LOST LOVE HAS LEFT COLIN STOUGH “SOBER”

May 31, 2024

Hot off the announce of new EP Lookin’ For Home, 19 Recordings/BMG Nashville artist Colin Stough delivers the official music video for his latest release off the six-track collection, “Sober.”

“This video shows the push and pull of memories after a breakup. Thinking back to the good times, trying to forget the bad as it’s happening, and looking for solace in all the wrong places,” shares Stough.

Directed by David Dutton with DP Alan Fisher, Stough takes a solo ride on his real-life Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail bike in the clip, while being tormented by vivid memories of a love gone wrong. Built around the bitter sting of a breakup, the slow-burner was co-written by Stough with Mason Thornley and Sam Martinez. All about missing someone so bad you can’t even numb the pain – “I could hang out all night / I could drink this bottle dry / Trying to get me gone and I ain't getting any closer / Without your love I’m sober” – a woozy mix from producer Martinez creates a tone that stands on the edgy fringe of Stough’s peers. Pairing down-tuned acoustic twang and a lonesome slide guitar, the song’s building blocks make for a weary ballad of emotional desperation. But when Stough’s powerful, bluesy vocal ruptures into the chorus, the true toll of finding no relief takes center stage.

Featured as a writer on every track, fans can now pre-save/pre-add Lookin’ For Home (out July 12) and get a preview of the project with “Sober” Below. Next taking this new music on the road, Stough’s stacking music festival dates like CMA Fest 2024 on June 8 on the Hard Rock Stage in Nashville, TN. Doubling up, the Season 21 finalist on American Idol will also join a program at Fan Fair X inside Music City Center on the CMA Close Up Stage for “Idol Hour with Chayce Beckham, HunterGirl, Colin Stough and ‘American Idol’ Season 22 Runner Ups Jack Blocker and Will Moseley.” Earlier in the week, Stough is tapped for a FREE performance during the 19 Takeover at 6th & Peabody on June 6. Follow along for updates on his jam-packed week of appearances during CMA Fest 2024 here.

ABOUT COLIN STOUGH:
While Country Rock phenom and Gattman, Mississippi, native Colin Stough is only knocking on the door to his twenties, he has traversed a long journey in a few short years – starting with his debut EP Promiseland and follow-up EP Lookin’ For Home (expected July 12). After learning to play guitar at 8 years old, Stough first pursued his artistic dreams at 10, boldly trading childhood possessions for his first guitar at a local pawn shop – an instrument he still plays to this day. After graduating high school, the naturally gifted singer and self-taught songwriter began working full-time as an HVAC technician, before his mother convinced him to audition for American Idol. Impressing judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie, Stough stunned viewers and soon built a thriving fan base, finishing third on Season 21 of the show in 2023. He spent the ensuing months writing and recording original music, while also touring nationwide to put his blowtorch vocal and guitar-slinging edge on full display. After signing with 19 Recordings/BMG Nashville, his distinctive mix of Southern Rock distortion and pure-Country style has helped Stough’s music rack up more than 19.8 MILLION global on-demand streams. Stough has headlined across the country and opened for established artists like Chase Matthew, Kidd G, and Drake White.

PHOTO CREDIT: RYAN “SPIDEY” SMITH
EP ARTWORK: MICHAEL SAVOIE

COLIN STOUGH IS LOOKIN’ FOR HOME – OUT 7/12

May 27, 2024

With the buzz around 19 Recordings/BMG Nashville artist Colin Stough building, the singer-songwriter claims a place to make his creative stand with the new EP, Lookin’ For Home. Releasing July 12, fans can now pre-save/pre-add Lookin’ For Home and get a preview of the project with pensive track “Sober” Below.

“Each one of these songs is a piece of my heart, and they outline trials and tribulations that I’ve been through personally. They’ve made me into who I am today,” shares Stough. “The EP title Lookin’ For Home comes from that feeling that something is missing – that no matter where you are, who you’re with, or what you’re doing, you feel like you don’t belong, and there’s something just over the horizon that would make it better.”

Carving out a high-energy corner at the intersection of Country and Southern Rock, Lookin’ For Homefeatures six songs sharpening Stough’s hard-edged vision of musical honesty. The follow-up to his Promiseland EP debut, Lookin’ For Home burns with even more passion and raw vocal strength, presenting a full-spectrum view of a free spirit on the run, who’s painfully aware of life’s difficult contradictions. Dealing with everyday themes like work and weekends, and true love and the torment of heartbreak, the set never shies away from the messy truth – and with Stough featured as a writer on every track, that messy truth often grapples with the dividing line between right and wrong, tradition and ambition, the push and pull between small-town comfort, and the drive to leave his mark on the outside world.

Meanwhile, all throughout songs like the recently released “Makes Two of Us,” Stough wraps reflections on vulnerability, hope, belonging, and more, in an electrifying new sound, fusing the familiar crunch of Country Rock with a dark, gravelly take. Weaving it all together with a dynamic Mississippi rasp, he matches down-home tenderness with icy explosions of pure power in equal measure, as a burgeoning star rises firmly on his own.

Delivered today (5/24), he further captures the crippling torment of a bleeding heart in “Sober.” Built around the bitter sting of a breakup, the slow-burning ballad was co-written by Stough with Mason Thornley and Sam Martinez. All about missing someone so bad you can’t even numb the pain – “I could hang out all night / I could drink this bottle dry / Trying to get me gone and I ain't getting any closer / Without your love I’m sober” – a woozy mix from producer Martinez creates a tone that stands on the edgy fringe of Stough’s peers. Pairing down-tuned acoustic twang and a lonesome slide guitar, the track’s building blocks make for a weary ballad of emotional desperation. But when Stough’s powerful, bluesy vocal ruptures into the chorus, the true toll of finding no relief takes center stage.

Taking his new music on the road this summer, Stough’s stacking music festival dates like CMA Fest 2024 on June 8 on the Hard Rock Stage in Nashville, TN. Doubling up appearances, the Season 21 finalist on American Idol will also join a program at Fan Fair X inside Music City Center on the CMA Close Up Stage for “Idol Hour with Chayce Beckham, HunterGirl, Colin Stough and ‘American Idol’ Season 22 Runner Ups Jack Blocker and Will Moseley.” Find additional details here.

ARISING EMPIRE MEDIA ALERT: Of Virtue ,Share New Video— WATCH

July 14, 2023

Michigan's Of Virtue have released their brand new single "S ober," a cautionary tale on substance abuse taken from their upcoming full-length album Omen, out September 29 via Arising Empire.

Watch the "Sober" video Below.

On the new track, the band comments, "'Sober' is a cautionary tale about the effects that addiction can have not only on the user, but friends, family or anyone that is close to them. It is hitting that 'rock bottom' with no where else to go except for finally turning over a new leaf. It can be hard to accept accountability for your actions when it has damaged so many things and make it harder to stop the self destructive behaviour that got you there in the first place."

Delving further into the deep-rooted substance abuse culture, they continue, "The substance abuse has gotten out of control and you start to see the effects it can have on not only yourself, but the ones you care about. People often distance themselves from those who display toxic behaviours and patterns out of self preservation. The song relays that the user understands this but cannot stop themselves from their own impulses and self destructive behaviours, despite the irreparable damage they are doing. Being sober requires accountability, which is only attained by taking responsibility and accepting the truth and consequences of your actions. In the end, we want to believe that if we simply stop using that all of their problems will go away — but at the same time, using seems to be the only thing that can give comfort since there is no one left to turn to."

Omen will be available in limited colored vinyl and CD, along with unique merch options at the Arising Empire online shop, Impericon, and band shop. Pre-order Omen here.

"Three years in the making and feeling as if it's the most significant one in our timeline thus far, this album was by far the most difficult to create in many more ways than one, and one of the most emotional experience for us," the band says. "Hope that it helps you through your time of need, the way it did us."

Of Virtue combinse an eclectic taste for the melodic, catchy, and ethereal with a foundation seeping with brooding, thick guitars, thanks to guitarists Damon Tate and Mike Valadez, along with a penchant for multi-faceted vocal tonalities shared by vocalists Tyler Ennis and Damon Tate. All of this is brought together by the monstrous rhythm section featuring Ryan Trinh on drums. With this lineup at their disposal, Of Virtue have cemented themselves a diverse and engaging act, drawing influence from all types and styles of music to create something their own. With, Omen, on the way they have even further expanded on what makes them who they are, and by doing so they bring a warning — tread lightly and base today on yesterday or you may not get to tomorrow.

OF VIRTUE ARE:
Tyler Ennis | Vocals
Damon Tate | Guitar + Vocals
Michael Valadez | Guitar
Ryan Trinh | Drums