Multi-award winning songstress Luanne Hunt has delivered a new single guaranteed to grab the attention of traditional country, folk, Americana and bluegrass fans. The title of the new song is The Night He Came To Town and it is now available on your favorite streaming platform.
Written by Dave Ward, featuring fiddle work from one of Music City’s most in demand musicians Christian Ward, and guitar work from Joe Eiffert, who has backed an impressive list of legends in country music, The Night He Came To Town is a masterfully crafted, well executed recording. Luanne’s sweet and charming vocals are the icing on this delicious sonic layer cake.
Currently sitting at #1 on UK’s Airplay Express All-Genre Top 20 Chart for the second consecutive week, it’s safe to say this jam is getting a lot of love from across the pond.
In the below interview spotlight, I chat with Luanne Hunt about the new release, challenges, technology, and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Listen to The Night He Came to Town on Spotify.
Connect with Luanne on her official website.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I grew up in a small town outside of Philadelphia, PA called Conshohocken. As a kid, I listened mostly to folk, folk rock, easy listening and a little country, all of which have influenced me greatly. I’ve always been a folk singer at heart but over the years I have taken that style and expanded it to create a more commercial sound. Today, it’s a fusion of folk, folk rock, country, Americana and sometimes a little bluegrass.
I’ve received a lot of praise for my style being so very different from everything else out there. That is the greatest compliment I could receive because I’ve worked very hard at bringing something fresh and unique to the table. For me, to copy what someone else is doing, or has done in the past, would be a total waste of time and energy.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
People find it hard to believe when I tell them that I displayed zero singing talent when I was young. I couldn’t even get accepted into my third grade choir. I also endured a lot of ridicule from family members, who pretty much told me I had rocks in my head for wanting to pursue music.
Stil, I was not deterred. I knew deep down that music, in some way, shape or form, was a big part of my destiny. I didn’t get seriously started down this road until I was in my 30s but after taking voice lessons, spending countless hours working on my singing and performing in front of anyone who would listen, I felt like I had at least a small shot at success.
Since those days, I have achieved far more than I ever dreamed I could in terms of No. 1 hits, awards and accolades. While I am eternally grateful for all of these things, the biggest reward for me is knowing that along the way, I continue to get better at my craft. Nothing is more satisfying than listening to my old records and realizing how much I’ve improved since the early days.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
“The Night He Came to Town” has arrived on the heels of my award-winning, critically-acclaimed 2018 CD, “Backroads, Bottles & Blues.” When I finished that album, my colleagues, co-collaborators and many music critics told me it was the best project I ever released – the pinnacle of my success, so to speak. That was great to hear but me being me, I looked at it as a new starting point and something to motivate me to take my music and producing skills to even greater heights.
I didn’t have to look far to find that vehicle in “The Night He Came to Town,” which was pitched to me by Canadian songwriter, Dave Ward. I could tell from his demo it was an awesome tune and something that I could be extremely creative with. I loved the mysterious lyrics, too, which could be interpreted in a variety of ways. The tune is haunting and ominous and sounds the warning bell for mankind to take a good hard look at the path they’re going down before it’s too late.
I’ve never released anything quite so dark and twisty (as they say on “Grey’s Anatomy”) but it’s such a cool, edgy song that showcases world-class songwriting, as well as the very best of my studio musicians. Beyond that, it’s a completely different side to my artistry.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Soap box time!
Hands down the most frustrating thing for me in this digital age is being forced to compete with all the substandard music out there. It shocks me how many DJs are willing to play just about anything, even the worst music you’ve ever heard. It kind of makes a mockery of the whole Indie market when the bar is set so extremely low.
Technology is great in terms of helping people like me reach a mass audience. But the downside is that there are absolutely no gatekeepers anymore making the decisions on what the masses hear. Before the Internet came along, if you wanted to be a well-known and successful recording artist, a record label had to deem you worthy and expose you to the world. That clearly worked, evidenced by all of the legendary artists that came before us. Only the cream of the crop would rise and that’s the way it should be. Sadly, I think we’ve passed the point of no return on that front.
What was the last song you listened to?
I can’t remember what I last heard on Sirius radio but last week, I went to see the Elton John movie, “Rocketman,” which covered most of his early hits. Most anything by Elton is music to my ears.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I’m a CD kind of gal. Mp3s are okay but there’s nothing like having a physical CD in your hand, popping it out of the case and putting it in the player. I think CDs are easier to deal with, too, especially in the car. I don’t know how many times I’ve tried to sync my mp3 downloads with my car stereo bluetooth and it wouldn’t work. I could do without the hassle.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I’m pretty tech savvy but the Spotify platform seems very counter-intuitive. Maybe it’s just me because I know millions of people listen to music on it. I usually download songs from my Amazon music app and when I want to stream online, I’ll use Apple or iTunes. I also search for music quite a bit on Youtube.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
My website is www.luannehunt.com. My Twitter handle is @luannehunt and Facebook is www.facebook.com/luannehuntindiecountrystar. A Google search also will turn up lots of links and info.
Anything else before we sign off?
Thank you for all you are doing to support Indie artists. I also can see you are working very hard to bring quality music to the fans, which is something I greatly appreciate.
