Produced by Rodney Crowell, Self-Titled Album Set for Release Friday, June 25
Available for Pre-Order Now
“Learnin’ To Drown” Featured on Spotify’s flagship Americana playlist, ‘Indigo,’ ‘
Emerging Americana,’ ‘Fresh Folk’ and Apple Music’s ‘Best New Songs’
FORT WORTH, Texas – On the heels of the announcement of his self-titled sophomore album arriving June 25 via La Honda Records/Thirty Tigers, Vincent Neil Emerson releases opening track “Texas Moon,” an all-too-real ode about looking forward to returning home from the road, but always having the itch to get back on tour once you’re back, built upon a robust bluegrass arrangement of fiddle, accordion and acoustic guitar.
I been pickin’ on
An old D 28
I been kickin’ rocks
Down the lost highway
I been missin’ home
But I just can’t ever stay
Well it don’t feel like ramblin’
‘Til ya take it day by day
“I originally wanted it to be a sad, fingerpicking, folk song,” shares Emerson. “And when we got in the studio, Rodney [Crowell] suggested we should pick up the tempo a little bit on it, and I think it turned out pretty good.”
In the studio, Emerson tracked with masterful session players who brought all the sounds he envisioned for the album to life: from country to bluegrass to folk to western swing. “Because of them, we were able to get some of these songs in one take,” the Texas-native says.
Listen to “Texas Moon” HERE.
“Texas Moon” is one of 10 songs penned by Emerson during an intense and productive period of songwriting, the demos of which caught the attention of Texas legend Rodney Crowell, who signed on to produce and record the LP Vincent Neil Emerson, available for pre-order HERE.
“If he grows on the public the way he’s grown on me, it’s possible young Vincent will plant the flag of his [songwriting] forebears firmly in the consciousness of a whole new generation,” shares Crowell.
“Rodney is a hero of mine,” says Emerson. “He wanted to make something that serves the songs, as opposed to making a record trying to put focus on production or the playing. It was an honor to work with him.”
Today’s release follows “Learnin’ To Drown,” a raw and devastating song Emerson wrote to confront his feelings about his father’s suicide.
“I had been trying to write a song about my father’s passing for a while,” Emerson says. “I was just having a hard time processing that emotionally. Before I was always trying to find a way to kind of dance around it and not really give too much away. But there’s no beating around the bush here.”
Allowing himself to be open and reveal some of the most intimate details of his life was a scary yet freeing prospect for Emerson, which proved the Texas-native to be a relatable and authentic torchbearer of the Texas songwriter tradition, with “Learnin’ To Drown” earning a spot on Spotify’s flagship Americana playlist, Indigo, Emerging Americana, Fresh Folk and Apple Music’s Best New Songs.
Vincent Neil Emerson follows 2019’s Fried Chicken and Evil Women released on La Honda Records, co-founded by Emerson. His debut album demonstrated his ability to combine humor and tragedy while honoring the traditions of country and western music.
For additional information, visit VincentNeilEmerson.com
Vincent Neil Emerson Track List:
- Texas Moon
- Debtor’s Blues
- High On The Mountain
- Learnin’ To Drown
- Ripplin’ And Wild
- Durango
- The Ballad Of The Choctaw-Apache
- White Horse Saloon
- High On Gettin’ By
- Saddled Up And Tamed
All songs by Vincent Neil Emerson