Oklahoma Americana husband / wife duo, The Imaginaries, Shane Henry (guitar, vocals) and Maggie McClure (keys, piano, vocals), release their third single, “Walking On A Wire” today August 14, a song written about facing obstacles head on and pushing through, no matter what, to overcome them. Listen to the song on Spotify HERE. "’Walking On A Wire’ is about the balancing act that artists face daily,” says Maggie McClure. “It's about opportunities that we've been given that have then been taken away due to circumstances completely out of our control. But it’s also a song about keeping the faith and staying the course, no matter what.”
To celebrate the release, The Imaginaries held a special Facebook Live Celebration, August 14 at 12:00pm CT on their Facebook Page. They perform, discuss the songwriting and recording experience, and talk about their stunning video for "Walking On A Wire” shot in Little Sahara State Park in Waynoka, OK and Gloss Mountain State Park in Fairview, OK- watch the :30 trailer HERE. The video once again pairs Maggie and Shane with director Reagan Elkins who directed the duo’s previous two videos “Revival” and “Thinking ‘Bout You.” The Imaginaries recently released the song “Revival,” with its O Brother, Where Art Thou? meets Bonnie and Clyde themed short film “Revival”. It’s no wonder the Bella Thorne crime movie Infamous (out now) chose “Walking On A Wire” for a featured scene in the Bonnie and Clyde-esque film. The placement of “Walking On A Wire” in the film runs parallel but counter to the message of the short film for “Revival.” The couple in Infamous head down a dark path of crime and destruction while The Imaginaries in “Revival” follow the path to new beginnings and salvation.
“Revival” has gained a lot of attention among the film festival circuit. It was chosen to screen at Oklahoma’s deadCenter FIlm Festival, Tokyo’s Lift-Off Film Festival, and New York Lift-Off Film Festival. It also made its network TV debut on DittyTV’s The Curve and featured in American Songwriter who said, “Presented with a brief but instantly adventurous and gripping introduction for the first two minutes of the video, once the music of ‘Revival’ kicks in, the full strength of The Imaginaries’ musical skill and stylistic differences swirl together to give listeners glimpses of several southern and Black-driven genres, from delta blues to harmonizing gospel, to a touch of outlaw country colliding with Baptist lyrical metaphors. Moment to moment, the energy and performance personality put forth by McClure and Henry also flash moments reflecting Lindi Ortega’s vintage, southern-focused sound and aesthetic, Miranda Lambert’s unyielding vocal sass, Dan Tyminski’s unapologetically religious-minded messaging, and James Bay’s slick but sensitive crooning.” Their debut single and video for “Thinking ‘Bout You”, a sweet song about missing a loved one you cannot be with because of distance, came out late 2019.
The couple have been walking on a wire over the past several months with more than their share of personal setbacks. Shane had to undergo an emergency appendectomy which was followed by a few grueling months of pain and complications during a longer than expected healing process. Once he recovered they received news that they were chosen to open for Brian Setzer Orchestra’s annual “Christmas Rocks! Tour” only for it to be suddenly canceled because Brian came down with a severe case of tinnitus. Then Maggie had unexpected invasive gum surgery which kept her from singing for two months. During this time, they worked diligently on booking shows for Spring/Summer 2020 to support their pending album release when Covid-19 took hold of the world. So they switched gears and decided to release a series of singles to get their music out there. Listen to Maggie on the We’re Only Human podcast (Apple Podcasts and Spotify) talking about their journey HERE.
Fans will have to wait a little longer to get the full length debut album (pre-order HERE) which was recorded in Muscle Shoals, AL. There they enlisted the help of legendary Muscle Shoals “Swamper,” bassist David Hood (Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Paul Simon), and session musicians such as longtime Little Richard guitarist Kelvin Holly (Jason Isbell, Gregg Allman, Neil Young), bassist Shonna Tucker (The Secret Sisters, Drive By Truckers, John Paul White), and keyboardist NC Thurman (Hank Williams Jr, Gregg Allman, Little Richard). They also flew in drummer Rob Humphreys (Jon Foreman, Leonard Cohen, Jason Mraz) for the recording and worked with Chad Copelin (Sufjan Stevens, Christina Perri, Ben Rector) back in Oklahoma for keys and additional production as well as keyboardist Dan Walker (Heart).
The release dates for more upcoming singles and the album will be announced soon. With everything on hold, The Imaginaries have been doing a string of livestream performances including their Facebook Live Concert Series “Quarantunes,” Rockwood Music Hall’s Rockwood Livestream Concerts series, Monday Monday at the Hotel Café, as well as local Oklahoma performances. More performances will be announced soon.
See The Imaginaries (more livestreams TBA):
8/14 – Facebook Live – 12pm CT – Listen HERE
10/3 - Oklahoma Food Truck Championship in Chickasha, OK 3-5pm CT
10/4 - Tulsa State Fair in Tulsa, OK
