TURN TURN TURN: E.C. & MN-Based Group Releases Newest Album
‘New Rays From An Old Sun’ was released in January 2023, performance coming to E.C. in March
After much success with their first album, Can’t Go Back, released in June of 2020, Turn Turn Turn released their second album, New Rays From An Old Sun, in January of 2023. The group will be performing their very first Eau Claire show at the end of March.
The band consists of Adam Levy (guitar, vocals), Savannah Smith (guitar, vocals), and Barb Brynstad (bass, vocals). Levy and Brynstad are Minneapolis residents while Savannah Smith hails from our neck of the woods, the Chippewa Valley. Smith knew Levy from a songwriting class she took while going to school in Minneapolis, the duo having previously played together before teaming up in Turn Turn Turn.
“Our first album we were really playing with our sound, we were stretching to see how far we could go with this music and the layers we are trying to portray,” Smith said. “The second album is more secure, we knew the direction we were going and leaned into it.”
The band’s alt-country, Americana vibes shone through again with their latest album where they explore themes of heartbreak, love, loss, and yearning. The first song on the album, “Stranger in A Strange Land” was written by the band’s bass player, Barb Brynstad, when she was experiencing the loss of two sisters during the initial years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ is about grief,” vocalist and guitarist Savannah Smith said. “It’s pretty amazing to me because when you listen to it, it presents itself in a really upbeat light, but when you really dig into it and listen to the lyrics it’s a very amazing and complex song. It’s really a window into her world at that time.”
Savannah’s personal favorite on the record was “7 Kids” because of its collaborative nature vocally. All three members pass vocals equally and create some very interesting harmonies. “It’s a fun song to pick apart musically and lyrically,” Smith said.
Turn, Turn, Turn will be performing their first-ever Eau Claire live performance on March 24 at the Pablo Center, where they will play a mix of songs from the new album, their last album, and a couple of covers. They will be opening for their good friend, David Huckfelt.“It’s hard to get those two across the river, but we’re all very excited about it,” Smith said.
The future is vast for Turn, Turn, Turn as they are headed into some local East Coast touring this summer as well as international touring possibly within the next couple of years. They are also currently writing their new album, spearheaded by Adam Levy. “You cannot stop Adam,” Smith laughed.
Listen to New Rays From An Old Sun on all streaming platforms and learn more about the band at turnturnturnmpls.com. Purchase tickets to their show on March 24 at pablocenter.org.
