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It wasn’t that long ago that singer-songwriter Jett Holden had given up on a career in not only country music, but music entirely. Luckily, the desire to give up on his dream came right around the time Holly G, founder of Black Opry — an organization, tour and now record label celebrating and supporting Black artists in roots and country — stumbled upon his music online. “I found the first verse and chorus for ‘Taxidermy’ and asked if he planned on finishing the song,” G says. “He told me he wasn't sure, so I got him a grant to finish and record that song.” She reached out to Rissi Palmer, founder of the Color Me Country Artist Fund, and sent her the first verses of “Taxidermy.” Moved by Holden’s painfully earnest songwriting, Palmer awarded him the funds to complete the visceral song, setting him off on the journey he’s on today.

“I wrote ‘Taxidermy’ in response to police brutality,” Holden says of the slowly building anthem he refers to as his “fed up” song.“I recorded it just acoustic and with a few strings, and that launched my career with Black Opry. To have such a divisive song be the one to launch me felt weird. I was so afraid to say those words.” The words hit hard, as he exclaims, “It’s a shame a body laying on the floor could result to nothing more than taxidermy for your Facebook wall.”

The song, which mounts a harsh critique of performative activism, made a mark on listeners. “That’s when I realized I had the power to do something really cool here,” Holden says. “People were connecting with my honesty, so I got a chance to say the things that people aren’t saying and Black Opry Revue performances gave me the chance to say those things in safe places. That song launched my career.”

Back when Holden was recording “Taxidermy,” “Holly was a flight attendant and I was working a stay-at-home job for AT&T” he remembers. Fast forward to now and hard work, sweat and more than a fair share of tears have led to him releasing his debut album The Phoneix on G’s new label, Black Opry Records.

Produced by Will Hoge (CMA and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter) and recorded at Cartoon Moon Recording Studio in East Nashville, The Phoenix highlights Holden’s sincere songwriting and sometimes gritty, always melodic vocals while featuring multiple talented Nashville musicians who Hoge tapped to lend their musicality to his 10 vulnerable tracks. “Taxidermy,” the song that started it all, opens the album, giving listeners a first glimpse at a collection of songs that reflect on Holden’s experience as a Black, queer man growing up in the rural South.

The album’s lead single, “Backwood Proclamation” was co-written with Holden’s friend and fellow queer singer-songwriter, Roger Dale Locklear. “It’s one of the quickest songs I’ve written. It came together so organically and when I sent it to Holly, she was like ‘Yes, that’s a hit!’” In the unabashed declaration of love, Holden sings, “You feel just like home to me,” pushing his vocal dexterity to the forefront of a larger-than-life chorus. The song came together easily, with Locklear writing lyrics and Holden writing guitar parts to the track on an unrushed Southern morning together while focusing on the theme of home being where the heart is. Country stalwarts Charlie Worsham and John Osborne (Brothers Osborne) lend electric guitar riffs to the track as it toes the line between country and classic rock. “When this song came together and these people I’ve looked up to are jumping onto the track, it’s validating,” Holden says. “It feels like they’re giving credibility to a song written by two queer people. It feels so good.”

In “Scarecrow,” Holden takes on the persona of the beloved character from the classic film, Wizard of Oz, using the fictional story to tell the very real story of what it was like to come out to his Jehovah’s Witness family. “After I came out, for a decade I didn’t know where I stood with my family. I was never disowned, but I felt like I was in limbo. The song is about not knowing where you stand with the people you love.” In it he sings, “There’s a difference between loving you and dealing with the shit you do / Sometimes it’s better to be miserable than lonely,” encapsulating the turmoil and rejection that comes with fully showing yourself to people who love you and not being prepared for their reaction, realizing that your connection may never get better. “I came out when I was 15 initially,” Holden says of the track’s inspiration. “I wrote this song when I was 25, and now 10 years on from that I’m releasing it and I’m 35. It was the proper succession. When I was building the album, when I was putting it together, ‘Scarecrow’ was the heart of it.”

In the echoing “West Virginia Sky,” Holden pays homage to one of his favorite experiences growing up — looking towards the horizon during a cool Autumn day in West Virginia. “The song was just about the changing colors,” Holden says of the song and his home state. “But then I decided to change it into a myth with the phoenix and the sun. The phoenix represents the changing colors as autumn fades to winter and the sun represents her husband watching over her because she’s fallen ill.” As the song moves forward over keys and a sauntering steel guitar, you realize it’s about a family slowly losing its matriarch to cancer, shifting it from a mystical to material. “This song is the way I love to tell a story,” he says.

In the sonically sinister “Karma” Holden is joined by singer-songwriter Cassadee Pope, as they churn out a story of chaos, fate, and karmic retribution over pounding drums. “If ‘Karma’ is being a bitch, chances are, you’ve been one recently,” Holden says of the quote that evolved into the cautionary track. “She has no use for grudges / She only seeks justice” the two sing over rising guitars, adding “I don’t have to curse your soul / Karma returns what comes around.” “I wrote the song from the quote my friend told me and a descending melody that just wouldn’t stop playing in my head. It felt right.”

In the acoustic “Better Off,” Holden focuses on the “part of a breakup when you’re not sure if you’ve made the right decision or not.” The song was written as Holden’s career started to take off and he set out on tour with the Black Opry, a decision his partner at the time wasn’t fond of. “I was trying to get out of a toxic relationship. I was traveling and he didn’t like that. It wasn’t healthy and I needed a fresh start. That song helped me to get away.” In it, he sings “You were an angel / But so was Lucifer before he fell / And I was unprepared for all the hell you put me through,” over slow, steady guitar strings before he shares the realization, “Maybe I’m better off alone.”

Emily Scott Robinson adds her voice to “When I’m Gone,” a gentle tribute played at the pace of a lullaby. She heard the song about loss while watching Holden perform it during the Black Opry Revue and it brought her to tears. “I’m a big fan of her songwriting,” Holden says. “When I played ‘When I’m Gone,’ she cried because we share the same story of loss. I wrote it about my friend I lost to suicide, and she had lost a family member to suicide. She really connected to it, so immediately when I knew I was recording the album, she was the first person I thought of. It feels like a perfect tribute to my friend and her family member. Of all the songs on the album, it’s the most heartfelt. It’s the one I cry to the most.”

Now that he’s set to share his art with the world in a genre where Black musicianship is rarely championed, being an example of what’s possible isn’t lost on Holden. “The first question Holly asked me was ‘Why do you write music?’ and I said ‘I write the music I wish I heard when I was growing up.’ If someone hears my music and it makes them feel safe and less alone, it’s done its job, and I’ve done my job.” He also hopes the songs remind listeners that “You’re not alone in this.” “These feelings are valid. They’re universal,” he says of the album themes. “You’re deserving of all the love in your life — regardless of how that looks.”

“The title The Phoenix represents the resurrection of my career,” Holden adds. “When Holly found me, when the Black Opry found me, I had quit music. I was done. This whole process pulled me back into music. Everything feels possible now.”