In Sunday School, reverends, brotherhood, Heaven above and harps all enter the curriculum, but The Reverend Shawn Amos & the Brotherhood style those things a little differently on their latest release—for starters, the album is Blue Sky and it’s a mouth harp–but the sound is still Heavenly.
Drummer Brady Blade said, “Brotherhood, to me, means togetherness, being able to interact with each other in a more personal way. The Brotherhood, in this context with Shawn, helps drive the music.. For all of us, the happiness has definitely come out on this record.”
Since 2018’s acclaimed, politically charged Breaks it Down, the Rev has been on the road nonstop. “All I’m doing is singing and playing harp,” the Rev said, but this material showcases Shawn Amos’s songwriting like no previous Rev outing, alternately furious, vulnerable; crazy, forlorn and tender.
The driving blues on this hard-hitting track, “Counting Down the Days,” embodies brotherhood’s dark shadow twin. Amos told Elmore, “The story opens in Frisco, Texas but it could be anywhere a person is held against their will or better judgement: a forgotten suburb, a jail cell, anonymously in an unforgiving metropolis. It’s a song that begs for escape and open space.”
“I couldn’t imagine making this music with people who are not friends,” said the Rev. More than friends, the Brotherhood includes drummer Brady Blade (Buddy Miller, Indigo Girls) bassist Christopher Thomas, (Norah Jones, Macy Gray) and longtime Rev guitarist Chris “Doctor” Roberts.
Learn more about The Reverend Shawn Amos & the Brotherhood HERE
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