Photo Credit: Michael Weintrob
PRE-ORDER BE THE LOVE YOU WANT
(Memphis, TN) – The Memphis-based soul powerhouse Southern Avenue have just released their upbeat, colorful, and inspiring music video for their song “Move Into The Light.” The video premiered last week exclusively via CLASH, who called the song “Scorching” and a “raw soul stomper.”
Tierinii Jackson spoke with CLASH about the song and accompanying video saying:
“‘Move Into The Light’ is a fun, funky jam that speaks about moving from the dim moods of our minds and trusting our will to let go and have fun! We wrote this song with Jason Mraz and it conveys the type of positive energy we need more of in the world! After the year that everyone has had, we’re feeling crazy blessed that we get to spread this positive message together, and literally move from darkness into the light while touring with Jason and his amazing band this summer.
For the video, we wanted to create this visually by presenting a strong sense of contrast. The band is wearing white coupled with an explosion of color which accents the uplifting mood of the song. Playing music is what we do to lift us out of our dark spaces and it was an inevitable choice that we jam it out in the video and just dance and have a good time!”
“Move Into The Light” was co-written with multi-GRAMMY® winning pop-sensation Jason Mraz and Platinum-selling producer Michael Goldwasser (Easy Star All-Stars) and is the second video to be released from the band’s forthcoming album BE THE LOVE YOU WANT.
Preceding the release of “Move Into The Light,” Southern Avenue shared “Push Now,” along with the official music video – a light-hearted happy-go-lucky visual that showcases the band’s personality and incorporates family members from the entire Southern Avenue team.
“We wanted the video to be fun, colorful, and alive. What better way to do that than to make it a raging party filled with super-cute kids,” says Southern Avenue frontwoman, the song’s co-writer and mom of two of the video’s young stars, Tierinii Jackson. “The energy of the track was definitely matched by our adorable friends. It’s LIT!”
The third studio album from Southern Avenue, BE THE LOVE YOU WANT, was produced by multi-GRAMMY® winner, Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Deer Tick, Susan Tedeschi, Jackie Greene), and co-produced by Ori Naftaly, and arrives on August 27, 2021 via Renew Records/BMG.
BE THE LOVE YOU WANT sees Southern Avenue pushing themselves towards bold new ideas of what it means to be a blues band in the modern world, bending and reshaping their musical heritage with electrifying performance, vivid production, and a remarkably clear vision. Operating from their distinctively international vantage point, Southern Avenue has produced a wide-ranging collection of original music – predominantly co-written by Israeli-born guitarist Ori Naftaly and powerhouse lead vocalist Tierinii Jackson – that links them to their home city’s glorious past while at the same time, demonstrates their ambitious intent to evolve Memphis music to contemporary effect. With BE THE LOVE YOU WANT, Southern Avenue continue driving the Southern soul legacy into the 21st century, preserving its glory and tradition while striving towards something diverse, universal, and altogether their own.
Ahead of the release and into the fall, the band is currently on an extensive tour that includes over a dozen previously announced dates supporting Jason Mraz.
The band brilliantly bridges the power of Memphis soul with jam band liberation, gospel blues, and R&B to craft their own timeless brand of American music. The ambitious sonic approach expertly complements BE THE LOVE YOU WANT’s rich themes of self-love, self-empowerment, personal accountability and the desire to push through towards something greater in life.
Southern Avenue is: Tierinii Jackson – Lead Vocals, Background Vocals * Ori Naftaly – Guitars *
Tikyra Jackson – Drums, Background Vocals * Jeremy Powell – Keys * Evan Sarver – Bass
SOUTHERN AVENUE ON TOUR
8/10 @ Rose Music Center | Huber Heights, OH*
8/11 @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island |, Chicago, IL*
8/13 @ Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica | Cleveland, OH*
8/14 @ Stone Pony Summerstage | Asbury Park, NJ*
8/15 @ The Anthem | Washington, DC*
8/19 @ Brooklyn Bowl | Nashville, TN w/ Maggie Rose
8/20 @ Summer Camp Music Festival | Chillicothe, IL
8/27 @ Performance Pavilion at Sweetwater | Fort Wayne, IN w/ Samantha Fish
8/28 @ Levitt Pavilion | Dayton, OH
8/29 @ Railbird Music Festival | Lexington, KY
9/1 @ Crested Butte Summer Concert Series | Crested Butte, CO
9/2 @ eTown Hall | Boulder, CO
9/3 @ Moxi Theater | Greeley, CO
9/4 @ Wave | Wichita, KS
9/10 & 11 @ Big Blues Bender | Las Vegas, NV
9/17 @ Mississippi Valley Blues Festival | Davenport, IA
9/18 @ Shipyard Festival | Cape Girardeau, MO
9/26 @ Roots N Blues Festival | Columbia, MO
10/1 @ Mempho Festival | Memphis, TN
10/8 @ Clay Center for the Arts | Charleston, WV
10/28 @ Wolf Den | Uncasville, CT
10/30 @ City Winery | New York, NY
1/22 – 26 @ Panic en la Playa | Riviera Maya, Mexico
1/29 – 2/5 @ Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise | Eastern Caribbean
*w/Jason Mraz
All tour dates and up to date news available at southernavenuemusic.com
