sEPtember Releases
EP - also known as extended play a recording that contains more tracks than a single, but does not qualify as a full album. SEPtember is full of EP releases and Rockin Rox Promo has your full list for the entire month!
First up is Hozier with his EP Nina Cried Power set for release Thursday September 6th. Hozier is so tight lipped with what he is working on he creates the most anticipation around. Equally excited is Hozier himself, he was thrilled to announce the release date and the title of the EP he notes on an Instagram post “This collection of songs is an example of what I’ve been working on in the last while and will be a small taste of what is to be expected from the upcoming album.” He is always leaving us wanting more, I just can’t wait to get the first taste! The anticipation is evident when his tour got announced he had to add 3 consecutive dates at the Beacon Theatre in NYC because they sold out so fast. I know when I got tickets I was lucky enough to get three seats in the same section because three together wasn’t happening. The title of the EP is so intriguing, Nina Cried Power, what does it mean? Hozier always has a deeper meaning behind his art. All will be revealed on the 6th and if you were lucky enough to snag a seat between Sept 24th-26th I will see you at the show!
Next EP release is country newcomer Abby Anderson with her debut EP I’m Good out this Friday September 7th. Abby’s debut single off the EP was Make Him Wait an important message to girls about holding out and respecting yourself until the right one comes along. Don’t rush a relationship and don’t lose yourself just for a boy she warns - you can’t get it back when you give yourself away//yeah boys gonna run but a real man’s gonna stay. Follow up single Dance Away My Broken Heart was actually co written by Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, and Ashley Gorley. Abby turned the lyrics into an upbeat track about the fun way to cure a heartbreak. Release week will be busy for Anderson as she is set to make her Grand Ole Opry debut Saturday the 8th. If not in Nashville you can try to catch her on the fall leg of Brett Eldredge’s The Long Way Tour.
Prior to Anderson joining Brett on the road you could have caught JIllian Jacqueline on that tour singing her hits from her first EP Side A Reasons and Hate Me. Her follow up EP Side B will also be out this Friday September 7th. Ironic both Brett openers have the same release date. Jillian has been generous enough to also share two songs off the new EP prior to release. So far we’ve been able to get her new duet with Keith Urban If I Were You and also Sad Girls. Jillian was just excited as fans to share this song and then to have Keith on it with her was a dream come true, she explains in a press release “The song was very real to me when I wrote it, and is now one of the most special songs of my career because Keith is part of it with me. His voice and guitar playing took this song to the next level, and I am so proud of it.” The song is very smart, about falling in love too soon after a heartbreak when you aren’t completely over that old love- you wish I didn’t miss him//and I wish I could kiss you//and have you be the only one that I’m thinking about// and I’m not strong enough to resist for the both of us. As if this song wasn’t heartbreaking enough Jillian followed up with another tune dedicated to sad girls enduring a heartbreak, titled Sad Girls. Based on the first two releases I am definitely getting the box of tissues ready for the rest of the EP. You can catch Jillian on select dates of Kip Moore’s After The Sunburn Tour and at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den October 11th for a free show. Below is a flashback of her performance of Hate Me on The Long Way Tour.
Make sure to digest and dissect those three EPs quickly because the next week we have 2 more releases. Tori Kelly has been writing a lot according to a letter she penned to her fan-family earlier in August. She cannot wait to share her full projects, but the first project she is sharing with everyone is a gospel EP titled Hiding Places out September 14th. Tori is getting back to her roots with this gospel project which she collaborated with Grammy winning gospel star Kirk Franklin. The project is titled Hiding Places from psalm 32:7 referring to God as a hiding place, a sense and place of safety. Two of the twelve songs have already been released Help Us To Love and Never Alone. Even if you aren’t a gospel listener everyone can use a listen to these uplifting words about love and togetherness from this soulful beauty.
Also on the 14th Carrie Underwood will be releasing her 6th studio album Cry Pretty. I know you are thinking this was the month of EPs, but Carrie has been releasing sneak peeks of the full album, three tracks have been released, which falls under the EP definition of a recording being more then one single. The most recent release is just as uplifting and meaningful as Tori Kelly’s gospel tracks. Love Wins is a strong and powerful ballad reminding us that humans are still good, even though we might be different doesn’t make us bad. Love Wins directly addresses the political and social negativity in the world. Even just watching the official lyric video you can feel the importance of the message behind these words, Love is power, love is a smile//love reaches out, love is the remedy//love is the answer//love’s an open door//love is the only thing worth fighting for.
Before the 14th you can also listen to the title track Cry Pretty and the football anthem she did with Ludacris The Champion. After Carrie has her baby you can catch her on The Cry Pretty Tour 360 at Madison Square Garden on October 2nd, 2019.
The following week Friday September 21st Maggie Rose will finally release her full album Change The Whole Thing. She has also been releasing small EP editions of the full album in the form of her digital 45s which were two songs at a time. Recently she released Maggie Rose (Acoustic) three acoustic songs- Pull You Through, Change the Whole Thing, and It’s You. Maggie finally got to create the album she always wanted to, the way she always wanted to: live. People have told her they love her recorded stuff but LOVE the way she sounds live (I wholeheartedly agree). So, that is what she did, she took her best friends (her band of 10), and cut the entire album live. The digital 45s each were released with the live videos with the whole crew. I have had the pleasure to see Maggie and her band live and live is definitely the only way to absorb this record, so it is absolutely perfect that it was recorded this way. Maggie and her entire band are the best in town and the nicest people to meet after a show. You have the opportunity to experience it for yourself November 13th at Rockwood Music Hall on her Change The Whole Thing Tour. Also, a little surprise Change The Whole Thing isn’t only going to be a full album, it is also going to be a documentary. We will really get to see the unique process behind this record, stay tuned for dates!
That’s a wrap for SEPtember! Hozier, Abby Anderson, Jillian Jacqueline, Tori Kelly, Carrie Underwood, and Maggie Rose will be keeping your ears busy each week. Mark your calendars, enjoy what’s been released so far, and get ready for some chart toppers extending your favorite playlists!
