songs about misfits & impostors.
You are invited
A blue post-it note tacked to a cork board in a tiny home in Nashville read “Whose voice is that?” It had been written shortly after I arrived and began the intense, four-week preparation for the recording of my new album, “Murder of Crows”. There were voices, like ghosts in a well, ringing in my head. They had been there for years, accusing me of selfishness, delusions of grandeur, lack of discipline, lack of talent, wastefulness, betrayal and warning me to prepare myself for rejection.
At 50, I left Cleveland, where I had lived for twenty years raising daughters. I booked a long-term Airbnb to record my second album with a producer I met on Instagram and a band of pro musicians in Nashville. The producer and I had bonded over a shared love of the 1971 album, “Nilsson Schmilsson.”
Now, in the isolation, I could hear the voices more clearly than ever before and I began to recognize: these voices are not mine. I’m carrying their message with me into a future that doesn’t require them. They are characters in a story, like the ones I write in my songs — some I own and embody, some I merely observe. These voices need to become the latter kind and fade into the past. I don’t need them anymore, if I ever did.
With my new album, I have written what feels like a grand, unfinished Midwestern Gothic rock opera. Midwestern Gothic in the sense that it centers on the critical decision that underlies Midwestern Gothic literature going all the way back to Sherwood Anderson — whether or not to drown our own voice, joining it with the choir of ghosts in the well.
-Invitation-
You are invited to be my VIP guest at a reception, Thursday, August 15 between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. at Spotlight Cleveland, a Cleveland-music themed bar in the Cudell neighborhood on Cleveland’s west side. This event celebrates the completion of “Murder of Crows” and kicks off the album release cycle. It would be my honor to share this moment with you, who have done so much for the independent, local music community in Northeast Ohio. No RSVP is required but it would help, if you would like some dedicated time to talk with me about the album or my artistic journey, to schedule that time beforehand.
To arrange time with me at the event, you can reach me at 216-496-7186.
Gratefully,
-Brian Bacon
For a short “highlight reel” of the new music, visit www.brianbaconmusic.com/listen
-Event Times and Locations-
Thursday, August 15
6:30 p.m. Reception at —
Spotlight Cleveland
8701 Madison Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44102
Saturday, September 7
8 p.m. Concert at —
Bop Stop
2920 Detroit Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44113
Tuesday, October 1
Album release on all digital platforms
October 3 - October 19
9-city Midwestern Gothic Tour with stops in:
Buffalo, Youngstown, Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, Lexington, Nashville, Asheville and Cleveland.
Release Date TBD: Music Video for “Murder of Crows"