NATHAN GRAY & THE IRON ROSES Partner with Brooklyn Vegan for “Fired Up”
“Nathan Gray weaves in… snappy influences from archetypal punk heroes like The Clash or heartland rock in the style of The Hold Steady” – Idioteq
“With his linear tale of hardship and hope, Gray provides the compassion and growth necessary to inspire others one song at a time.” – Cryptic Rock
“Nathan’s warm and inclusive songwriting is aural comfort food for anyone struggling with life’s slings and arrows.” – Kerrang!
NATHAN GRAY & THE IRON ROSES
Fan the Flames with Video for “Fired Up“
Premiered on Brooklyn Vegan TODAY
US Tour Kicks Off February 25, 2022
“No matter if there are 10 people or 1,000 in front of us, we give the same energy. My heart is so ready for this.” – Nathan Gray
JANUARY 19, 2022 (Elkton, MD) — In anticipation for their upcoming US tour dates, Nathan Gray & The Iron Roses have teamed up with Brooklyn Vegan to premiere the video for the track “Fired Up” from their latest album Rebel Songs (released December 17, 2021). Paired with the bands bright outfits and vibrant performance, The high-octane track is visualized in the spirited video to fan the flames in every listener.
Gray explained exclusively to Brooklyn Vegan, “’Fired Up’ is really meant to be a song to electrify us – to inspire an energy of action when we may find it hard to see a way out of a dark spot. Often, when things are very bleak, the light we are looking for is inside ourselves, and we simply need to call it out into existence. ‘Fired Up’ became a mantra of sorts as I wrote it. The Doo-Wop style (which includes some fun backing vocals by bandmates Phil Smith and Becky Fontaine) made sense to me, as it conveys a simple, straightforward energy that is undeniably infectious.”
See the Brooklyn Vegan premiere HERE
Released on December 17, 2021, the band’s new 12-track album, Rebel Songs, was produced by Brian McTernan (Thrice, Hot Water Music, Circa Survive) and radiates the roaring renegade energy that the title suggests.
Refusing to allow this confinement due to COVID to block his creativity, Gray and band turned inward to music and created one of their most anthemic and passionate albums to date. Fired up by both the isolation as well as in response to the division caused by the previous administration, they created a stellar album of fists-raised rallying cries.
“The inspiration both musically and lyrically came from just seeing a lot of the darkness surrounding us, and seeing it taking over so many people during a difficult time in the world (and in this country), especially within the last four or five years,” Gray says. “The darkness was being allowed too big a place in this world, and Rebel Songs is my rebellion to that – it’s a call for joy as an act of revolution. Seeing greed and bigotry and hatred, and even the way groups were playing to people’s brokenness, which was very calculatedly being exploited by politicians and much of the upper class, shattered my heart. The entire album is a rebellion against that darkness. A lot of horrible political opinions reside in hopelessness and the best way to combat that nihilism is to show people that there IS hope and they don’t HAVE to be broken and sad – there’s a light and that light is right there inside of them.”
1. The Reckoning
2. Look Alive
3. Rebel Songs (feat. Tim McIlrath of Rise Against!)
4. Radio Silence
5. Fired Up
6. Capitol Stairs
7. No Pasaran
8. Million
9. Don’t Wait Up
10. Lost
11. Grace
12. That Said
Nathan Gray & The Iron Roses have set their sights on 2022 to make it their year, having announced a 20-date US tour with BlackGuyFawkes. Kicking off on February 25, 2022 in Providence, RI, the tour winds its way west making several stops out to Milwaukee, WI (3/7), Chicago, IL (3/9), back east with a show in Brooklyn, NY (3/16), and ending in Philadelphia, PA on March 18th. Full dates below.
With a very inclusive worldview (“The Iron Roses include a trans woman, a black man, a mother of two, pansexuals, bisexuals, CIS straight folks, etc.) and music with a message that they hope to spread far and wide, they’re ready to right the wrongs with the positivity of their music and they hope to reach even more with this tour. “During our shows, I want to reach people and I want them to feel like they’ve been at an event they were part of,” Gray explains. “I want them to feel secure that they’ve entered a space where they are seen and heard and loved fiercely, and we exchange energy together, and through that, we can help heal each other.”
Nathan Gray & The Iron Roses is Nathan Gray (vocals, guitars, keys), Gene Priest (drums, additional guitars, keys), Jedidiah Johnson (bass, vibraslap, additional guitars, backing vocals), Becky Fontaine (backing vocals), Jaelyn Robinson (additional guitars), and Philip “Eugenius” Smith (additional vocals). Rebel Songs was produced by Brian McTernan (Thrice, Hot Water Music, Circa Survive) was released on December 17, 2021 via End Hits Records.
TOUR DATES:
2/25 – Providence, RI @ Askew
2/26 – Boston, MA @ O’Briens
3/01 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Funhouse
3/02 – Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle Brewing Co.
3/03 – Knoxville, TN @ Brickyard Bar and Grill
3/04 – Memphis, TN @ Growlers
3/05 – St Louis, MO @ Red Flag
3/06 – Bloomington, IL @ Nightshop
3/07 – Milwaukee, WI @ X-Ray Arcade
3/08 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
3/09 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
3/10 – Hamtramck, MI @ Small’s
3/11 – Cincinnati, OH @ Legends Bar & Venue
3/12 – Columbus, OH @ Spacebar
3/13 – Nashville, TN @ Springwater
3/14 – Atlanta, GA @ Boggs
3/15 – Richmond, VA @ The Camel
3/16 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Knitting Factory
3/17 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
3/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Milk Boy
