Yesterday, Green River Ordinance premiered their new single, “Red Fire Night” on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. This song is the group’s first single off their forthcoming album, “Fifteen,” due out January 22, 2016.
After walking away from a record deal with EMI with a headstrong conviction to create music they’re truly passionate about, GRO made it onto Sirius XM’s Highway Breakout with the heartwarming song “Dancing Shoes.”
In the years since, although they have stayed fairly low on the public’s radar, the group has continued to make solid pieces of work—most recently their 2013 album “Chasing Down the Wind.”
If you have yet to give Green River Ordinance a listen, “Red Fire Night” is a great place to start. This song embodies the vibe and talent the artists showcase in all their work. As soon as it begins, “Red Fire Night” feels show-ready; the band opens the song with their rich vocals (sans instrumentals) almost as an invite for listeners to raise their whisky-filled cups and sing along. From the get-go, it’s clear that this single is an end of summer anthem and a true feel-good song about getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city and living in the moment—‘There’s a magic when that west wind blows/ it’s even better with a little George Jones/ lost track of time, some time ago/ man, don’t it feel all right/ out here where the stars shine bright.’
Despite it being a happy-go-lucky song in a sea of simple, upbeat tunes that have hit the airwaves recently, “Red Fire Night” feels refreshing amidst the redundancy of today’s country. The song takes a sharp detour away from pop-country and instead delves into classic country and blue-grass roots with its organic sounds and use of instruments such as the fiddle and harmonica. Early on, music lovers can undoubtedly hear how the single closely shadows Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee” (but perhaps with instruments being even more prevalent throughout the song). This similarity can go either way in critics’ minds, but I have a feeling it will work in GRO’s favor—sometimes a little nostalgia is just what fans need to feel at home again.
Sonically, GRO taps into several different musical talents; the main vocalist often has hints of Zac Brown and Erik Dylan in him, treating listeners to crisp but soulful vocals that are hard to come by. The group as a whole, though, brings fans back in time a bit to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band era—tipping their hats to blue grass, old-school tunes that the radio is in dire need of these days, if you ask me.
Based on the release of “Red Fire Night” and their past creations, Green River Ordinance’s album ‘Fifteen’ is a must-hear. The album is available for pre-order this Friday, September 25th and will include four instant downloads.
For more information on Green River Ordinance, visit their website.