Singer/songwriter and band leader Kenny Shore has previously released several albums, including 2022’s Time Stands Still, and has been writing songs for most of his life. He currently performs throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, and Southern Virginia, often solo with acoustic guitar, but he also has a 5 piece band called the Kenny Shore Band with drums, bass, keys, and backing singer. He has announced that his new album, Happiness & Misery, will arrive in late Summer or early Fall.
Today, we’re very pleased to debut that album’s title track, “Happiness & Misery”, which arrives this week on May 30th, 2025.
The new song has a Folk and singer/songwriter tradition behind it, but multiple instruments bring their voices to the track, adding energy and nuance to a very subtle composition. Kenny Shore has written what you could call an unassuming protest song here, in the sense that it takes on a major philosophical position in life and counters its prevalent opposite number. The position that he takes has been gleaned from his father, that you should always look for the good in the world because “you’ll always find what you’re looking for”. The opposite implication is that if you’re looking for only the bad in the world, that’s what you’ll find, too. That choice will make all the difference in life, the difference between “happiness & misery.”
Now, that might seem like simply a personal life story that Shore is sharing through the song, and it definitely fits the bill, however, the bigger implications of the song are social on a large scale. The insistent, quiet advice from Shore’s father is pitted against a flood of negativity, distrust, and hostility that is very much present in our world. Shore’s recollection of the key role his father played in his life, and his main philosophical contribution, actually counters what sometimes seems like the status quo in society–to look only for the bad, and therefore find reasons to hate, resent, and harm others. You can take this song as a light, simple admonition to stay on a path of positivity, as an expression of a major philosophical position that never goes out of style. And one that might even seem a bit radical these days.
Kenny Shore keeps everything in this song fairly understated, from the lyrics, to the vocals , to the acoustic guitar, and his collaborators bring in little touches of beauty and energy that suggest an undercurrent of resistance in the face of the difficulties that we encounter in life. As the song says, “after the rain comes the sun.” Shore’s imagery of looking down two roads from the “corner of happiness & misery” may be a reference back to Robert Frost’s “The Road Less Traveled” and its poetic import regarding life’s choices. It’s true that this kind of decision is key, not just when we’re young, but every day thereafter, and that the climate of our everyday lives, and maybe of the world, is in our own hands.
Kenny Shore shares about the song:
I always wanted to write a song about my Dad, but for whatever reason, just never could bring myself to it. Until now. He passed away in 2019 and was such a huge influence on me re: how to live a good life, dedicated to helping others. (my brother and I both have MSWs). I am glad that in some small way I have acknowledged his positive impact on my life.
Kenny Shore was a childhood drum player, but started playing guitar and songwriting in high school. During college he formed a 1950s band a la Sha Na Na, and performed in local clubs. After college, Shore launched a solo career, and put together a group called The Dayroom Monitors in the early 1980s that was part of the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, music scene.
He moved to New York City briefly to pursue audio engineering, but then came back to North Carolina to raise a family. Continuing with solo work and album releases, Shore moved into territory that he referred to as “psychopop folkabilly”. In 2022, he worked with Producer Jerry Brown on Time Stands Still.
The album featured a lineup of Chapel Hill musicians, many of whom will appear on Happiness & Misery. He also worked again with Jerry Brown for his new album. Happiness & Misery includes Kenny Shore on acoustic guitar and vocals, Will McFarlane on lead guitar, Joe McPhail on drums and keys, Joseph Terrell on backing vocals, and Robert Sledge on bass.
