[Cover photo credit to Jason Quigley]
Silver Lake 66 is the modern Americana project of Portland, Oregon-based Maria Francis and Jeff Overbo, creating a hybrid of classic Country, Folk, and Blues. They focus on emotive songwriting combined a focus on well-crafted harmonies and an emphasis on guitar-playing. The duo released their third album, The Space Between Us in the summer of 2022, reflecting on the “tension of an anxious world” but keeping handy their trademark sense of humor.
Now, they are planning to release new single “Angeline” on May 12, 2023, via Guitarmony Records and it’s our pleasure to premier the track’s live video today on Wildfire Music + News. The new song was written by Maria Francis and inspired by a very close relationship in her life that prompted a sense of outreach to an inspiring but struggling figure. While it has all the compelling traits of of sweet memory at its root, the song also carries the sense of energy and direction that could still be regained if we can get a glimpse of our true selves in the midst of a changing world.
Maria Francis shares:
Angeline is a nostalgic song for me. I wrote it about my little sister when we were teenagers. Music was our life, and she would play Tom Petty’s song “Refugee” on her hi fi super loud in her room, dancing like a crazy woman in her little black leather jacket. Every time the song ended, you could hear her pick up the needle and drop it back at the beginning of the song. Over and over. I can still see this clearly in my mind’s eye. I remember sticking my head in the doorway of her bedroom, and the tough little black leather jacket wearing 13-year-old yelling “get out!”. Then she would go back to dancing!
For “Angeline”, Maria Francis performed vocals and acoustic guitar, Jeff Overbo performed electric guitar and backup vocals, Bryan Daste brought in pedal steel and backup vocals, Chaz Holmes added drums and backup vocals, and Toupee Zehr played bass. The song was recorded by Justin Phelps live at the Hallowed Halls in Portland, Oregon. The track was mixed and mastered by Bryan Daste.
Silver Lake 66 first began playing music together soon after they met while living in the Midwest. Following several years of recording and performing locally, the duo decided that it was time for a change, and they hit the road for Los Angeles. During their time in LA, the couple performed at local LA clubs. Their favorite was Ronnie Mack’s Barn Dance at the Palomino Club. During this time, their band, The Ruby Trees contributed a song to A Town South of Bakersfield, Volume 3 (Restless Records). They joined industry veterans Dale Watson, The Hellecasters and Harry Dean Stanton on the release.
The pair then relocated to the Pacific Northwest. Francis and Overbo found themselves adopted by a likeminded tribe of Portland musicians, and together with their newfound community, they contributed to jam sessions at a secret honky-tonk at the edge of town called The Barn. It was then that the duo really honed their sound with a brand-new duet project.
Since that time, Silver Lake 66 has recorded three albums, toured nationally, performed at festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest, and shared the stage with Americana greats like Jim Lauderdale and Gurf Morlix.
