Courtesy of Big Machine Records
NASHVILLE, TN (March 4, 2022) – KRISTIAN BUSH will turn 52 years old on March 14 and will fittingly commemorate the milestone with a new 52-song, layered release dubbed 52. “I’ve been allowed the opportunity to reinvent myself many times, and I’ve been grateful in every incarnation,” Kristian says. “Here comes another one.” The first collection, 52 – ATL X BNA, highlights Nashville’s Country storytelling coupled with Atlanta’s R&B recording methods and will be available March 25 via Big Machine Records. Two songs – “Tennessee Plates” and “Everybody Gotta Go Home” – are available now with album pre-order.
“An auditory shapeshifter, Bush has proven adept in several roles and styles over the course of his nearly three decades in music,” notes Billboard.
“Most of the time when something important is about to happen, no matter what culture or religion you call home, we seem to begin with a prayer,” Kristian says. “‘Tennessee Plates’ is my prayer to begin this one year of music. It’s a prayer to bless the small town I come from, the city next to it that made me dream bigger in its shadow, the people who told me I would never succeed and the mystery ahead of me.”
Kristian co-wrote nine of the 10 songs on 52 – ATL X BNA with Nashville writers and recorded in Atlanta alongside resident R&B musicians, including famed drummer Jorel “JFly” Flynn, Jerry Freeman of the famed Hornz Unlimited and the Black Bettys, among others. The Atlanta-based singer named the first group of songs after the letters on his well-worn luggage tag pointing to his decades traveling between Atlanta (ATL) and Nashville (BNA) airports.
“Somewhere between the horns, the pedal steel and the background singers, you get a glimpse at what it’s like to make Country music from Atlanta,” Kristian says. “It’s like putting Lego pieces together.”
Leaning into his rich experience as a true artist who has thrived in multiple formats, Kristian embraces his diverse musical legacy with 52. The four-volume collection is the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2015 solo debut SOUTHERN GRAVITY. His eclectic career also includes successful runs with Folk-Rock duo Billy Pilgrim, Rock Jam band Dark Water and MULTI-PLATINUM Country duo Sugarland. 52 nods at each of those creative iterations with upcoming releases themed around summer, Rock and love that are slated to debut this summer, fall and in the new year.
Kristian says, “there’s a point I have come to, because I’ve been home through COVID all this time, I thought, ‘I’m at a certain age where I have to admit to myself that no adults are coming to save me.’ I’ve been very busy for the last 15 years, and I’m not going to waste any more time getting these songs out.”
The two-time GRAMMY Award winner will appear on KTLA’s MUSIC FEST FRIDAYS tomorrow (3/4) in the 1:00P PT broadcast to talk about the new music and perform “Tennessee Plates” live. Watch here.
52 – ATL X BNA TRACK LIST:
1. Everybody Gotta Go Home | Kristian Bush, Taylor Davis, Steve Bogard
2. After The Wine Wears Off | Kristian Bush, Brett James, Andrew DeRoberts
3. Mansion | Kristian Bush, Liz Rose
4. Unbroken | Kristian Bush, Andrew DeRoberts, Bob DiPero
5. I’m With You | Kristian Bush, JT Harding
6. Tennessee Plates | Kristian Bush, Andrew DeRoberts, Rodney Clawson
7. Heart Of Yours | Kristian Bush, Jeffrey East, Dean Alexander
8. World Ain’t As Bad As You Think | Luke Dick, Ben Hayslip, Chase McGill
9. Gasoline | Kristian Bush, Bobby Pinson
10. I’m Coming Around | Kristian Bush, Stephen Wrabel, JT Harding
