Photo by Stephen Albanese
(COLUMBUS, OH) -- Indie rock stalwarts Red Wanting Blue have announce their thirteenth studio album, Light It Up, is set for release later this summer via Blue Élan Records. This marks their second album for the boutique Westwood, CA based indie label and the first the band has self-produced. Years of non-stop touring have not only buoyed their ever-growing fan-base across the country but has also helped solidify the relationships within the band; making this new album their most cohesive yet, capturing the camaraderie of a band that's built its entire career on the road, discovering (and rediscovering) itself one exultant, joyous, communal night at a time and a testament to their enduring musical evolution.
The towering first single, “Goliath,” rushes headlong into battle for a righteous cause, certain of victory no matter how unlikely it may seem. Featuring soaring guitars with a pulsing drum beat and frontman Scott Terry’s trademark ‘rich with grit’ vocals as he wails “Get rid of the make believe, let’s show the world that we’re not pretending…our new day has just begun and we are proud - say it loud, there’s no stopping us now…In the age of giants here comes Goliath, let’s take him down!”
“That song came out of watching all these David and Goliath stories play out in the news around us, both at home and abroad,” Terry explains. “But it also felt really personal for us, too. We’re a rock and roll band. We knew the odds when we started, but here we are almost thirty years later still at it.”
That kind of multivalent meaning turns up throughout the record, with character-driven storytelling often giving way to raw, vulnerable self-reflection just beneath the surface. “We broke the mold with this record,” says Red Wanting Blue frontman Scott Terry, who grew up in New Jersey. “Sonically, structurally, professionally; we threw out all the old rules and decided just to trust in each other, and the result is an album that feels like it’s been 27 years in the making.”
Indeed, Light It Up, Red Wanting Blue’s triumphant new LP, feels like the start of a distinctly new chapter for the indie rock stalwarts, one built on complete and total creative liberation. Recorded in the hard-touring quintet’s native Ohio and produced for the first time by the band itself, the collection is a larger-than-life ode to hope and perseverance, a celebration of the fire we carry within and the commitment that keeps us going even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. The songs are all interconnected here, woven together through intros and outros and interludes that help propel them on a metaphorical journey through the dark of night, and the performances are as muscular as they are meticulous, fueled by addictive hooks and exhilarating instrumental work that shines on an even footing with Terry’s rich and magnetic vocals.
“When it came to making records, we felt we always needed to have a producer in the room who could help show us who we were,” Terry reflects. “With this album, though, we realized that we know who we are and what we want better than anyone. We were finally ready to catch the butterfly and pin it in the book ourselves.”
Red Wanting Blue is Scott Terry (Vocals, Tenor Guitar, Baritone Ukulele), Mark McCullough (Bass, Chapman Stick, Vocals), Greg Rahm (Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals), Eric Hall (Guitar, Lap Steel, Vocals), and Dean Anshutz (Drums & Percussion). Hailed as “Midwestern rock heroes” by American Songwriter, Red Wanting Blue has spent the better part of last three decades on the road, blazing their own unique trail through the American heartland and landing appearances everywhere from Letterman to NPR, garnering praise from the likes of Rolling Stone and Esquire, and climbing to #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart along the way.
Upcoming Tour Dates
1/30 - 2/4/24 - Miami, FL - The Rock Boat XXIII
3/7/24 - Boston, MA - City Winery (w/ The Trews)
3/8/24 - Old Saybrook, CT - The Kate (w/ The Trews)
3/9/24 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Made (w/ The Trews)
3/12/24 - Philadelphia, PA - City Winery (w/ The Trews)
3/13/24 - Washington, DC - The Hamilton Live (w/ The Trews)
3/14/24 - Annapolis, MD - Rams Head On Stage (w/ The Trews)
3/15/24 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom (w/ The Trews)
3/16/24 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom (w/ The Trews)
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