“Skid Row” premiered at PopMatters.com on July 16th
Bailey continues livestreams on Facebook and Instagram
Huntington Beach, CA-based classic country singer-songwriter Victoria Bailey releases the second single, “Skid Row,” from her forthcoming album on July 17, 2020 via Rock Ridge Music. While continually looking forward with her progressive take on country music, Bailey also looks back to honor the genre’s West Coast roots; “Skid Row” is a rollicking, toe-tapping ode to a beloved LA honky tonk and the Bakersfield sound. The song premiered on July 16th at PopMatters.com, who wrote about the song, “…a country romp… rollicking, narrative-driven sound… ‘Skid Row’ acts as an ode to a LA honky tonk. High-flying fiddle, jangly piano, harmonica, pedal steel, and more paint a perfectly pleasing throwback performance from the artist, her honey-toned vocals acting as the centerpiece.” “Skid Row” is the follow-up to the first single, “Honky Tonk Woman,” which was released on June 5th.
“I wanted to take listeners down the road of a few of the country legends rooted in California and the music history that blossomed out of Bakersfield,” says Bailey about the song. “There is an inevitable charm that country music has when it comes from the South, but I have found so much inspiration from the music that came out of my own home state of California. There’s currently a great scene in Los Angeles of an emerging classic country sound as well, and, in the song, I sing about the one and only honky tonk in LA that rests right in the middle of Skid Row.”
Grounding Bailey’s timeless country music palette is her crystalline voice; an inviting warm tone with the occasional flutter that transports you back in time to a classic honky tonk, one where Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris were all in heavy rotation. Bailey is set to release her album – Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline – on September 18, 2020.
Produced by Jeremy Long, Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline is a whiskey-smooth concoction of crisp guitars, silky fiddle, and radiant pedal steel that expertly glides beneath Bailey’s magnetic, California sun-kissed soprano. Bailey’s full-length label debut — a nine-song collection featuring eight originals and one cover — paints stunning vignettes spanning from adrenaline-rushing love at first sight and down-and-out heartache, to treasuring country music’s indelible roots, and the wavering journey of resilience when chasing one’s dreams. Bailey brings the classic country spirit to the 21st century through relatably raw, non-sugarcoated songwriting that may seem unexpected from most contemporary female musicians in the country realm. She shines a relevant light on some of the shadier corners of the genre not typically addressed, such as the hypocrisy that can be found in the outlaw country mindset, all while evoking a fiery, no-holds-barred lyrical approach in the vein of Margo Price.
Raised under the rays of the sun in Huntington Beach, CA, the classic country singer-songwriter was surrounded by music in her household from an early age. From her drumming father’s rock ’n’ roll band practices to her mom playing the narrative-driven songbooks of folk icons like Cat Stevens and James Taylor, Bailey was naturally drawn to music and the art of storytelling. After falling in love with the guitar at the age of 12, she quickly developed an affinity for songwriting in her late teens and garnered the kind of support system every musical child would dream of: her father was so impressed by her talent that he called on his three musically-inclined best friends to join him in becoming his daughter’s backing band, eventually performing shows around town.
It was the at-first daunting yet exhilarating aspect of performing live that made Bailey realize this was life’s path for her. She found a sense of community very early on by playing honky tonks and bars that allowed the opportunity to cut her teeth on the craft of traditional country music. With five or six years of diligently working the Golden State’s music scene under her belt, she was ready to transpose her striking penchant for storytelling from the stage into an impressive full-length label debut.
On Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline, Bailey weaves these honest stories together for a refreshing examination of real-life American trials and tribulations through her heartfelt lens. “I hope that listeners get to know me and my story through this album, and what I love the most in life,” she says. “Just to be brought back into what classic country captures and makes people feel good about, I hope that it resonates in that same way.” Indeed, it’s a welcome reminder of country music’s potency — both sonically and thematically — to ease and comfort today’s listeners through relatable storytelling, and Bailey is a promising torchbearer for the genre’s rich legacy and where it’s heading.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bailey is unable to tour right now. Fans eager to see her live can catch her livestreaming on her Facebook and Instagram pages on July 17th (7 p.m. pacific), and July 23rd (6 p.m. pacific).