Jay Bragg Has a Spiritual Awakening In ‘Deliver My Soul’ Premiere
Have you found your revival within the walls of a Nashville honky tonk?
Jay Bragg has a spiritual awakening on the sultry new track “Deliver My Soul,” which Sounds Like Nashville has the exclusive premiere for today (8/20). The blues-fused jam is the first hint of new music from the Maine native, who will be delivering his upcoming album Find Me in a Song in three digital phases beginning Aug. 27.
“Deliver My Soul” has Bragg reflecting on all the ways live music has made an impact on him. Much like how Maren Morris sings of finding her spiritual revival on the open road while blasting the radio on “My Church,” Bragg finds his answer to life’s difficult questions in the honky tonks.
“There are moments when the live music experience is like a spiritual awakening and ‘Deliver My Soul’ taps into that idea,” Bragg tells Sounds Like Nashville. “People from all walks of life congregate together in music venues all over this world in search of connection, hope, peace, redemption, forgiveness and joy in the same way they would in church on a Sunday morning. And when the music and the people are in sync, it’s as close to a transcendental experience as I’ve ever felt.”
On “Deliver My Soul,” the country rocker demands attention with his whiskey soaked vocals, soaring string accompaniment and driving piano features. “In this temple of sinners and beggars/ Of playboys and angels and shady bootleggers/ I’ll call on the gospel of rock and roll/ At the altar of this honky tonk deliver my soul,” he sings on the chorus of the song, which he penned with Eric Mallon.
“This communal aspect of the live music experience is one of the cruelest casualties of Covid-19 and I just hope that we as a people can defeat the virus before too many of these — in my opinion — ‘holy places’ disappear,” he adds.
After seeing success as frontman in several bands in Maine including country duo North of Nashville, Bragg moved to Music City in 2015 thanks to the encouragement of Chris Stapleton. With a distinct blend of rock & roll swagger and the vivid storytelling of country music, Bragg’s adopted moniker is fitting as it originated by merging the name of Bruce Springsteen and Merle Haggard.
Bragg is readying his upcoming album Find Me in a Song a year after touring with Alan Jackson. On the project, which features “Deliver My Soul,” the singer-songwriter addresses self and societal reflection in the era of Covid-19 as well as racial and social injustices.
Listen to “Deliver My Soul” below.
