Whilst the last two years have seen the The Sulli-Vans family band shine, it’s time for Kevin Sullivan to release original music once again. ‘Louanne’ is the lead single from Kevin’s upcoming album, the follow-up to his 2018 debut album ‘Belonging’.
Recorded at Alex the Great in Nashville, award-winning Australian producer Matt Fell has captured the warm vintage vibe of the recording studio with a distinct traditional country beat that is now ‘Louanne’. In the recording booth there was a signature gold microphone capturing the deep bass of Sullivan’s voice, transporting you back to a time reminiscent of recording with the legendary likes of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Roy Orbison.
The method of recording ‘Louanne’ was a first for Kevin, where the musicians were all playing at the same time in parallel separate rooms just like they did in the early days of recording; creating a dynamic sound with a feeling they were on a grand old stage. The music was created with some of Nashville’s finest – Michael Webb on keys (played with John Prine, Chris Stapleton and Hootie & The Blowfish), Will Kimbrough on lead guitar (previously collaborating with Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris) and Evan Hutchings on drums (played with Keith Urban, Steven Tyler and Ronnie Dunn).
This new track is a humorous tongue-in-cheek observation of navigating the world of social media. Kevin adds, “It came about after a real-life person named ‘Louanne’ commented in a positive way about one of my original songs on my Facebook page. As it turned out, Louanne thought she was conversing only with her cousin, but was unaware that her comments could be seen by everyone, including me. Having at times struggled with social media myself, I caution the listener to be careful with their comments, you never know who is reading them”.
The cautionary tale which wouldn’t be out of place in any American diner or old honky-tonk bar, has already been embraced by live audiences; with many people saying it could be a sequel to Dolly Parton’s ‘Joelene’.
‘Louanne’ will be released prior to the next run of The Sulli-Vans shows starting with twelve appearances at the Mildura-Wentworth Country Music Festival in September and Cordola Rocks The River (Morgan SA) in October.