Molly Tuttle, Jim Hurst, Louisa Branscomb, Sierra Hull, Ben Surratt, and Missy Raines
The new Louisa Branscomb music video, Gonna Love Anyway, plays the tune of the times through a musical trail of troubles and triumph. The title song of her new CD, written with Jennifer Strickland, inspires hope and resilience in unsettling times. The video opens with a tribute to heroes on the front lines battling the virus, and actual footage of the recording session, followed by a breathtaking musical ride through intimate images of despair and redemption.
The songwriter shared, “Covid-19 is a giant mirror reflecting our true colors, making us face what we are at core. We can’t all be heroes every minute, but we are all on the front lines at this time. Maybe it’s in the moments of making masks, taking food to an elderly neighbor, revealing ourselves in more open conversations, or sharing music online. The corona virus is no different from any other game changer. It’s just a bigger mirror. There’s fear and loss, but also acts of bravery all around.”
Branscomb continued, “It’s the same as in the song: ‘picking up this guitar is rolling the dice/ so is getting out of bed every day of your life/, but this is the song that I gotta write, anyway.’”
A proven Branscomb “true color” is bringing together gifted people to create unique musical happenings. A formidable cast of all-stars matches the challenging message of the song. Molly Tuttle nails vulnerability and strength on lead vocals, with Sierra Hull and Jim Hurst providing silken harmonies. The lyrics are backed by the artistry of Tuttle on guitar, Hull on mandolin, Bryan McDowell on fiddle, and Missy Raines (co-producer with Branscomb) on bass.
Beth Boyer, video engineer, expressed, “working with Louisa is a gift, an experience of living my own fear and hope and determination through the creative process and the song.”
Branscomb described collaborating with Boyer to find the video’s moving visuals. “It was easy because the song itself is a series of images. We didn’t overlay lyrics because the images speak for themselves: the flower, the clouds, the guitar, and other shots of resilience, hope, and joy.”
Asked what makes this video unique, Branscomb shared, “At a time when we need to wear masks, we are also taking off our masks, showing who we really are. Isolation has led us to share our personal worlds from kitchens, not stages. I wanted this to be more unpolished, more human and revealing. It’s hard times like these when true colors come out. It’s risky to live and love anyway.”
Accordingly, Branscomb wove in live footage of the recording session, every day people rising above, and her own vulnerability in hard times. “There are pictures of music with my father about a week before he died, and the destruction of my farm in the 2011 tornado, times I wondered if I could stand the test. Then I remembered the ‘little blue flower hiding there/ doing its thing on a wing and a prayer, it just knew, gotta live anyway.’“
Humanity is reflected in the video and the invitation to find one’s own true colors in the face of fear and risk. It is a call to susceptibility and humanness: “Take the hills, take the curves, take the road for all it’s worth… Live anyway. Love anyway.’ ”
Credits:
Louisa Branscomb writes songs from her North Georgia farm. The single and the album, Gonna Love Anyway, have charted prominently in both bluegrass and folk music since its mid-2019 release.
Song quotes from Gonna Love Anyway: Louisa Branscomb (lyrics) and Jennifer Strickland (melody).
