Americana Highways is hosting this video premiere of Pat Byrne’s song “Just a Venial Sin” from his forthcoming album Into the Light, due out on July 9. Into the Light was produced by Billy Harvey (Steve Poltz), mixed and engineered by Joe Costa, mastered by Fergal Davis and recorded at The Sound Emporium, Nashville.
“Just a Venial Sin” is Pat Byrne on vocals and guitar; Billy Harvey on vocals and guitar; Fred Eltringham (Carrie Underwood) on drums and percussion; Joshua Grange (Lucinda Williams) on guitar and pedal steel;
John Ginty (The Chicks) on keys; Chris Donohue (Emmylou Harris) on bass; and Dave Eggar (Ray Lamontagne) on cellos.
The video was created by Seela Misra. The lyric video is uniquely creative and is really much more than a simple lyric video. The song is a thoughtful, low key expression the winding road that leads to social and political progress. Pat Byrne writes compelling songs.
This video accentuates the palpable percussion on “Just a Venial Sin,” which is like a pulsing heartbeat, revealing the personal impact of public policy. This song was written in the summer of 2020 when the social and political atmosphere was highly charged. Politicians and power brokers were making chameleon-like changes to suit their own purposes, with no regard for how resulting policies affect individuals. — Pat Byrne