- 2024-02-17
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MUSIC
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Donate to support families affected by the crisis in Ukraine ➔ X Ambassadors Releases New Song “Your Town”
American pop-rock band X Ambassadors, consisting of Sam Nelson Harris (lead vocals/guitar), Casey Harris (keyboards) and Adam Levin (drums), released a new song “Your Town” on February 16, 2024.
The song is the second single off of their upcoming fourth studio album “Townie”, which is set to be released on April 5, 2024 via Virgin Music Group.
The track pays tribute to Sam Nelson Harris and Casey Harris' childhood music teacher, Todd Peterson, who played a vital role in the band's origin and passed away tragically in 2021.
It was written by Adam Levin, Casey Harris, Russ Flynn, and Sam Nelson Harris. Produced by X Ambassadors.
The band lead singer Sam Nelson Harris said of the song, On the new track, Sam explains, “This song is dedicated to my teacher, mentor, and friend Todd Peterson who passed away in 2021. I owe so much of who I am to Todd. He was the first person to ever get me up on a stage to sing in front of a crowd of people. I was 9 years old, a microphone clutched in my trembling hands, singing “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” (a song meant for someone well beyond my years and experience to sing) and the whole time he was there, side-stage, giving me his signature I-told-you-so look. He knew I could do it before I could. He taught me how to carry myself with confidence, encouraged me to be big when I felt small, pushed me to be vulnerable when I was a steel-trap of adolescent inscrutability. And my story is not unique: Todd had a similarly profound impact on so many of us and was a pillar of the Ithaca community.”- He continued, “After I left town, he would often bug me about not calling or texting him more, or not responding to his comments online, or wanting me to come back home for Belle Sherman kickball tournaments. I would laugh it off and roll my eyes, but underneath it I think I felt a creeping sense of guilt. So I started avoiding his attempts to reach out. I screened his calls, left his texts on read.”
He added, “The last time I heard Todd's voice was a voicemail he left me after hearing a new song of ours. He scolded me as usual for not calling him more, but there was something else in his voice; he sounded fragile, vulnerable. I listened to it and immediately texted him back, apologizing for not reaching out sooner and that I'd call him as soon as I could. But I never did. He passed away two months later. His voicemail is what you hear at the end of the song. This is my chance to thank him for everything he did. And to thank everyone else in my life who nurtured and raised me, who taught me never to forget where I came from.” -
The accompanying music video was directed by Daniel Fermín Pfeffer.
Sam Nelson Harris said, “My friend Danny and I shot a music video for this song back home in Ithaca, revisiting all the places where I remember Todd the best: the halls of my elementary school, Bell Sherman; in the Ithaca High School Auditorium where he used to bust my balls in choreography rehearsals; at the Stewart Park pavilion, where he held court to hundreds of summer-camp attendees who worshiped the ground he walked on; and the streets of Ithaca where I guarantee you can't go 10 feet without meeting someone who knew and loved Todd.”
The band shared on social media, “The song is steaming too of course but we really poured our hearts into this little film. All of it was shot in Ithaca, on Kodak film (our grandpa who worked at the Kodak building in Rochester would be proud) in all the places we remember Todd best. Here's hoping it reminds you of your own Todd Petersons from your towns- the ones who raised you, who believed in you, whom you loved and who loved you back, and who'll never leave you.” - source : Apple Music
