Birmingham, Alabama-based outfit Bob Marston & the Credible Sources have released “Real Magic, Good People,” the second from their forthcoming debut full-length LP So Long, due out June 3rd. Marston was walking his dog at a local nature preserve, processing a difficult breakup, and the groove for “Real Magic, Good People” suddenly “bubbled up through his soul”.
Marston explains:
The first half of each verse presents my attempt to balance my love of Birmingham with what I had, at the time, recently learned about her history of labor injustice, including convict-leasing and union-busting. The chorus is a rallying cry to believe in ourselves and our potential as a community, realizing that for all of our differences we share more in common.
While the inspiration was the troubling history of his hometown, he feels that the overall themes of the song are universal, “the power of honest expression, understanding, forgiveness, and acceptance.”
The Credible Sources are equal parts Roots Rock backing band and high-flying, and Improv-ready. Marston (acoustic guitar/electric guitar/lead vocals) is accompanied by George Hipp (acoustic guitar/electric guitar/dobro/ backing vocals), Natalie Valentine (backing vocals), Aaron Branson or Eric Onimus on bass, and drummer Brett Huffman.
So Long also features keys by Matt Slocum (Allman Brothers, Susan Tedeschi, Widespread Panic, and more), vocals by LaToya Matthews, and bass by Adrian Marmolejo (Early James and the Latest). Trombonist Chad Fisher (St. Paul and the Broken Bones), Allen Branstetter (St. Paul and the Broken Bones) on trumpet, and Gary Wheat on saxophone and clarinet also join while strings include fiddler Adam Purvis, Niamh Tuohy (violin), Melanie Richardson-Rodgers (viola), and Patty Pillon (cello).
So Long sets out “to find humanity in ourselves, our communities, and in society as a whole”.
TOUR DATES
5/13 – Diplomat Deli – Vestavia Hills, AL
5/14 – Sinclair’s East – Montgomery, AL
5/28 – Coastal Crust – Charleston, SC*
6/3 – Little Italy’s – Birmingham, AL**
6/4 – Workplay – Birmingham, AL [ALBUM RELEASE SHOW]
6/24 – Diplomat Deli – Vestavia Hills, AL**
7/1 – Little Italy’s – Birmingham, AL**
8/5 – Little Italy’s – Birmingham, AL**
8/13 – The Market @ Pepper Place – Birmingham, AL**
9/24 – The Market @ Pepper Place – Birmingham, AL**
10/7 – Little Italy’s – Birmingham, AL**
10/9 – Mountain Brook Presbyterian – Mountain Brook, AL
10/15 – The Market @ Pepper Place – Birmingham, AL**
11/4 – Little Italy’s – Birmingham, AL**
11/5 – The Market @ Pepper Place – Birmingham, AL**
12/2 – Little Italy’s – Birmingham, AL**
12/10 – The Market @ Pepper Place – Birmingham, AL**
*Bob Marston solo show
^w/ Joe Sundell
**Bob Marston w/ Natalie Valentine
