Americana Collective ISMAY Releases New Single
Featured on Apple TV+'s My Kind of Country
San Francisco, CA...May 2, 2023 - Folk/Americana music collective ISMAY announces the release of their new single, "Stranger in the Barn," set to drop on May 2nd, 2023. The song, produced by Andrew Marlin (Mandolin Orange/Watchhouse), was recorded at Echo Mountain in Asheville, NC. It is the first single to be released off of ISMAY's forthcoming sophomore album Desert Pavement.
"Stranger in the Barn" takes listeners on a journey with ISMAY down to their family barn--a place of familiarity and comfort where they encounter a stranger. The story is based on a real experience ISMAY had at their family's ranch, but the song is an allegorical journey into the nature of encountering the unknown with compassion and empathy. In ISMAY's own words, "The story is about taking down our walls, and rather than meeting the unknown with contempt and anger, instead offering curiosity."
ISMAY recently performed “Stranger in the Barn” on Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves' My County of Country on Apple TV+, on which ISMAY is one of several unconventional artists selected from around the world and brought to Nashville to find country music's next star.
ISMAY has carved out a unique space in the Americana-folk scene with a sound that is both nostalgic and contemporary. With "Stranger in the Barn"’s lush instrumentation and compelling storytelling, the song is sure to resonate with both longtime fans and new listeners alike.
For more information on ISMAY and their upcoming releases, please visit https://www.ismaymusic.com/.
About ISMAY
ISMAY is a Folk/Americana music project driven by California-based singer/songwriter Avery Hellman. Their debut album Songs Of Sonoma Mountain was released in 2020 and named one of the 10 best Albums in the Bay Area, garnering features in American Songwriter, No Depression, Sonoma Magazine and more. Growing up backstage at their grandfather’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, ISMAY was inspired early on by artists such as Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and Hazel Dickens. ISMAY’ performance highlights include festivals such as SF Jazz Festival Americana Week, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Strawberry Music Festival, The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, The Lantern Tour, The Great American Music Hall, Slim’s, the Golden State Theater, and the Mystic Theater. Acclaimed artists they have opened for include Steve Earle, Watchhouse, Justin Townes Earle, Robert Earl Keen, John Doe and Chuck Prophet. ISMAY is featured as one of a select group of artists from around the world participating in the Apple TV+ Show My Kind of Country, produced by Kacey Musgraves and Reese Witherspoon. Gearing up for the release of their sophomore album Desert Pavement, ISMAY is currently on tour. To learn more please visit www.ISMAYmusic.com.