New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Petaluma Records has released the second edition of their new double-A Side series, Petaluma Presents: Songs of Peace & Protest, today - in conjunction with tomorrow's Midterm Election - featuring Dawn Landes covering Buffalo Springfield's "For What's It's Worth" and
Victoria Reed's take onCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Ohio" - listen via Spotify + share via Soundcloud.
Discussing her decision to record "
For What It's Worth", and capturing the ethos behind the single series, Landes stated, "As our political rhetoric gets more and more out of hand, our division as a country is growing. This song was first recorded in 1966, supposedly in response to a clash between the police and the youth of the time: it's been an anthem for activists ever since. People are taking to the streets these days to express themselves and their beliefs in a way our country hasn't seen since the 60's. It's inspiring. If politics is the great divider, I'd like to think music as the ultimate unifier."
Coincidentally, the stars aligned to have Landes kick off a short run of dates with "
For What It's Worth" songwriter, Stephen Stills' son Chris Stills, last night in Washington DC, with dates continuing in Pittsburgh tonight (see all dates below).
Petaluma Records is a new label launched by music producer
Roger Greenawalt and publisher, documentary film producer, and patron of the arts, Nion McEvoy. The Brooklyn-based Greenwalt producer and songwriter has produced or collaborated with such artists as The Pierces, Ben Kweller, Nellie McKay, Iggy Pop,
Rufus Wainwright, amongst others, and is the producer of the Songs of Peace & Protest series. McEvoy, who is based in San Francisco, is the CEO of Chronicle Books, publisher of 2018 #1 bestseller A Day in the Life of
Marlon Bundo, and a Producer on numerous documentaries, most notably 2018's Won't You Be My Neighbor about Fred Rogers, the Emmy-award winning, Chasing Coral, and Dark Money. He is also the founder of the McEvoy Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
Songs of Peace & Protest will be the debut releases for the label, a series of covers/tributes of 1960's era protest songs sung by established female singer/songwriters, produced by Greenwalt. The compilation will roll out two singles at a time as monthly double A-side releases, to be available on all streaming and download sites.
Discussing her cover of "Ohio",
Victoria Reed stated, "I'm mainly an autobiographical songwriter, so when I cover a song it needs to be something that I feel in my bones. "Ohio" is one of those songs that has always resonated with me on a visceral level - especially considering how tragically relevant the sentiment still is today. We recorded the song right around the time of the terrorist attack in Charlottesville last year, when the reality of horrific violence against anti-violence protesters felt as sickening as ever. To me, writing and singing songs about these sorts of things functions as a necessary and cathartic contribution to the collective voice that's still fighting, even dying, just to say... this is unequivocally evil and not okay".
About Dawn Landes: Dawn Landes is a Kentucky-bred singer-songwriter now based in Nashville. After spending a decade in NYC, she made the move to Tennessee recently with her husband and young daughter. Her fifth and newest album Meet me at the River was produced by Country
Music Hall of Famer Fred Foster (Roy Orbison, Kris Kristofferson) and features appearances by
Bobby Bare, Charlie McCoy and other living legends, and was released on Yep Roc Records, August 2018.
Tour Dates w/ Chris Stills:
11/05 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café
11/07 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Locks at Sona
11/08 - New York, NY @ Rockwood
Music Hall
11/09 - Louisville, KY @ Headliners
Music Hall
11/11 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement
About
Victoria Reed: Performing was always in the cards for
Victoria Reed, who was born to a rock musician and a Playboy Bunny. The Brooklyn-by-way-of-Detroit, singer-songwriter started writing songs in grade school, as she was raised with a front row seat in the world of touring, show business and musicians in the spotlight. The self-described "current take on '90's alt-rock goddess with a country lean" wrote every song on her debut album Chariot. Released in 2016 to strong reviews and attention in the national indie-rock press, it's a rich, optimistic album that puts Reed's intimate yet inclusive lyrics and alluring voice at the forefront. Since then, she has toured extensively, both nationally and internationally, while prepping for her sophomore release.
