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MEGG FARRELL ESTABLISHES HER “TRUEST SELF”

AND A SOUND ALL HER OWN WITH AMERICANA ALBUM, CHRISTINE’S DAUGHTER

Riding the line between bitter regret and hopeful love, boasting a barrelhouse honky-tonk sound from a crew of jazz players, Megg Farrell (also known as jazz sensation Sweet Megg) shows she’s able to move between musical worlds with great ease with the release her latest album.

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Christine's Daughter, by Megg Farrell

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) April 4, 2021 — Megg Farrell’s new Americana album, Christine’s Daughter (April 29, 2022), holds a heavy pour of early jazz, a splash of blues, and a dash of old country. The mixture is absolutely intoxicating. A songwriter able to ride the line between bitter regret and hopeful love, and a bandleader able to arrange a barrelhouse honky-tonk sound from a crew of jazz players, Megg Farrell’s new album shows she’s able to move between musical worlds with great ease. Her vocals are reminiscent of Billie Holiday and Patsy Cline, yet the fusion of genres is something totally new. The seasoned songstress with a voice like black gold — rich and slick — recently released singles “Big City Lights” (January 28th) and “Midnight Train” (February 18th). A third single, “Whiskey Drinking Blues,” will release April 15th in anticipation of the full 11-track album’s release on April 29.

Farrell originally made her name in New York’s jazz scene as Sweet Megg, but her new album, Christine’s Daughter, is infused with the country and Americana roots of Nashville, a city she’s come to love deeply. Her third Americana album (following Fear Nothing, released in 2016, and Megg Farrell and Friends, released 2019) stands out as Farrell says, “Even though this may be my third album, it really feels like the first to me. This album is the first one in which I had the time to finish the thought. I had space to finish writing each song and the time to record it properly. I had exactly who I needed to work with in the band and behind the mixing board. My first two records feel like garageband albums whereas this feels like the real thing.”

Growing up with parents in the acting profession, Farrell was frequently out late in the Big Apple. She remembers, “I grew up hanging in the theater district and by high school was an East Village and Brooklyn person.” Starting off as a precocious teen street performer with an ukulele, she later fell into the city’s underground hot, early-jazz scene (music centered around the sound of old 78 rpm records from the 1920s and 30s), right about the time that the popular TV show Boardwalk Empire was inspiring a slew of Great Gatsby parties.

Despite an endless supply of gigs, Farrell and the early-jazz players still gathered weekly around jam sessions at Mona’s, a brick-walled old Irish bar in Manhattan. Farrell’s powerhouse vocals came to the fore in this jazz world, where she was known as Sweet Megg, bringing her through tours across Europe and even Russia and guest spots on the wildly popular Postmodern Jukebox video series. Between stints in New York, Farrell lived also in Paris, studying jazz, exploring her “romantic side,” learning French, and hiking up and down the hills of Montmartre.

Back in New York, Farrell began bringing more country songs into her jazz sets, inspired by female country greats like Patsy Cline, whose music she grew up with. She also discovered the underground country scene around Skinny Dennis, a tiny honky-tonk in Brooklyn booked by country singer Zephaniah OHora. Just like the scene at Mona’s, Farrell fell in with the Skinny Dennis crowd, pushing herself to write more songs and to develop her sound as a country and Americana songwriter.

“The more I played country, the more I felt at home,” Farrell says. “My writing got more coherent because I was so influenced by the country songwriters. That kind of compelled me to have a specific sound, rather than a bunch of sounds. Americana pulls them into one little circle.” That little circle of Americana held enough space for her to write new music that drew from her love of early jazz, old-school country, and American roots music — all songs that she brings to her new album. “I’m always trying to write country tunes, but I’m not a country girl,” she says. “I’m a city girl. But there’s just as much truth to writing country music in the big city.”

Farrell explains the Album’s title, “I’ve spent the past eight years as ‘Sweet Megg.’ I’m so tired of being someone I’m not and singing words that aren’t mine. So, I’m using this album as an opportunity to be myself again. My truest self, which is my mother’s daughter.”

To make her new album, Farrell knew that she’d have to be in Nashville. She finally moved to the city during the pandemic (March of 2021), but even before that Nashville was a favorite tour stop for her and the kind of city where one thing flowed into the other, an endless party of porchfront jams and late night two-stepping.

“A lot of the songs on Christine’s Daughter have to do with being torn between New York and Nashville,” she explains. “This record was the thing that finally got me to move to Nashville.” The album’s a breakup album, coming at the end both of a long personal relationship and also at the end of Farrell’s love of New York City. “New York was making me lose my mind!” she says. Still, if the listener detects hints of early jazz, perhaps a soupçon of Western Swing or the staticy sound of a vintage microphone in Farrell’s original Americana songs on the new album, that’s entirely on purpose.

Farrell recruited star producer and old family friend from Jersey, Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Paula Cole), and brought down her crew of New York jazz musicians (Thor Jensen, Chris Gelb, and Jules Belmont), each of them itching for a chance to rock out in a full country band. Missing a bass player, Moutenot recruited his friend Alex Bingham of My Morning Jacket to round out the band. Over two weeks, the band settled into Moutenot’s Haptown Studio, tracking 11 of Farrell’s original songs.

In the second single off the album, “Midnight Train,” Farrell vulnerably captures the heartsick and freeing feeling of leaving. Leaving both New York City and her fiancé, the song is about Farrell finally mustering up the courage to pack up and go. She shares, “He was a wonderful man and we had a wonderful life, but it wasn’t the right life for me. I was too scared to leave the comfort of that life even though it wasn’t what I wanted. “Midnight Train” describes me finally making my way out. It also grooves and I love to dance, so I’m happy about that.”

“Mama Said” taps into Farrell’s Irish lineage. She tells, “It’s about my mother and strength and fighting the demon of alcoholism that haunts us Irish folk. As my grandmother from Kilkenny used to tell my mother when things got tough, ‘It’s a good life if you don’t weaken.’”

In addition to the singles, Farrell has also released live videos for the following tracks:

With Christine’s Daughter, Farrell finds her truth and builds a new sound of her own. Listeners can look forward to hints of rockabilly, elements of doowop, a bit of a mid-century modern vibe. Working with a huge swath of influences, Farrell manages to tie it all into a coherent sound that would fit into a barroom in any of the cities she loves.

Christine’s Daughter will release April 29, 2022 across all streaming platforms.

About Megg Farrell: From making her name in New York’s jazz scene (which led to tours across Europe and Russia and guest appearances on Postmodern Jukebox), to studying jazz in Paris, to playing homage to the Patsy Cline records she grew up on, Megg Farrell works with a huge swath of influences. She ties it all into a coherent sound that would fit into a barroom in any city. She’s a songwriter able to ride the line between bitter regret and hopeful love, and a bandleader able to arrange a barrelhouse honky-tonk sound from a crew of jazz players.

To keep up with Farrell’s latest music news and tour dates, visit MeggFarrell.com and follow her on Instagram @meggfarrell, Facebook @meggfarrell, YouTube, and your streaming platform of choice.

For press inquiries, contact Lisa Kaitlyn, hello @ lisakaitlyn.com 573 – 692 – 5641

About Megg Farrell

From making her name in New York’s jazz scene (which led to tours across Europe and Russia and guest appearances on Postmodern Jukebox), to studying jazz in Paris, to playing homage to the Patsy Cline records she grew up on, Megg Farrell works with a huge swath of influences, she ties it all into a coherent sound that would fit into a barroom in any city. She’s a songwriter able to ride the line between bitter regret and hopeful love, and a bandleader able to arrange a barrelhouse honky-tonk sound from a crew of jazz players.

To keep up with Farrell’s latest music news and tour dates, visit MeggFarrell.com and follow her on Instagram @meggfarrell, Facebook @meggfarrell, YouTube, and your streaming platform of choice.

For press inquiries, contact Lisa Kaitlyn Bergmanis
hello [at] lisakaitlyn.com
573-692-5641

For bookings, contact
meggfarrellbookings [at] gmail.com

“Megg writes with a strong sense of musicality and a depth of lyrics that are rarely seen in a single body of work. The album gives on the feeling of existing in another time while enjoying it in the present. A delightful musical transportation.”

Ashley Campbellsinger, songwriter, and musician known for her work alongside her father, Glen Campbell

“The first time I met Megg was at my studio. She came with her guitar and played me a few of her songs, and I saw there was something special about her. She’s a well seasoned talent full of passion. Her band is three incredible musicians Chris Gelb, Thor Jensen, and Alex Bingham. That was a fun, chilled record to make.”

Roger Moutenotproducer

“Megg’s singing exudes joy and she swings like crazy. This is just the beginning!”

Scott AsenTurtle Bay Records

Videos

Big City Lights

Big City Lights

Midnight Train

Midnight Train

Damaged Goods – Live at Dee’s

Damaged Goods – Live at Dee’s

Mama Said

Mama Said

Hi-Res Images

Click for full-res