We all need to get away sometimes. Depending on where you are, some places are better vacation spots than others. For Middleport, NY-based alternative folk singer Evan Anstey, that place is “Arizona”, as heard in his jubilant new single. Check it out on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAzey7H6gz0
The song opens with a stirring guitar and fiddle intro before Anstey starts singing against a steady train-like rhythm before the banjo launches into the chorus. The rhythm creates a sense of wistful wanderlust that enhances the emotional impact of the lyrics as Anstey sings of a place to beat the blues. By the time the chorus comes in, Anstey’s vocals are passionate and soaring as he sings of Arizona and the state’s gorgeous mountain views.
“Sky is still dark, and the sun has yet to rise
A time zone change as the jet plane flies
I have a ticket to escape these winter blues
Who knew this month could have these views?
Arizona, Arizona
Hardly a cloud in endless blue over the mountain view
Arizona”
The single was inspired by the somewhat turbulent events that Anstey experienced while working on the new album “Things Changed”. He states, “Between the fall of 2018 and the fall of 2022, a lot of things changed. I had scrapped half the songs I planned to record, in favor of some new compositions. I left a few bands, joined new ones, suffered through heartache, left my religion behind and endured some of the darkest days of my life.”
Listen on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3H0tlqlHXsM9G4Lbvm9Vyf?si=dX7hmOOoSmusLURXG5gkrg&nd=1
Evan Anstey’s musical journey began at the age of 8 when he took up the violin as well as other stringed instruments such as the mandolin, guitar, and electric bass. In 2016, he released his debut EP “Recent Time”.
Since then, Anstey has three other releases, 2018’s “We Will Be At Peace,” 2020’s collaboration with friend James Robert Kibby — “The Weekend Preacher,” the 2021 EP “Alternates I”. His newest release is the album “Things Changed”, which was released in June 2023.
With his body of work, Anstey has crafted a sound influenced by bluegrass pioneers like Flatt & Scruggs and the progressive sounds of Nickel Creek, as well as modern folk stylings of Aoife O’Donovan, John Paul White and Declan O’Rourke.