Texas-based, Mississippi-bred singer-songwriter Jason Eady comes with a new album on August, 27th and so far teased us with three magnificent singles, "Back To Normal," "My Best Friend," and now "French Summer Sun." Recorded in Austin, with the help of producer Gordy Quist, the three singles all have a raw, organic feel.
All these singles from "TO THE PASSAGE OF TIME" have a common theme, as the title suggests a constant flow of time. Alpha and Omega, start and end - be it in the present, the past, or the future - time passes on, change is inevitable:
Every day is a brand-new beginning
Isn’t that what all the sages say?
So every night is a brand new ending
Tomorrow can’t be like yesterday
That's Eady's conclusion in "Back To Normal," the first single of "TO THE PASSAGE OF TIME." Even though the song resonates with the (disappearing) pandemic, the message has a broader appeal, as we will find ourselves always in new, unchartered waters:
“I wanted to write about how, when things get disrupted, you can never really return to the way they were before,” says Eady in his press release. “No matter how big or small that disruption is, you have to accept that change is a fundamental part of life, and just keep moving forward.”
“I wanted to write about how, when things get disrupted, you can never really return to the way they were before,” says Eady in his press release. “No matter how big or small that disruption is, you have to accept that change is a fundamental part of life, and just keep moving forward.”
Even though the single cover for "Back To Normal" suggests a world upside down, Eddy got a burst of creativity, while holed up in his Fort Worth home. Secluding himself, even more, he stayed in his bedroom with his guitar and wrote half of the album in just a couple of days.
"I went in thinking I was going to write just one song—but then the songs kept coming, and I didn’t want to break the spell," Eady recalls. "I’d go to sleep with the guitar by the bed, pick it back up when I woke up the next morning, and do it all again. I’d never really experienced anything like that before."
Now I wish that I had whispered
Even one word at a time
Now all I can do is wonder
And try to make it rhyme
Reminiscing about an old love gone awry, indulging in memories about a time long gone by, a missed opportunity, and putting the pain of that loss into rhyme, sums up "My Best Friend." The stripped-down version, simply with fiddle (Noah Jeffries) and steel guitar (Geoff Queen), make the yearning about the missed chance, even more hurtful. Producer Gordy Quist, known as a member of the Band Of Heathens, was able to convey an organic, raw feel to the whole recording process in Austin. Besides Jeffries and Queen, Eady was joined by Mark Williams on stand-up bass and cello, Brian Ferguson on drums, as well as Eady's wife Courtney Patton and Jamie Lin Wilson on background vocals.
“Everything you hear is exactly what happened when we hit record—there’s no studio trickery,” says Eady. “It’s got a real family-band feeling to it, where everyone in the room knew how to play in a way that completely fits with what I do.”
For the current single and its video, "French Summer Sun," Jason Eady asked fellow members of the Sequestered Songwriters Relief Fund, a loose organization that was founded to help musicians in need during the pandemic, to send in pictures of family and relatives who served in the US military. Again touching on time, actually spanning several generations, "French Summer Sun" with its twist in storytelling is not just another song about veterans, similarly to "My Best Friend" it raises the question of "what if" and playfully challenges the timeline and leads into an alternate reality. But to tell you more would spill the beans, listen for yourself and grab a hanky.
If the rest of "TO THE PASSAGE OF TIME" holds up to the first three singles we may well have a "Best Album Of The Year"-contender. As he is back on the road, bringing his stories to a venue near you, I can only recommend going and discover these new gems coming our way in August.
If the rest of "TO THE PASSAGE OF TIME" holds up to the first three singles we may well have a "Best Album Of The Year"-contender. As he is back on the road, bringing his stories to a venue near you, I can only recommend going and discover these new gems coming our way in August.
02) These Things
03) The Luxury of Dreaming
04) Back To Normal
05) Possibilities
06) French Summer Sun
07) Gainesville
08) Saturday Night
09) My Best Friend
10) To the Passage of Time
"French Summer Sun"
"My Best Friend"
"Back To Normal"
Tour Dates:
7/24: Buda, TX - The Chambers Theatre
8/1: Fort Worth, TX - The Post at River East #
8/6: Saint Jo, TX - Red River Station #
8/7: College Station, TX - Smitty K’s ^
8/14: Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
8/15: Cheyenne, WY - Terry Bison Ranch
8/17: Billings, MT - The Pub Station Taproom
8/18: Bozeman, MT - Live from the Divide
8/19: Stanley, ID - Mountain Village
8/20: Boise, ID - Neurolux
8/22: Republic, WA - Republic Brewing Company
8/26: Houston, TX - McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
8/27: Austin, TX - Saxon Pub
8/28: Fort Worth, TX - Tulips FTW
8/29: New Braunfels, TX - The Redbird Listening Room
9/3: Manitou Springs, CO - Lulu’s Downstairs
9/4: Greeley, CO - Moxi Theater
9/9: Tahlequah, OK - Diamondhead Resort
9/10: Kansas City, MO - Knucklehead’s Saloon #
9/15: Decatur, GA - Eddie’s Attic
9/17: Newport, KY - Southgate House
9/18: Eldorado, IL - Eldorado Town & Country Days +
11/27: Denton, TX - Andy’s Bar and Grill
Sources: Missing Piece, jasoneady.com,
