Growing up with musician parents made songwriting a natural part of life for Sean McConnell, who penned his first song at age 10. That one didn’t make it to the recording studio, but others he’s written have been put out by Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Meat Loaf, Jake Owen, Christina Aguilera, Buddy Miller, and more. With 13 albums of his own, you’d think McConnell would be a household name, but he’s content to let others go big while he works his latest record, Secondhand Smoke, in rooms where people can hear every vivid lyric. “Fewer and fewer people are taking the time to sit down and really listen to a song,” says McConnell. “I hope people give this record that space, and then just go on that journey—whatever that journey is, because it’s going to be different for everybody.”
Related stories
The Japanese House
On her sophomore album, In The End It Always Does, The Japanese House, aka Amber Bain, explores themes of love, loss, and identity. With her dreamy vocals and heartfelt lyrics, Bain captures the cyclical nature of relationships in a range of real experience that is unapologetically human. The album, co-produced by George Daniel of The […]
No blank pages
Shannon Spence awoke to her calling as a cartoon artist while pursuing a fine arts degree focused on printmaking at University of Virginia. In her fourth year, she took a course in sequential art–and she saw her future. “I realized what incredible potential comics were as an art form, and it just clicked for me,” […]
Informal arrangements
By Aaron Irons The Arcadian Wild finds uplift and grace amid warm harmonies on Welcome, the Music City string band’s latest effort, which blends elegance and heart-swelling dynamics with endearing revelations. Equal parts meditation and jubilation, Welcome offers connection and understanding in an era when such notions are at a premium. Lincoln Mick formed The […]
