BRIGHTER LIGHT BRIGADE TRAVELING TOGETHER

Families who enjoy adventurous road trips will appreciate the newest album from "Traveling Together" by Brighter Light Brigade for listening to during their car rides. Featuring vocalists Amyliza de Jesus and Marla Vannucci along with multi-instrumentalist Dean Jones, "Traveling Together" from Nashville-based Brighter Light Brigade is being released by 8 Pound Gorilla Records on October 7, 2022. 

This kindie rock album is recommended for ages 4 - 10 and their parents with a runtime of 21 minutes. Kindie rock is a style of children's music that melds the adult sensibilities and styles of singer-songwriters with themes aimed at kids providing family friendly educational and entertainment experiences. "Traveling Together" will be available upon release for $8.99 as a digital download or $10 for an "old fashioned" CD. Being that compact discs were brand new technology when I was in high school it makes me feel old to call them old fashioned but they are also playing '80s music on the "Oldies Music" radio station here in Detroit so I guess that speaks for itself. 

Throughout "Traveling Together", the words to the songs are more like poetry than song lyrics, giving them an uncommon depth of meaning and emotional expression. Highlights include Goodbye Summer, a song with a ‘90s indie rock/punk feel about summer coming to an end. The Wilco-inspired Don’t Judge a Box, with its engaging mix of country, folk, and pop, encourages looking beyond differences to see commonalities. The lyrics are inspired by de Jeus and Vannicci's "day jobs" as licensed mental health professionals. 

My Favorite Song is all about that song that gets stuck in your head, and there is a good chance this one will. Favorite elements include a terrific organ interlude by Dean Jones and the way that Marla Vannucci’s vocals reflect the tune’s uncomplicated joy. A storytelling number, Rufus the Rooster, was co-written with a 90-year-old music therapy client of Amyliza de Jesus. The client even contributed some grand production ideas like having a fiddle in the mix. This led to Nashville’s esteemed fiddling maestro, Aaron Till, being given the job of personifying the rooster! The gently honest Different was a collaboration, through the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Words & Music Program, between Amyliza de Jesus and a local elementary school student. The student sings on the track, as part of the BLB Kids Choir.

For more information about this musical group, visit teambrighterlightbrigade.com 

COSMIC BANJO

Folksinger Michael Johnathon takes the banjo seriously on Cosmic Banjo, his 18th studio album due out January 21, 2022 on PoetMan Records. A celebration of the Pete Seeger style long neck banjo, Cosmic Banjo is the unexpected follow up to his Vincent van Gogh tribute album The Painter. It will be available across all major digital music platforms, and CDs available at michaeljohnathon.com/banjo

Cosmic Banjo features several Bluegrass and roots music icons who collaborated with Johnathon in the studio. The opening track “Ballad of Bojangles” is a reimagined backstory of “Mister Bojangles,” made famous by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Founding member John McEuen plays mandolin on the song, and also appears on the Beatle-Esque interpretation of “Darlin’ Corey,” complete with a 21-piece string section and 17-time IBMA award winner Rob Ickes also performing.

Michael Johnathon recently won the prestigious Milner Award of the Arts in 2020. He is the screenwriter for the upcoming Caney Creek motion picture, a touring songwriter, author of five published books, playwright of the Walden Play performed in 42 countries, composer of the opera, Woody: For the People, organizer of the national association of front porch musicians called SongFarmers, the full symphony performances of SONGS OF RURAL AMERICA and as the creator and host of the live audience broadcast of the WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour with a radio audience of over two million listeners each week on 500 public radio stations, public television coast-to-coast, American Forces Radio Network in 177 nations and the RFD-TV Network nationwide. His latest book, WoodSongs 5, is also being released this month along with his album, Cosmic Banjo.