The Michigan-bred, Nashville-based singer and her band previewed the milestone recording in performances at WYCE and River City Studios this weekend. The Local Spins story, video, podcast.
THE BAND: Kari Lynch Band
THE MUSIC: Americana-hued country-rock
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BAND: Thursday (May 16) at H.O.M.E. in The B.O.B. in Grand Rapids (album-release show with Paradise Outlaw); June 9 for Concerts in the Park at Bronson Park in Kalamazoo; June 13 at Rockford Brewing (Start of Summer) in Rockford; June 14 for Rollin’ on the River in Allegan; June 28 at Kollen Park in Holland; July 5 for Friday Night Features in Hastings; July 16 for Tuesday Evening Music Club at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
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About a decade into songwriting, touring and recording, singer Kari Lynch has found that magical sweet spot in music: the right band with the right songs at the right time.
“Finally, it really feels like the Kari Lynch Band has found that country rock Americana sound that we’ve really been chasing for a long time,” said Lynch, who now lives in Nashville but launched her career in the Grand Rapids area and considers West Michigan her home base.
That has the singer and guitarist “super jazzed” about the band’s new studio album, “The Other Side,” officially being released Thursday (May 16) at H.O.M.E. inside The B.O.B. in Grand Rapids, with an ambitious summer of touring to follow. (Advance tickets for the 7 p.m. Thursday show are $5 or $8 day of show; details here.)
“If any album we felt was going to be a breakout album and have a breakout single on it, it’s going to be this one,” Lynch said. “I think this is the best I’ve ever felt about sharing music and getting it out there and feeling really good about the sound and have it represent us so well.
“This record is fun. It’s honest. It’s country, modern, but with the traditional flair we love. It’s rock. It’s Americana. It’s little bit pop, too.”
It helps, she said, that the band “had a blast recording it (at Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios). Can’t imagine making this record with any other group of people. We’re best friends, truly. We love making music and creating together. … It’s exciting for us to finally be in the process of getting this out to everybody else.”
It also reflects a change from her last record, a singer-songwriter project.
“I think once this band came together, we all looked around and said, ‘This is it. This is the one right here.’ … It’s also the other side of everything we’ve been waiting to share.”
The Kari Lynch Band – Lynch, singer-guitarist Justin Eames, lead guitarist Travis Radaz and drummer Brian V, along with bassist Mat Churchill – shared previews of its new music this weekend via the Local Spins on WYCE radio show on Friday morning and a special HopCat presents Local Spins Live at River City Studios session that aired via Facebook Live on Saturday afternoon.
The band on Friday also released a single, “Highway Honey,” from the forthcoming new album, performing it at WYCE 88.1 FM and at River City Studios. Listen to the new single here.
LISTEN: Kari Lynch Band, “Highway Honey”
Lynch said the band knew quickly that the song – written more than two years ago with songwriters Steve Rivers and Brian Donkers – would be the first single from “The Other Side.” The singer called it a “turning point” in the band’s sound.
“When this song was finished, I remember specifically saying to them (band members), I’m fairly certain we just wrote the first single for the next album,” she recalled.
‘RELENTLESSLY SUPPORTIVE’ MICHIGAN FANS
“Once we played through this song, you have those moments every once in a while where everyone you know is feeling the same thing and you look around and say, ‘Guys this is going to set up the next record.’ We knew we wanted to release this one as a single.”
The new independently released album — recorded in just six days — also signals the beginning of an incredibly busy summer of touring, with 18 Michigan dates on the docket.
“We have some awesome, awesome (Michigan) fans who are just relentlessly supportive of our music,” said Lynch, noting the band decided to “play Michigan from top to bottom, left to right” and give home-state fans “the very first listen” to the album. “These are the people that have been on the KLB train for so long.”
That train has lofty goals and high hopes in terms of making a national splash, but Lynch also insisted that band members will keep on steaming ahead no matter what.
“When we write music we’re not striving necessarily to write the next big hit. We just want to write good songs that we believe in, that we really feel are us” with hopes of falling “into that popular spectrum where they get played on radio,” she said, noting the upcoming tours include lots of radio appearances.
“It is really, really difficult. It’s just a difficult market, but we’re ally happy with the music we’re creating. We’re not going to stop making this music, we’re not going to stop traveling and touring and doing it. We’re going to make the music we’re going to make regardless.”
VIDEO: Kari Lynch Band for Local Spins Live at River City Studios
PHOTO GALLERY: Kari Lynch Band at River City Studios
Photos by Kendra Petersen-Kamp
In addition to a live performance by the Kari Lynch Band, the May 10 edition of Local Spins on WYCE — which showcases local and regional music at 11 a.m. Friday on WYCE 88.1 FM — also boasted the on-air debut of tracks by Earth Radio, Blanca Luz, Paradise Outlaw (this week’s musicians’ pick by Lynch), Lushh and Boy From School, plus music from Chris DuPont, Nathan Walton and Annagail. Listen to the podcast here.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (5/10/19)
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