Connor Daly Celebrated "Colors Fade" with an album release party and a move to Nashville

Connor Daly , photo by Jeremy Ryan

There is no better way to celebrate a move to Nashville from Virginia than to kick it off with a celebration of an album release. Connor Daly celebrated the release of Colors Fade with an album release party to share his creative writing skills and mesmerizing vocals with his closest friends and family at the end of July. Closing out the week after emptying boxes and organizing his new place in Nashville, he was ready to celebrate. Melissa Farrior opened for Connor's release party to kick off the celebration. With the help and recommendations from Connor's dad and team, Colors Fade is a collection of 12 songs chosen out of many singles he has written over the last 6-7 years. The first song Connor wrote in 2018 he admits “is a decent song” but has progressed nicely after writing 200-plus songs. Connor said narrowing it down was a process of choosing a variety of song types, and a theme but he also could have swapped out a few with 10 other songs to fit the album but those songs can make it onto a future album.

The final 2 singles from Colors Fade are completely different viewpoints and styles. Aint Got A Cape takes you on the heartbreaking journey of a mentally ill person in a relationship who isn’t getting the help they need and the struggle tears the other one apart, leaving them in a helpless state. Ain't Got a Cape was finalized by an emotional short film video portraying the couple in that very struggle and lyrically grasping your attention. Connor said, “My goal for all my music is to make you feel something and make each song a memorable song.”

Before the full album release, Connor Daly partnered with cowriters Jennifer Heart and Robert Ricotta on Fake One Tear. Connor connected with Mary Heather Hickman on social media and contacted her manager to propose a duet performance of Fake One Tear and then a video for Fake One Tear was released on Aug 2nd. Combining the vocal talents of Mary Heather Hickman and Connor Daly brings the story to life for the lyrics.

Connor Daly is a George Mason University graduate who studied criminology and was pursuing a career in law enforcement, intelligence, or investigations. Connor was offered an internship in pandemic recovery with an office of investigation for auditing. The funding was withdrawn, and the position was terminated, which sent Connor back to his writing and singing hobby. He explored his creative talents more fully after his first year in college, recorded demos, and wrote a few songs and now is turning his passion for music and writing into a career. Connor has an appreciation for the whole process of songwriting; "writing and singing are a small portion of a song", and there are so many pieces to that puzzle. Connor continued to play at wineries and breweries while living in Virginia and is looking forward to more shows in the upcoming months after he is settled in his new Nashville residence. He had been focused on writing and finishing his first album and creating videos for some of those songs, all available on his YouTube channel and website.

Connor Daly Facebook

Congratulations Connor Daly on your album release, your move, and your celebration party. I look forward to catching up with you again In A Country Minute!

Connor Daly Instagram

JD Shelburne - Cars and Trucks

Cars and Trucks- cover art JD Shelburne

"We’re coming, we’re going

We’re just passing through

We’re living in the windshield

And in the rear view

We’re spinning our wheels, tryin’ not to get stuck

In a long line of cars and trucks

We’re all living a million miles a minute

Yeah we’re all in our own little lane

Yeah we might all be a little bit different

But we’re all kinda still the same"

JD Shelburne, Cars and Trucks lyrics

Cars and Trucks is the 2nd release from the album Neon Hallelujah for JD Shelburne. The lyrics capture the essence of everyday life and the experience of driving towards a destination while paying attention to the vehicles and people surrounding you on the road. Cars and Trucks was written by Jeremy Bussey, Jayce Hein, and Jason Duke. The video can be seen in rotation on CMT and JD Shelburne’s artist YouTube channel.

I talked to JD Shelburne just after Independence Day when his weekend of shows was canceled due to severe weather and took advantage of a weekend at home. JD and his wife introduced their 4-year-old son to sparklers to celebrate the 4th of July while they also watched the fireworks through their Nashville neighborhood. JD has been in Nashville for 15 years and has made a successful career as a touring artist, playing over 3100 shows since that move. The relationship JD has with his parents is heartwarming. Their encouragement is what drove him to move to Nashville and start his music career. He explained his dad told him, if you don't do it now, you never will. JD has maintained focus on his projects to disregard negativity, achieve consistent success, and prioritize positivity. He has opened and played alongside many artists and worked with The Oak Ridge Boys on his album Neon Hallelujah singing Amazing Grace, the closing song on the album.

Congratulations on Cars and Trucks and Neon Hallelujah, JD Shelburne. I enjoyed our conversation, let's chat again soon... In a Country Minute.

Celebrating love and marriage with the EP 'Now I Do' from Bailey Taylor

A short week after Bailey Taylor’s EP release Now I Do, Bailey and her fiance Frankie Steratore were married in Ohio, not far from where they grew up in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania surrounded by 300+ family members and friends in a traditional Catholic Church, decorated by stained glass windows. I talked to Bailey a week after their wedding ceremony, a few days before they left for Barbados to enjoy their honeymoon. We began talking about the 3-song EP but most of our conversation was about wedding details and 'all the things' leading up to their wedding.

Bailey Taylor has been living in Nashville for several years and her now husband joined her in Nashville a couple of years ago to start his career in construction management after finishing college. Bailey is one of three girls, the youngest of her siblings and the 2nd to get married, her sister got married earlier this year. She admits she is the organizer of the three and her family was surprised that she remained relaxed through the wedding planning. (*side note- We compared our organizational skills in our kitchens, using bins to keep everything in its place. If you need tips, hit her up, she's a pro.) Bailey said she stayed busy with songwriting, babysitting, and booking writes right up to when they were leaving to go to Pittsburg for the week of wedding events. She said that is how she remained calm, giving herself a break from wedding planning to do other things she loves.

Now I Do, cover art photo by @lisaheapphotography

Now I Do was written in collaboration with Kaylin Roberson and producer Anthony Rankin, as the title track to the EP, dedicated to Bailey’s husband, Frankie Steratore. Bailey wrote Looking At Houses with Lauren Eliza, Sam Blasko, and Andrew Hall also dedicated to Frankie. This heartfelt EP was a wedding excitement-building project for Bailey that she eagerly released a week before their wedding. Bailey shared some other important pieces with me about the Now I Do EP and their wedding. The cover photo for Now I Do is also the engagement photo they used for the save-the-date cards. Bailey included her childhood dogs in the wedding with a photo of them printed on the cocktail napkins for the reception.

Fresh on her mind was her dad's response to the song she wrote for him, Son I Never Had. The song was originally written about a year and a half ago. Bailey had her father listen to the original version, but she wouldn't let him hear the final version until their first dance, which included piano and altered lyrics of the song, finalized with Kaylin Roberson and Zach Stone. Bailey said she and her dad both cried through the whole song and the entire dance. She said her dad "Pinky promised" not to listen to the published version of Son I Never Had until their dance to make that an even more memorable moment for them.

Thank you Bailey Taylor for sharing the details of these exciting events in your life. Congratulations on the EP Now I Do and congratulations to you and Frankie, prayers for a long and wonderful marriage.

-In A Country Minute