Credit: Rick Dahms
Seattle-based folk/rock artist Pete Droge released today his new single “Song For Barbara Ann” along with an official video. The track is the latest to release off his forthcoming album Fade Away Blue, a largely autobiographical record that details a remarkable 16-year journey of personal growth and healing, which saw Droge finding his birth family, reckoning with his adoption, battling a mysterious illness, and discovering himself in the process.
Pre-Save/Pre-Order Fade Away Blue HERE
“Around the time I turned 40, I began to do some serious soul searching to try to understand myself better,” stated Droge. “Thanks to a flurry of coincidences and a random computer glitch, it dawned on me that my adoption was a major piece of the puzzle I’d never looked into. Searching online, I learned about ambiguous grief and adoption trauma, unlocking an emotional tidal wave that culminated when I learned that my birth mother had died just months before.”
He continued, “Traveling to Appalachian Ohio and meeting the rest of my birth family was incredibly healing. They welcomed me with open arms. My people have lived among the rolling hills near the Ohio River for five generations. I devoured every bit of family history I could get my hands on. I still have no idea who my birth father is. That space was left blank on the Pre-Adoption Birth Record. Perhaps someone who knew Barb at the University of Oregon in Eugene in the late sixties will hear ‘Song for Barbara Ann’ and reach out to provide clues as to who my birth father might be. Heck, maybe ‘Bio Dad’ himself will hear it and make contact.”
“‘Song for Barbara Ann’ is the keystone of Fade Away Blue. All the other songs were chosen based on whether or not they could live alongside it. The song was originally intended to be part of The Droge & Summers Blend project. I cut the guitar and lead vocal back in 2013 before my fatigue issues forced me to put my career on hold. Ultimately, I chose to save the song for Fade Away Blue.”
“Song For Barbara Ann” follows the release of the lead single “You Called Me Kid,” a heartfelt ode to Droge’s adoptive parents that celebrates the precious gift of unconditional love. Magnet Magazine called it an “unapologetically tender, quietly upbeat tribute” and hailed Droge as “one of the most underrated singer/songwriters of his generation.”
Fade Away Blue is a rich, revelatory sonic memoir that faces down doubt and despair with love, resilience, and commitment at every turn. Recorded with Grammy-winning producer Paul Bryan (Aimee Mann), the songs are bittersweet, balancing longing and gratitude in equal measure, and the arrangements are warm and inviting to match, with Droge’s tender, comforting lyrics and easygoing, understated delivery.
Due out on August 22nd, Fade Away Blue was recorded with an all-star band that includes guitarist Rusty Anderson (Paul McCartney), drummer Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss), pianist Lee Pardini (Dawes, Chris Stapleton), pedal steel player Greg Leisz (Jackson Browne), and fiddler Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers). An album a lifetime in the making, this is a collection of dreamy, cinematic snapshots from throughout Droge’s life, as he reflects on the existential forces that mold and shape us.
Born in Eugene, Oregon and raised on an island outside Seattle, Pete Droge rocketed to early acclaim on the strength of his 1994 debut, Necktie Second, which prompted the Los Angeles Times to compare his songwriting to Bob Dylan and Neil Young while also earning similar praise from Rolling Stone and Boston Globe among many others. The lead single “If You Don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself)” became a radio hit and landed a prominent spot in the iconic Farrelly Brothers comedy Dumb & Dumber, and within a year, Pete was on the road supporting Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He would go on to release a series of well-received solo albums, appear in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous, team up with Matthew Sweet and Shawn Mullins to form the Americana supergroup The Thorns, co-produce records for Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard and Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America, record three collections with his wife as The Droge and Summers Blend, and compose a variety of works for film and television.
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