that heartache is the price of hope, and she can make us believe — in that way that only the best artists can — that all of it is worth the cost. Talent spotted by BBC Radio’s Bob Harris, Keating has performed at leading festivals – Take Root (Netherlands), Glasgow Americana Festival, Maverick (UK), Buscadero (Italy) NXNE and The Brooklyn Americana Fest. She’s shared the bill with the likes of John Hiatt and Bon Iver, toured internationally many times in a dozen countries and now launches this 15-song tour de force – an epic pandemic story of awakening and inspiration that shows this veteran artist at the peak of her powers. On her eighth full length album, Keating delivers songwriting in its most honest, vulnerable, beautiful form. With Bristol County Tides, Keating releases finest album to date.
ABOUT THE ALBUM
Bristol County Tides, Annie Keating’s 8th full length album, is her most accomplished, inspired, and ambitious to date. A pandemic album of awakenings and inspirations that feels both universal and deeply personal, Bristol County Tides tells an evocative story of love, loss, and finding what matters most in uncertain times. The album cover offers a painting of the road the artist and her family retreated to during the early months of the pandemic (in Bristol County, Massachusetts). The inspiration for all songs was born there, amidst the rising and falling tides in an idyllic farm to coast New England town, where deep connections were forged amidst times of isolation. Taking us on a journey from Brooklyn to the coast, the river to the sea, an artist awakened delivers fifteen beautiful, tender songs that capture a heart slowly lit up on the inside, and feel as true as the tides themselves.
Keating is a gifted storyteller, one who can evoke a joyful summer afternoon one moment, and break your heart open the next. The Bristol County Tides album offers up authentic, soulful, intimate, bittersweet and expansive songs that take the listener on an emotional journey, full of joy and heartache. These songs have a wide-open feeling and an honestly that demand attention. The upbeat tunes like Marigold, Hank’s Saloon, Third Street and Lucky 13 offer swagger, grit, good time feelings and seductive soul while ballads like Half Mast, Kindness and Goodbye strike directly to the heart with poetic lyrics and warmth. Kindred Spirit may be one of Keating’s strongest songs ever, with a sound both soulful and arresting. The album feels like a warm summer night with the tide coming in, waves lapping on the dock, cold beer in hand.
ABOUT THE BAND
Teddy Kumpel (producer and player of most stringed things) is a New York based guitar player, singer, songwriter, composer, producer and engineer. He is Joe Jackson’s guitar player. Teddy has also played with Rickie Lee Jones, Feist, Nine Inch Nails (as a background singer) and many feature film scores including “Temple Grandin” (Emmy winner 2010), “Anchorman”, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” and “Talladega Nights”. Teddy also played on the 2016 Grammy award winning children’s album ‘Home’ by Tim Kubart.
Richard Hammond is a NY bassist, originally from New Zealand. He is the original Bassist for Hamilton, an American Musical; has played with the likes of: Joan Osborne; Patti Austin; Nena; Erasure; Angelique Kidjo, Jonatha Brooke, David Johansen, Raul Midon, Lizz Wright, Tired Pony, Desmond Child, Marshall Crenshaw and many more. His favorite track on the album is Marigold.
Drummer Steve Williams lays down the most simple but luscious soulful grooves, having worked The Digable Planets, Sade, David Byrne, and others. His favorite track on the album is Kindred Spirit.
Todd Caldwell plays the organ, piano and melodica like no other human, with the most soulful and emotionally resonant touch. When not recording with Annie Keating he plays and tours with musical giants like Crosby, Stills and Nash. Todd’s favorite track on the album is either Bittersweet or Half Mast (he likes the slow, mournful tunes).
