[Cover photo credit to Laura Crosta]

Americana singer/songwriter Roger Street Friedman has shared “Banks of the Brazos,” the third single from his upcoming album Long Shadows, out January 24, 2024. The song focuses on the untold story of the “Sugarland 95,” a group of Black convict laborers forced into brutal work in Texas sugarcane fields during the post-Reconstruction era.

Friedman says about the track:

This song is sung in the voice of a convict laborer, one of the ‘Sugarland 95,’ sentenced to work in Texas sugarcane fields under unjust laws controlling freed people. The hidden history beneath the Brazos River’s fertile plain, now a Houston suburb, felt like fertile ground to explore this unjust system and the brutal treatment that these men endured.

The discovery of the Sugarland 95 unearthed a tragic chapter of history, inspiring Friedman to channel their story into “Banks of the Brazos.” The song aligns with a viral TikTok he shared last year, which has amassed nearly one million views and resonated with audiences for its exploration of hidden histories.

Recorded at his home studio in Sea Cliff, New York, Friedman began working on Long Shadows in an effort to combat post-tour depression. With the help of drummers Justin Guip (Levon Helm Band) and Jim Toscano, bassists Andy Hess (Gov’t Mule, The Black Crowes) and George Rush and keyboardist Jeff Kazee (Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes) the new album began to take shape. 

Long Shadows also marks the first time Friedman has taken the reins as Producer, following his work with Grammy-winning producer Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Levon Helm) on previous records.