I’ll start this with a confession: I had only a passing familiarity with Tenille Townes coming into her just-released EP.
Sure, I had heard the buzz about the Canadian singer-songwriter. I thought “Somebody’s Daughter” and “Jersey On The Wall (I’m Just Asking)” were both solid songs. I knew Keith Urban was a big fan and that Miranda Lambert thought highly enough that she took her out on both the Bandwagon Tour in 2018 and the Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars Tour in 2019. But she wasn’t one of those artists that I put in my regular playlist rotation.
That is, until she released Road to the Lemonade Stand, the EP that serves as a teaser for her upcoming album Lemonade Stand, due to be released later this spring.
The EP starts out fine. Both “Holding Out for the One” and “White Horse” give off vibes of Taylor Swift in the early years of her career. Think “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me,” at least content-wise. Vocally, Townes has a tremendous sound that sinks it’s claws in and won’t let you shake free. Also included were “Jersey On The Wall” and Somebody’s Daughter,” again, both of which are highly deserving of praise. There’s also a cover of Urban’s “Stupid Boy” that is definitely worth a listen.
It was the fourth song on the EP, however, that made me immediately sit up and say, “Damn.” (Our station production director, Jen, can attest. She walked into my office at that exact moment.)
“I Kept the Roses” blew me away. It’s a tale of breakup with a twist that just sounds unapologetically country. “Roses” is clean and simple; just a slow guitar with minimal drums and not a clap-track to be found. It gives a vibe similar to Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color”, though “Roses” feels more raw and unpolished and it thrives because of that. To put the usual Nashville producer spin on this would have done the song and it’s performer a disservice. Credit to heavyweight producer Jay Joyce for letting Townes’ sound stand out.
Townes has a busy few months planned out in support of the new EP and the coming album, as she has plotted the Road to the Lemonade Stand Acoustic Tour kicking off April 30 and running through May 9. That doesn’t include All For the Hall on Monday, Feb. 10, plus supporting dates with Alan Jackson throughout the spring and summer. She will also be on the summer festival circuit, take a March trip through Europe, and play a Ryman show with Dierks’ Bentley’s Hot Country Knights on April 29.
I made a mistake on not paying more attention to Tenille Townes in the past. With Road to the Lemonade Stand, that is a mistake I won’t be making twice.
Purchase Road to the Lemonade Stand here.
