Brooklyn-based artist Annie Keating has unveiled her brand new single “Kindred Spirit” from her forthcoming album Bristol County Tides, set for release on June 4th.

Keating explains of the song’s inspiration. “During the pandemic, I left the city and relocated to coastal Massachusetts. There, I was lucky to meet such a person, who showed us kindness and connection in a time of isolation. He taught me and my kids about the tides, I got a boat and he showed us up the river, while my dog learned to swim and my boy learned to fish. We found joy in times of pandemic hardship and uncertainty through the power of human connection. This song is about that connection.”  Lucinda Williams. John Prine. Bob Dylan. Allison Krauss. Willie Nelson. Johnny Cash. Bonnie Raitt. Emmylou Harris. Patty Griffin. This is a short list of the musicians Keating has been compared to over the last 15 years. She writes and sings like a woman who knows deep down that heartache is the price of hope, and she can make us believe—in that way that only the best artists can—that all of it is worth the cost. She’s shared the bill with the likes of John Hiatt and Bon Iver, toured internationally many times in a dozen countries, and now, launches this 15-song tour de force—an epic pandemic story of awakening and inspiration that shows this veteran artist at the peak of her powers. 

On this, her eighth full length album, Keating delivers songwriting in its most honest, vulnerable, beautiful form. Bristol County Tides, produced by Teddy Kumpel, is Keating’s most accomplished, inspired, and ambitious work to date. The inspiration for all songs was born there, amidst the rising and falling tides in an idyllic farm to coast New England town, where deep connections were forged amidst times of isolation. Taking us on a journey from Brooklyn to the coast, the river to the sea, an artist awakened delivers 15 beautiful, tender songs that capture a heart slowly lit up on the inside, and feel as true as the tides themselves. Keating is a gifted storyteller who can evoke a joyful summer afternoon one moment, and break your heart open the next.  

Bristol County Tides is available for pre-order at iTunes, Amazon Music, and at Annie Keating’s website.

Photo Courtesy: Ehud Lazin