June 15, 2018 -- Last month, Rising Appalachia,
the Southern-based folk band lead by sisters Chloe Smith and Leah Song,
released their new single “Resilient,” an anthem for seeking calm in
the chaos-storm that has descended upon American and the world at large.
NPR Music's Bob Boilen championed the video, premiering it on All Songs TV calling the track an "...uplifting, original folk song for these challenging times." Also, Rolling Stone Country named the band in their roundup 10 Country Artists You Need to Know
commenting that "Resilient" sounds like "protest music for the modern
age, bolstered by delicate, skillful musicianship and otherworldly vocal
harmonies." Yesterday, the
band announced plans to take “Resilient” to Europe, a 2o show tour with
stops in the U.K., Germany, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands,
Czech Republic, and Switzerland.
Before heading to Europe, the band will play at some of the summer’s
best festivals including Winnipeg Folk and Pickathon. In July, the band
will share a bill with String Cheese Incident at the oft bucket-listed
Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO.
The
band looks forward to taking the healing power of music and of
“Resilient,” a song written while touring the Pacific Coast after the
United States 2016 presidential election, across the pond in August and
September. Chloe notes that the song was written because “I needed to
hear those very words myself... to remind me to be my highest self in
the face of chaos and adversity, and to use my platform to encourage
others to do the same.” She continues, “...honestly, with so much
animosity in the country it was challenging to muster up the energy for
the public every night on stage. There was a deeper need to internalize
and be more private, to sit with the bones of our work and re-envision
what we would be doing in the years to come.” The world at large can
benefit from and connect with a song like “Resilient,” which is exactly
why the band will tour Europe this summer.
As
fate would have it, the tour that followed the 2016 presidential
election, dubbed the ‘Resiliency Tour’, led to linking up with the
International Indigenous Youth Council who invited Rising Appalachia to
perform at the center fire for a few days in Standing Rock after the
water cannons were blasted at peaceful water protectors-- the irony
palpable. Chloe points out that “...honor was not broken despite the
pipeline going through. The whole world witnessed the resilient power of
that movement, we too remembered our place in the turning of the
tides.” The following month of tour was both rich and healing for Rising
Appalachia; full of community dialogue, meet and greets, and honest
connection through story and song-- the songwriters reminded of what it
means to be resilient, and were returned to their original shape after
being bent and broken.
“Resilient”
reveals both vulnerability and strength in the search for that which
can't be silenced. Leah comments, “After everything that has happened in
these past couple of years, and is still happening, we need to remember
that we the people are resilient, and can become more so. To live with
hope in a time where apathy is rampant--even excessive-- in a great act
of resistance. What we choose to bring into our focus in this life will
greatly affect our very own reality let alone the world around us.”
Long
time allies and defenders of indigenous rights, social justice and
ecological protection, it’s no surprise that with “Resilient,” Rising
Appalachia captured the angst and helplessness oft felt by both victims and
activists. The track speaks to the soul in poetic honesty, backed by
banjo and bodhran, urging listeners to get back up again and to find
pathways of strength and empowerment when confronted with conflict. When
rooted in compassion and education-- we can become resilient. When we
listen more and talk less-- we can become resilient.
Their
sound and message, as revealed in the newest single, “Resilient,”
suggest that voices and traditions, brought together through song, may
be one of the saving graces to a world in distress. And in an effort to
bring more voices and traditions together, the band will continue into
Europe; “widening our circle,” as noted by the sisters on Rising
Appalachia’s Facebook post
announcing the tour. In a time when the fabric of community and culture
often appear to be unraveling, their interweaving of music and mission,
old traditions with new interpretations, creates an atmosphere of
contagious hope and bliss.
