Americana Highways brings you this premiere of Freeway Jubilee’s song “Rugged & Free” from their upcoming album On The Horizon Vol.1 , due to be released on November 12.
“Rugged & Free” features The Freeway Jubilee with guest Freddie Barry on guitar (guitar solo). Musicians in the Freeway Jubilee are Adam Clayton on backing vocals, piano, organ; Jonathan Clayton on backing vocals and rhythm guitar; Kenny Crowley on lead vocals, bass, and percussion; Hunter Parker on backing vocals, bari and tenor saxophone; and Cartwright Brandon on drums and percussion. Sometimes the music of Freeway Jubilee sounds exactly like the sounds of a road trip through the open road. In this song of outlaws and individualists on the run in the natural countryside, you can hear the “spirit of America … rugged and free.”
This song was born out of a lot of time spent on the highways and back roads, through small towns and cities, meeting folks and sharing our music and soaking up the American experience. I was also doing a lot of reading on the road and watching music history documentaries, which informed the lyrics.
The lyrics became kind of a rumination on the young but robust history of this country, ‘dark as it may be’, and a nod to all the great writers, artists, musicians, and activists who have shared their gifts and lived through the struggles that paved the way for where we are today. The melting pot of cultures, experiences, and ideologies in this country has truly created some of the most inspired art and literature. We’re grateful for it and it’s obviously a huge influence on our experience as American artists.
Musically this song also became like a melting pot of our creative influences, starting simply and evolving over a year’s time as we all contributed our various styles and figured out how to weave it together into a cohesive piece. Now the song feels like it has become a journey in itself. — Kenny Crowley
Pre-save the album: https://lnk.to/OnTheHorizon
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