New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today,
Priscilla Renea has released "
Family Tree" off her upcoming album, 'Coloured' out June 22nd via Thirty Tigers.
"
Family Tree" is a personal epic, which tells the story of Priscilla's turbulent upbringing in rural Florida, when the singer was kicked out of her family's home as a teenager and forced to support herself and her younger siblings. As she sings,
Priscilla had no choice but to become the "roots and the branches" of her family tree, taking on the role of support system in place of her parents. In country-folk style storytelling, the song paints a vivid picture of Priscilla's childhood, which she describes as "all bare feet and fruit trees."
Produced by Nashville-based Boots Ottestad (Mikky Ekko, Tim McGraw, Paramore), the heart-beat tempo and slicing acoustic guitar give the song a dark-edged feel. The song won the Overall Grand Prize and First Prize in the pop category at the 22nd Annual USA Songwriting Competition last year.
Taste of Country calls "
Family Tree" a "truly one-of-a-kind progressive country track."
Priscilla says of the song: "People seem to forget that a seed has to be planted in the cold, dark, dirt, but when it grows, it turns its face toward the sun, and is even rooted and grounded by the very same soil that once covered it. "
Family Tree" is my testimony. It is the story of how I survived in the desert. I hope to inspire others to be strong through my openness. I hope people out there don't think they are struggling alone."
Listen
A fierce, political, and personal collection, Priscilla's upcoming album 'Coloured' brings together hip-hop's top producers (Honorable C.N.O.T.E, Curtis "
Sauce" Wilson, Theron Feemster) with Nashville's top songwriters (Ashley Gorley,
Kevin Kadish) to create a bold and lush sound spanning classic R&B, country and urban-soul.
Priscilla's singular sound caught the eye of Rolling Stone Country, who named her an "Artist You Need To Know", saying she shows a "rare combination of stellar musicianship, creative vision and natural chops that make for a truly singular artist."
She recently released a stunning two-part video for her songs "Gentle Hands" and "Heavenly."
Unfolding in two chapters, the video sees
Priscilla dressed to kill, listing off to God the kind of man she'd like to find (wears Timberland Boots, drinks sweet tea, goes to church, loves his mom, ain't scared to dance) and then suddenly, vulnerable as she reckons with the overwhelming weight of love once she's found him. The swaggering, sultry, Nashville-twanged blues-rock of "Gentle Hands," melts into the penetrating, soulful R&B ballad of "Heavenly," encapsulating Priscilla's genre-defying sound and vast emotional range.
In addition to her solo career,
Priscilla is also a prolific, award-winning songwriter, and has penned hits for artists like Rihanna, Kesha, Chris Brown, Carrie Underwood,
Miranda Lambert, Mary J. Blige, Madonna,
Demi Lovato and many others. Her credits include:
Pitbull and Kesha's No. 1 "Timber,"
Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood's Country No. 1 "Somethin' Bad," Rihanna's "California King Bed," Fifth Harmony's "Worth It," Chris Brown's "
Don't Wake Me Up" and Mary J. Blige's "Don't Mind."
This week,
Priscilla spoke on a pair of panels and headlined the Women International
Music Network's "She Rocks" showcase at the 2018 ASCAP "I Create Music" Expo.
She'll kick off a select run of East Coast dates in Nashville at The Basement, continuing on to Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York and other cities.
Priscilla Renea 2018 Tour Dates:
May 11 / Nashville, TN / The Basement
May 13 / Decatur, GA / Eddie's Attic
May 16 / Nashville, TN / The Basement
May 18 / Carrboro, NC / Cat's Cradle
May 19 / Norfolk, VA / Virginia Arts Festival
May 20 / Washington, D.C. / Songbyrd
May 22 / Philadelphia, PA / Bourbon & Branch
May 23 / New York, NY / Rockwood
Music Hall
