Justin Wells Stands for Shutdown Venues in ‘Walls Fall Down’ Video

Justin Wells cruises the lonely streets of a shutdown music industry in the video for “Walls Fall Down,” hoping to drive support for his favorite venues.

Featuring a mellow country rock sound and Wells’ full-bodied baritone, the track evokes the imagery of crumbled foundations and bleak futures — but feels like a promise to stand tough no matter what. That theme is put to film in its road-tripping video, as Wells replaces concert touring with something different. He travels to six states and sings his resilient anthem in front of eight different venues, all of which are still shut down in the wake of COVID-19. And in the end, he hopes to draw support for the Save Our Stages Act.

Nashville’s Basement East is one of those venues, just one of the Music City favorites on the brink of extinction. According to Tennessee Lookout and the National Independent Venue Association, Nashville’s independent venues have lost on average 90 percent of their normal revenue since mid-March, and many have only a few weeks left to live if nothing is done (full disclosure, Basement East is not on that list since it is now partnered with Live Nation). Enter the Save Our Stages Act, which would send $10 billion of federal grants to indie venues across the nation as a last-ditch lifeline. You can support the cause here.

View this post on Instagram

[Video link in bio.] ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ “You can’t have a light without a dark to stick it in.”⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ And you can’t have a show without a venue. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ A few weeks back, I had an idea, to show some love to some of my favorite venues I’ve played over the years. I asked my good friend Adam Lee to jump in the van. Eight venues, six states. @adamleeband shot this video with his iPhone 11 (kudos, man), and the indefatigable @plasticdiamonds directed from afar, assembled, and edited it.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ As its been said, these music venues were the first to close, and will be the last to open. If we don’t actively work to keep them open, they’ll be gone, and your community will be worse for it.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Learn more at saveourstages.com.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Huge love to the following venues:⁣⁣⁣ * Duke’s Indy in Indianapolis, IN⁣ (@dukes_indy) ⁣⁣ * Tootles in Circleville, OH (@tootlesbar) ⁣⁣ * The V Club in Huntington, WV (@vclubwv) ⁣⁣ * The Thirsty Beaver Saloon in Charlotte, NC⁣ (@thirstybeaversaloon) ⁣⁣ * The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC⁣ (@thegreyeagle) ⁣⁣ * The unstoppable The Basement East in Nashville, TN (@thebasementeast) ⁣⁣ * The Southgate House Revival in Newport, KY (@sghrevival) ⁣⁣ * The Burl in Lexington, KY (@theburlky) ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Special thanks to PARADE Magazine for debuting my video for “Walls Fall Down”.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ From @parade.media: “Justin Wells’ latest single ‘Walls Fall Down’ is a song to lift your spirits and warm your heart. With a hometown country feel, the song not only pays tribute to a steadfast love, but also to Wells’ favorite performance venues as they struggle to survive.”⁣ ⁣ 📷: @cowtownchad

A post shared by Justin Wells (@justinwellsmusic) on Aug 13, 2020 at 11:42am PDT

Wells is doing his part to keep the country he loves stitched together, a theme he explores in depth on his just-released album, The United State. Looking at the things that bind us together despite a time of deep division, the ambitious project also features tracks like “The Screaming Song” and “No Time for a Broken Heart.” It’s the follow up to solo debut album Dawn In The Distance, and both are out now.