Lead Single, “Don’t See The Light’ Available Now
https://vibe.to/
12-Song Journey Split Between Asheville, at Echo Mountain,
and Brooklyn w/ Sean Walsh of The National Reserve
Record Release Show Set for July 25 at Grey Eagle in Asheville
Tour Dates Thru Jan 2022 with stops at AmericanaFest,
New Orleans, NYC and London
“Fluid ability as a songwriter to seamlessly incorporate bits of rock soul country blues roots and Appalachia into his thoughtful examination of pain and awakenings.”
– American Songwriter
“Emerging Americana artist exploring themes of love, loss, and redemption”
– Relix
“The heir to country-tinged good-time barroom rock throne”
– Americana Highways
Asheville, NC: Americana roots rocker Kevin Daniel has announced the July 16th release of his sophomore album, Been Here Before, a 12-step journey that’s filled with depth and emotional consequence. Loud, mellow, ephemeral, from the opening notes of Before, it’s like slipping on your favorite well-worn coat reminding you of an old friend up the coast but also the promise of the open road. It’s snug, it’s rugged, it’s 900cc’s under the hood. Aimed at a gradient of the new country radius, “Single In the Center” proudly sports its Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Steel Woods aesthetic. Self-aware, debonair, its ink is authentic.
The album’s first single “Don’t See The Light,” which arrived at streaming services May 21, crackles out of the speakers, confidentially flexing its musical muscle with each of the seven musicians elevating the proceeding with tasteful ad libs and an expertly produced wall-of-sound, flanked by horns, in the chorus. It doesn’t just paint, it circumnavigates time and space.
The first batch of tracks were recorded in Brooklyn, NY, with Sean Walsh from The National Reserve, before the world took a pause. From the sessions came the hot-rod hustle of “Blame Me” with its mid 70s, flame-emblazoned Hammond B3 boogie, the solo acoustic didactic, “Build It All,” the two-step twang of “Horizons” and the duality of “Lovemares,” the original recording split into Part 1, a throwback Eagles/Highwaymen group acapella, and Part II, an end-of-the-night, last call lament that examines emotional firmament.
In the fall of 2020, Daniel relocated back to his birth state of North Carolina, setting up shop at the sprawling Echo Mountain Studios, with its epic floor-to-ceiling Blue Ridge views housing his Southern crew. Joining the full-throated examination of life were the rhythm section of Western Carolina favorites Andrew Scotchie & The River Rats and Matrimony singer Ashley Joy Hardee who adds a Dolly Parton resonance to “Sorrow Laden Song” and the album’s second single, “My Oh My,” which embraces the push and pull of matters of the heart, “You’re making me cry. Yeh I wish I didn’t love you,Yeh I wish I didn’t have to.”
It’s a prelude to a search for truth, be it personal or universal, in songs such as “Me, No Myself & I, a mid-tempo stroll along the ocean of one’s complexion, “One Hand on the Bible,” which wonders if religion or a bottle can best alleviate one’s sorrow, and the raw, confessional closer, “Dial Up Pain,” which underscores the idea of having been here before but also open to what may be in store when you finally close the door to a relationship that isn’t working anymore.
Been Here is the eagerly-anticipated follow-up to his critically-acclaimed debut album, Things I Don’t See, which received praise/support from No Depression, Under The Radar, Ditty TV, Radio Woodstock, American Songwriter, Americana Highways, The Alternate Root, Americana UK, and Relix Magazine ” while Music Connection championed its “earthy and grounded themes perfect for his raw and soulful, Chris Stapleton-esque timbre.”
Those who know Kevin Daniel know that the road is his favorite home away from home. Whether it’s Austin, Oklahoma, Raleigh, Chicago, Maine, Brooklyn, Tarboro, Nashville, Costa Rica or the United Kingdom, it’s a community that bands together for an evening of being, living in the moment, dancing, singing, drinking, thinking, it’s a cathartic feeling.
With a touring resume that includes being an official artist for SXSW and Mountain Jam, Daniel will continue his pace of 100+ shows a year (which remained strong in 2020 with nearly 50 livestreams).
To celebrate the album release, he’ll play renowned Asheville club Grey Eagle as part of a 2-week ‘Been Here Before’ tour with support from Johnny Chops of Randy Rogers Band. Other key stops include NYC and update New York in late August, an extensive run-of-shows in the Carolinas, several shows during AmericanaFest in September and a UK tour next January.
7/10 – Tupelo, MS @ Blue Canoe
7/13 – Americana Highways – Roots Expressway Livestream (Facebook)
7/15 – Rocky Mount, NC @ Rocky Mount Mils (w/ Johnny Chops)
7/16 – Mills River, NC @ Mills River Brewing (w/ Johnny Chops)
7/17 – Charlotte, NC @ Evening Muse (w/ Johnny Chops)
7/18 – Greenville, NC @ Christy’s Euro Pub (w/ Johnny Chops)
7/21 – Awendaw, SC @ Awendaw Green (w/ Johnny Chops)
7/22 – Charleston, SC @ Tobin’s Market (w/ Johnny Chops)
7/23 – Duluth, GA @ Red Clay Foundry (w/ Johnny Chops)
7/24 – Knoxville, TN @ Union Place (w/ Johnny Chops)
7/25 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle (w/ Johnny Chops) [Record release show]
7/30 – Charlottesville, VA @ The Whiskey Jar
7/31 – Roanoke, VA @ Martin’s Downtown
8/06 – Charlotte, NC @ Camp North End
8/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe
8/19 – Raleigh, NC @ Pour House (w/ Chris McGinnis)
8/20 – Farmville, VA @ North Street Press Club
8/21 – Washington DC @ Pearl Street Warehouse
8/23 – Paul Smiths, NY @ Paul Smith’s College
8/25 – Newmarket, NH @ Stone Church (Dead Archer)
8/27 – Chicago, IL @ Uncommon Ground Lakeview
9/04 – Summerville, SC @ Montreux Bar & Grill
9/05 – Columbia SC @ Market on Main
9/14 – New York, NY @ Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 2)
9/23 – Nashville, TN @ AmericanaFest (Fat Kat Slim’s)
9/24 – Nashville, TN @ AmericanaFest (Audio Authorities)
9/27 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Cafe (w/ Afton Wolfe)
9/28 – Tupelo, MS @ Blue Canoe (w/ Afton Wolfe)
9/29 – Atlanta, GA @ Smith’s Olde Bar (w/ Afton Wolfe)
9/30 – Birmingham, AL @ The Nick (w/ Afton Wolfe)
10/1 – Jackson, MS @ Hal & Mal’s (w/ Afton Wolfe)
10/2 – Laurel, MS @ 320 Fifth Street (w/ Afton Wolfe)
10/15 – Charlottesville VA @ The Whiskey Jar
12/4 – Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House
12/11 – Wilmington, NC @ Live at Ted’s
12/17 – Greenville, NC @ Pitt Street Brewing Co
1/24 – London, ENG @ UK Americana Music Week
1. Single In The Center*
2. Don’t See The Light**
3. Me, No Myself & I**
4. One Hand on the Bible**
5. Lovemares*
6. My Oh My (ft. Ashlee Joy Hardee)**
7. Build It All**
8. Blame Me*
9. Sorrow Laden Song**
10. Horizons*
11. Lovemares II*
12. Dial Up Pain**
*Recorded in Brooklyn, NY. Co-produced w/ Sean Walsh
**Recorded at Echo Mountain in Asheville, NC. Produced by Kevin Daniel