IN THE MIDST OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS
AWARD-WINNING SINGER-SONGWRITER REED WADDLE
RELEASES MUSIC WE NEED TO HEAR NOW

Award-winning singer-songwriter, Reed Waddle, makes a triumphant return to recording with the first two tracks of his upcoming album, Time the River.

Driven by deeply personal yet universal narratives based on experiences as a working Nashville songwriter, the collection showcases his three unique musical vibes – acoustic singer/songwriter, rock and roller and the classic California country sound inspired by influences like Neil Young and Tom Petty. Reed previews his first release in eight years with two infectious tracks, the high energy, gospel inflected pop/rocker “Too Bright to Fade Away” and the soulful, gently reflective ballad “Bells of Brooklyn.”

While there’s no way Reed could have anticipated the larger impact of these thought-provoking tunes, both can speak powerfully to people in this frightening, uncertain era of COVID-19. “Too Bright To Fade Away” rolls like an encouraging love letter to oneself. Everyone can find inspiration in the lines: “But you’ve got a light too bright to fade away. . .We’ll keep, we’ll keep holding on,” the latter which he repeats backed by a rousing choir. Reed penned the gritty yet uplifting, highly observational “Bells of Brooklyn” as an ode to his years living and working on his music career in NYC. He sings, “It took a lot of wrong steps before I could get right here/And as the bells of Brooklyn are ringing loud and clear/I wonder how I got right here.” The key line which has the potential to inspire countless listeners through these challenging times: “What don’t kill you makes you stronger later on.”

For the past five years, the grand prize winner of the Telluride Troubadour contest immersed himself in the Nashville songwriting scene, learning the finely detailed art of collaboration and getting his tunes cut by renowned indie artists. At first, he felt like he was back in “college all over again, except this time, I actually enjoyed going to class. I’d write 5-8 songs a week, sometimes two or three a day. It made me unafraid to write with anyone or about anything.”

While grateful for the opportunities that notable publishers sent his way, the artist in him was itching to get back in the studio and record his own songs. Those five years commuting back and forth to Music City from Atlanta and now Washington, DC laid the perfect foundation for his triumphant return in 2020 with his upcoming album Time the River.

Though he had previously recorded and released two albums – Higher Ground (2004) and Piece By Piece (2008) – his musical fortunes turned in 2009 when he moved from his hometown of Destin, Florida to Boston. Within months, he captured the Grand Prize of the prestigious New York Songwriters Circle and was a winner of The Mountain Stage New Song Competition in West Virginia. During this period of great change, growth and struggle, he wrote all the songs for his critically acclaimed third album, Creatures of the Heart. He quickly moved to NYC, found an ally in British producer Iestyn Polson (David Gray, David Bowie) and the two handpicked the great musicians who helped flesh out Reed’s vision. For Time The River, Reed found an equally simpatico producer, Nashville based Jesse Thompson, who shared the singer’s vision that the album should be organic and feature live performances.