A New York City native who’s put down roots in Vermont, Kris Gruen blends wit and depth, softening the world’s sharp edges. Though Gruen grew up steeped in classical records, his Americana/new folk sound recalls narrative songwriters like Cat Stevens and Paul Simon. His songs retain the folk root, but are infused with contemporary urgency and a big sound.

The Vermont troubadour contributed “Coming Down Around Me,” co-penned with the film’s director, Melissa B. Miller-Costanzo, for the film All These Small Moments, starring Molly Ringwald. The chorus lyrics enter at a key moment in the film’s story, creating one of the peak marriages of song to picture in the film. “Coming Down Around Me” stands as only one of many wonderful songs on his CD Coast & Refuge.

Gruen described the genesis of the song for Elmore:

“In summer 2017, I was asked to make a demo for a scene in an upcoming film, All These Small Moments. I was given the scene in question and a place-holder piece of music to reference. The scene was really beautiful and had a ton of charm. Writer/Director Melissa Miller-Costanzo liked what I came up with, but felt that the single line chorus I was using was not quite the right fit, so she sent me a set of stanzas as examples of what she was looking for from me, but hers were fantastic. I lifted one of her stanzas, built the chorus with it, and just like that, the song became a perfect fit for the film.

“The co-writing of “Coming Down Around Me” naturally lead to Melissa directing the video for the song, which is full of the youthful artistry we see in the scene it supports. Faces from the film help to fill out the cast for the video, including the immensely talented Brendan Meyer and Sam McCarthy, while my own bandmates and the film’s composer, Dan Lipton, make up the balance. Melissa gracefully weaves a tasteful secondary story line to the film with the video for our song.”

Find out more about Kris Gruen HERE

Connect on FACEBOOK