On “Malachi,” the final single from his deeply personal new album ‘All. Right. Now’ out this Friday, Satsang’s Drew McManus shares an emotional message written to his son. “The day my son Malachi was born, they said his bilirubin count was bad and they suggested we keep him under this crazy blue light throughout the night,” McManus explains. “My wife and I couldn’t do it. While my wife slept, I held him on my chest overcome with joy and thinking about what he could be and what I could be to him. His mom woke up in the middle of the night and I handed him over, and as they slept I just watched the two of them. I pulled out my notebook and wrote down what would become this song.”
Written and recorded during an extended hiatus from the road, ‘All. Right. Now.’ finds McManus reconnecting with his roots and exploring a whole new palette of sounds, drawing on classic country and modern Americana. The performances are broad and spacious, reflecting the wide-open fields and soaring mountains that surrounded the band while they were recording. The result is a lush, organic collection fueled by acoustic guitars, fiddle, and pedal steel; a warm, inviting record that hints at everything from Uncle Tupelo and The Jayhawks to Gregory Alan Isakov and The Head and the Heart.
Satsang's soulful, reggae-infused folk-rock brought their previous work to #1 on the Billboard's Reggae Chart and saw them sell out concerts around the country, sharing stages with the likes of Michael Franti & Spearhead and Nahko and Medicine for the People as they worked their way up from bars and clubs to massive festivals. It was a stunning rise for McManus, who spent years distancing himself from a troubled upbringing marked by cycles of addiction, violence, and abuse. He came to music as part of his own recovery from addiction, when a month-long backpacking trip in the Himalayas inspired him to share his journey through song and poetry. He ultimately found peace amid family in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, an oasis that allows him a warm hearth to recharge from the rigors of the road. “Montana isn’t just where I live,” says McManus. “It’s my heart and soul.”
Inspired by the land and by his role as a father, ‘All. Right. Now.’ is a joyful, rustic collection all about letting go and living in the moment. McManus produced the album himself, and while the songs are certainly honest and deeply personal, they’re written in a spiritual language that taps into something far more universal; something inherent in the human condition that binds us as brothers and sisters on a shared journey to find our place in this world. Grounding himself in a dedicated mixed-martial-arts practice, McManus sees no inherent contradiction between fighting and music, which both require patience, endurance, and a willingness to immerse yourself completely into practice. As a father and a husband, McManus is more committed than ever to taking care of his mind, body, and soul and to making the most of his limited time.
“When you’re dealt a tough hand, you can either get bitter or you can get better,” says McManus. “You can blame your upbringing for everything and complain about what happened to you, or you can choose to believe that everything happened for you, to step into your power and become the person you want to be.” In Montana, that’s precisely what McManus has done, turning his dreams into reality in a place that, some days, feels more like Heaven than Earth. “My wife, my kids, Montana, they’re all one thing to me now,” says McManus. “They’re home.”
Satsang is hitting the road this month for a string of performances in support of ‘All. Right. Now.,’ including three performances at Red Rock Amphitheatre on June 5-6 opening for Michael Franti & Spearhead. For details and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.satsangmovement.com
Satsang - Tour Dates
JUN 4 - Gerald Ford Amphitheater – Vail, CO
JUN 5 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
JUN 6 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO (2pm show)
JUN 6 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO (8pm show)
JUN 9 - The Mishawaka - Bellvue, CO
JUN 10 - The Mishawaka - Bellvue, CO
JUN 11 - Red Lodge Ales - Red Lodge, MT
JUN 12 - Red Lodge Ales - Red Lodge, MT
JUL 24 - Daydream Farm - Wall Township, NJ
OCT 14 - Turf Club - St Paul, MN
OCT 15 - Knuckleheads Saloon - Kansas City, MO
OCT 16 - The Wildwood Smokehouse and Saloon - Iowa City, IA
OCT 17 - Hi-Fi - Indianapolis, IN
OCT 20 - Asheville Music Hall - Asheville, NC
OCT 21 - The Basement - Nashville, TN
OCT 22 - Rumba Cafe - Columbus, OH
OCT 23 - Martyrs' - Chicago, IL
OCT 24 - Bell's Eccentric Cafe - Kalamazoo, MI
OCT 27 - Old Rock House - St. Louis, MO
OCT 28 - Wooly's - Des Moines, IA
OCT 29 - Reverb Lounge - Omaha, NE
NOV 11 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ
NOV 12 - Soda Bar - San Diego, CA
NOV 13 – The Moroccan – Los Angeles, CA
NOV 14 - The Rock - San Luis Obispo, CA
NOV 16 - Mystic Theater - Petaluma, CA
NOV 17 - Felton Music Hall - Felton, CA
NOV 18 - Cornerstone - Berkeley, CA
NOV 20 - Star Theater Portland - Portland, OR
NOV 21 - High Dive - Seattle, WA
All. Right. Now. – out June 4th
1. From And I Go
2. All. Right. Now.
3. Answer Was Yes
4. This Place (ft. Trevor Hall)
5. I’m The One
6. Further This Goes
7. Malachi
8. Back Around (ft. G. Love)
9. I’ll Try
10. Love
11. To Last
