If you’re still sleeping on Morgan Wade, it’s time to wake your ass up.
Born and raised in Virginia, Morgan combines a powerful, bone-chilling voice with close-to-the-heart lyrics and open, honest songs about the struggles of everyday life and love. All of which, are building the foundation for a star in the making.
Morgan released an album with her band “Morgan Wade and the Stepbrothers” in 2018, and while there’s some great stuff on it, the fullness of her potential is evidenced in her four OurVinyl Sessions acoustic performances.
“Left Me Behind” is my favorite. The writing puts you in a room with a girl and a guy in the silence, tension and nervous last days of an ending relationship. Wasting no time, Morgan grabs your guts right from verse one.
“Right now, there’s a man laying in my bed
I use to call him mine but he feels more like a stranger instead
So I went and I dyed my black hair blonde
I know you don’t want me no more
I was just hoping I could turn you on”
Goddamn, don’t those last 3 lines kill you? There’s pain in those words, and the break in her voice feels like an old memory creeping up your spine.
“The Night” goes deep on a person’s self-awareness of mental health struggles and the false hope of relief doctors and pharmaceutical companies promise their pills contain, as well as the stigma of opening up and talking about mental health issues, especially in the South.
“By summer’s end I predict that I’ll have finally lost my mind
The doctor said that these new pills
They might help me this time”
“Johnnie called me late last night and I told Mr. Walker just go home
Why do the demons in my mind never wanna leave me alone
It’s the pistol and the bottle, it’s the drugs and it’s the throttle
That tell me they’ll make me feel alive
I know good and well that ain’t gonna help
I’m just praying I make it through the night”
There’s nothing better than truth, and you just heard it.
Each of the OurVinyl Sessions performance reveals a little more of who Morgan is, and the struggles she faces (and others face) every day. There’s nothing better than seeing a young artist who bares it all. Every fan who wants their music real, raw and true, can find solace in Morgan Wade.
While I imagine most of her plans have been put on hold due to the ongoing COVID lockdowns and large group restrictions, it’s safe to assume Morgan has every intention of getting on the road as soon as she can to let the world know what she’s got.
She also has an upcoming album on the way, produced by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit guitar player Sadler Vaden.
Get excited.
