Now, this is what we’re talking about – themed track features. We love them, and that’s a very appropriate description today. Valentine’s Day. If you’re celebrating it (it’s not compulsory or even appropriate for everyone, we realise that) you got the card? Flowers? Chocolates? You’re not bothering with commercialisation this year because your love is pure enough? Whichever way it goes for you, we’re hoping it goes well.
And we’re starting off with Stephen Fearing whose song ‘Valentine’s Day’ is a surprisingly platonic affair. The Victoria, BC, based JUNO Award-winning roots troubadour’s new single is from his 16th album ‘The Empathist‘, coming out in March of 2025. He says of the song that it “first arose from a song snippet in a video message to a dear friend, for a socially-distanced birthday celebration during the pandemic. “I thought it would be fun to come up with a little ditty to sing to him. Darrel rhymes with Christmas carol, and barrel…that’s how simple it was. I wrote the verse on my way down to the village, for a coffee, sang it into my phone, and voila. As the weeks wore on, and I wore down the heels of my boots literally walking my blues away, the song kept coming back. During those days of plexiglass and isolation, the concept of community and friendship had become a helluva lot more important than we had all thought. I titled it ‘Valentine’s Day’ as a nod to ‘My Funny Valentine,’ one of my favourite melodies. More importantly, the title reflects the spirit of Valentine’s Day as something pure, simple, and sweet, celebrating platonic love, friendship, and community.”
Annie Hughes was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona, and now resides in Colorado. She followed the well trod path to music through church and school choirs, along the way picking up a guitar for the first time during a sleepover at a friend’s house. She played it relentlessly and at some point acquired a guitar of her own to play endlessly in her room. She has had a long involvement with music making since then, and her offering for the day is ‘Sweet Lovin’ In The Morning‘ which she co-wrote with Fred Koller and is most definitely not a song about platonic love. It is, she says, “For all of us Morning Glories!” which, if you didn’t get it from the title, explains everything.
And last up in this mini-roundup is Sterling Drake with ‘She Means Everything To Me‘ which is taken from his debut album ‘The Shape I’m In‘ which will be out in May. It’s a song about enduring love and the strength it takes for someone to stick by you in the hard times. The Nashville resident made his way to his first full length release along a convoluted path, as he explains: “I grew up with my feet in two worlds, I was introduced to the worlds of livestock and country music through my grandfather, but just as much of my childhood experience was suburbia, skateboarding, and playing drums in punk bands.” Drake found ways to bring all of his passions together, pulling from his work with horses and cattle in Montana, his travels as a touring musician, and his time spent writing and performing in Nashville. In 2024, he took home Male Honky Tonk Artist of the Year honours at the annual Ameripolitan Awards in Austin, of which he comments: “I spent a lot of time studying honky tonk, and I cut my teeth playing bars and dance halls, I have the utmost respect for that music, and I come to it from a place of deep reverence and understanding.”
What’s that? A palate cleanser for all this sweetness? Darn but you’re a bunch of curmudgeonly old cynics. Well, here’s one from the pen of Bob and the vocal chords of Joan. We’re too good to you.
