The Sweet Water Warblers, featuring Rachael Davis, May Erlewine, and Lindsay Lou, today release their newest single, “Summertime,” off of their upcoming album The Dream That Holds This Child (available May 15, 2020). Premiering with Billboard Magazine earlier this week, the magazine describes “Summertime” and the album’s impressive, genre-bending diversity: “The 10-song set is also a testament to the trio's range, with the bluesy tenor of ‘Summertime’ sitting alongside folk, gospel and Appalachian strains in the other songs.”
“Summertime” is available now via all digital service providers, here.
Written by Rachael Davis and her husband, Dominic John Davis, “Summertime” encapsulates the longing for the season’s warm, welcoming days after a long winter. “I wrote this song with my husband after an April snowstorm in the spirit of enticing summer out of her hibernation,” Davis explains. “It’s a love song to summer in the key of hope that ‘this, too, shall pass’.” After performing the song together for some years, Davis brought “Summertime” to the studio with The Sweet Water Warblers to record for The Dream That Holds This Child. The trio, who are all familiar with Michigan’s long, hard winters, uniquely appreciate the sentiment behind the song. Erlewine shares, “With a longing sentiment, the song conjures the warmth of the summer sun, and the peace it brings to our hearts. Here in the mitten state we earn those easy days of summertime, and Rachael's writing captures that feeling perfectly.” Lou agrees, sharing that the song has become an anthem for her, “It's true that there is a special feeling of having earned the warm days that stretch on into the evening in the north country, and only a Northerner could have tapped into that sweet release as she has…It's like taking a thirst-quenching drink of summer, and it became an anthem for my friends and me.”
Listen to “Summertime” here.
Produced by Dan Knobler (Lake Street Dive, Caroline Spence), The Dream That Holds This Child is set to release May 15, 2020. The album marks the first full-length album from The Sweet Water Warblers, who first came together in 2014 after being asked to perform together for a single performance at the Hoxeyville Music Festival and found a deep creative connection with one another. The Sweet Water Warblers spring tour and festival dates have been affected by venue closures and social distancing measures as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The most up-to-date information regarding re-scheduled and postponed shows can be found at www.sweetwaterwarblers.com.
Davis, Erlewine, and Lou came together from their own regarded solo careers within the Americana and roots worlds. Whether it was the gospel and soul-laced melodies uncovered in Davis’ music, the Appalachian folk and country-leaning ballads belted out by Erlewine, or the versatile country soul and bluegrass roots of Lou’s band, it was clear that the culmination of their talents would be unparalleled. From the beginning, there was a unique synergy between the three artists, a bond forged by a mutual passion for social change and expansion of the soul through music.
Listen to the single “Mother’s Voice" here.
The Dream That Holds This Child serves to empower and uplift spirits, to offer refuge, and provide solidarity through its focus on modern femininity. “Our sound is a place of refuge. Its roots are deep, and its arms are stretched open wide,” says Lou. “This is the gospel of creating beauty from pain.”
“We recognize an imbalance in the imagery and symbolism of the divine,” adds Davis. “We sing from a source deep within us that honors and elevates the feminine as much as the masculine.” The artists’ statements come with a disclaimer — not to mistake the album’s nurturing tenderness for weakness. These songs emerged from the deep darkness of the earth and were sung awake through relentless storm. As Erlewine puts it, “We are here, very much, on purpose.”
The Dream That Holds This Child is available on May 15th, 2020. Expect to see the trio perform a special release day concert from quarantine – more details to be released soon.
Tracklisting:
1. Turn To Stone
2. Wishing Well
3. Something More
4. Mad At You
5. Hallelujah
6. Summertime
7. Right With Me
8. Righteous Road
9. Do You Know The Chorus
10. Mother's Voice
