Sarah Harralson – “Silent Night”

Review by Saya Mochizuki

Sarah Harralson’s “Silent Night” cover is a playful, foot-tapping rendition of the classic Christmas ballad. Built around a funky electric guitar groove, Harralson’s vocal inflections and rhythmic ad-libs make unique chemistry between the two. The dynamic is easy to steep in and lose yourself within this infectious record. The minimalistic arrangement allows each part its spotlight. The performances are engaging enough without a drum beat or bass line needed. Subtle vocal harmonies add to the vocals’ fullness and warmth, emphasizing the dynamics of the lead vocals throughout the record. The recording is mixed simply with a hint of reverb, giving it an intimate, “open mic” sound.

Instead of mirroring the legato of the line, she sings “All is calm, all is bright” after the beat with staccato notes, creating a spoken-word and conversational feel. Harralson manages to take a song that is traditionally a bit solemn and dreary, and flawlessly convert it into a holiday jam that uplifts your spirits.

A cheerful and unique re-telling, Sarah Harralson’s cover of this holiday favorite is a memorable one that’ll indeed create a joyful atmosphere at family gatherings this season.

Listen to more Sarah Harralson on Soundcloud!

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Sarah Harralson

“Sarah Harralson presents honest, bare-boned recordings that are authentic,” stated Music Connection Magazine after hearing her debut singer-songwriter EP, Finally Found, in 2014. Her authenticity lies in her lyrics based on true stories followed by melodies that will be stuck in your head hours after hearing it. An authentic storyteller and straight shooter, she is not afraid to tell it like it is in her music. This Knoxville native began writing songs when she was ten years old, her bluegrass musician grandfather being her biggest musical influence. She was surrounded by genres such as country, rock 'n roll, soul, and pop growing up, but the storytelling aspect of country is what ultimately drew Harralson to pursuing that genre. After her grandfather passed in 2011, Sarah decided she would move to Nashville two years later to pursue music at Belmont University. A year after releasing her debut EP in 2014, she was discovered by Scotty Schultz, drummer of Shooter Jennings (Waylon Jennings’s son). Scotty opened up his publishing company, Raindrop Music LLC, in 2015 and after hearing Sarah’s original song “Watered Down Whiskey”, he knew he wanted to sign her right away. This would be Sarah’s first publishing deal. Scotty decided he would produce her first country EP, Watered Down Whiskey, of all original songs that Sarah has either written or co-written. "This EP will help many people and hopefully some will have their heart healed by her emotional lyrics," stated Music Update Central after hearing the release of her second EP in February 2018.

One of the tracks on the EP includes the song, “Radio Static” that was co-written with Johnny Garcia (lead guitar for Garth Brooks). Over time, Sarah began writing and working with Johnny, which evolved to the point where Sarah would sign her next publishing deal with Busy at Play Publishing (Johnny Garcia’s company) in February 2020. During 2020, she has released singles, "Put a Rock on This Rolling Stone", "Get Lost in Some Rock 'N Roll", and holiday single, "Frosty", since signing with Busy at Play Publishing. Her 2021 singles include, "The Chance", "The America I Knew", "Love on Lease (Reimagined)", and "Bottom of the Glass", which will be released on October 22nd. Learn more at Sarah's website Follow on Instagram

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