Tracy Bonham Reveals 'Damn The Sky (For Being Too Wide)'

03-24-2024

(Reybee) "I was wishing I could just shrink the sky and bring my loved ones closer to me so I could feel their love, support and acceptance. It was a very lonely time," says twice GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Tracy Bonham about her new single "Damn The Sky (For Being Too Wide)".

Her first studio release since 2017's Modern Burdens (a reimagining of her Gold-certified breakthrough debut, 1996's The Burdens of Being Upright), "Damn the Sky" is a vulnerable and tender plea, longing for her friends and family in Oregon while she underwent challenges at home in Brooklyn.

"This song wrote itself one day while I was home alone after having a really tough day needing support and acceptance from the people closest to me but realizing that the truly loving, supportive, and accepting people in my life were thousands of miles away," she continues. "I was missing my family and friends in Oregon... the people who accept me for who I am and support me in ways where I feel encouraged and empowered rather than criticized."

Featuring upright bassist Rene Hart (David Amram, James Hunter) and drummer Alvester Garnett (Regina Carter, Abbey Lincoln) with Tracy on vocals and piano, "Damn The Sky" is a gorgeous, textural track that borrows harmonic structures and beautiful melodies from her favorite classical romantic composers, Debussy and Ravel. Tracy stretches herself artistically to combine this rediscovered passion with her unique and quirky indie rock songwriting style to create musical alchemy.

"Playing with incredible jazz musicians like Rene and Alvester has opened my mind and is now giving me the support I have always needed to spread my wings and fly," explains Tracy, herself a classically-trained violinist and an alumnus of Berklee School of Music. "I am really enjoying exploring the intersections and overlaps of where classical and jazz meet without excluding my alternative rock sensibilities. These dudes can rock too. The three of us playing together is definitely my happy place."

An exciting development that naturally sprang from this fresh, new musical direction was her collaboration with Oregon's Eugene Ballet. Adapting music from her catalog (she has released six albums and an equal number of EPs), the Eugene Ballet will be hosting two performances on April 6th and 7th in which her band will perform live while the ballet transforms her music into dance.