Critically-acclaimed veteran New York singer/songwriter Willie Nile's new album, American Ride debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers/Top New Artist Albums chart following a successful PledgeMusic campaign. The album, released on June 21st on Loud & Proud Records, also cracked the Billboard Top 200 Album chart at #156.
American Ride was funded through PledgeMusic, the leading direct-to-fan platform where Nile fans supported the album's recording, manufacturing and promotion. The campaign offered an innovative way to raise funds for album costs. Launched in April, it offered pledgers one-of-a-kind exclusive incentives such as handwritten lyrics to any Nile song, a private Skype solo concert and an autographed acoustic guitar. Sales on PledgeMusic reached $50K meeting 332% of goal set, contributing to the #1 spot on Billboard's Heatseeker Chart and recognition industry-wide.
"I'm deeply grateful to all the fans and friends who stepped up big time to help us with our PledgeMusic Campaign," said Nile. "They were amazing and surprised all of us with their generosity and the speed with which they did it. They are now and will always be a part of this album. And special thanks to PledgeMusic for helping me and other artists raise the funds we need to do our work. Heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped make all of this possible."
American Ride offers a bracing set of 11 original compositions, and one well-chosen cover, that rank with the catchiest and most vivid music that Nile's ever delivered. From the everyday wisdom of "Life on Bleecker Street" and "Sunrise in New York City" to the broader observations of "This Is Our Time" and "Holy War" to the rock 'n' roll abandon of "Say Hey" and the road-tripping title track, the album consistently lives up to the artist's reputation for writing songs that are as impassioned as they are infectious, and performing them with the fervor of a true believer. Several of American Ride's recurring themes come into focus on the last two songs, "The Crossing" and "There's No Place Like Home," which end the album on a note of humanistic uplift. Another highlight is a fiery reading of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died," recorded as a tribute to both Carroll, who passed away in 2009, and to Nile's late brother John.
American Ride features backup from Nile's live band - guitarist Matt Hogan, bassist Johnny Pisano, drummer Alex Alexander, and Nile on guitar and piano - along with guest appearances by Eagles' guitarist Steuart and New York singer-songwriters
James Maddock and Leslie Mendelson. Nile also worked with some notable songwriting collaborators, including Eric Bazilian of The Hooters, who co-wrote "God Laughs"; The Alarm's Mike Peters, who contributed to the title number; and Nile's frequent writing partner Frankie Lee, who co-wrote four tracks. The producers were team of Grammy-winner Stewart Lerman and Nile himself, with additional production by Pisano and Alexander.
Willie Nile began his career playing in the clubs of New York City's East Village. From such humble beginnings, Nile has had a storied career for more than three decades releasing 11 albums to date (including albums on such major labels as Arista and Columbia Records). Nile's prolific body of work has been lauded by both critics and fans (celebrity and otherwise). Willie Nile's celebrity fans include Bruce Springsteen, with whom he's guested onstage multiple times, and Pete Townshend, who personally requested him as the opening act on The Who's 1982 U.S. tour. Other avowed Nile admirers include Bono, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Ian Hunter, Graham Parker, Jim Jarmusch, Little Steven and Lucinda Williams, who recently remarked, "Willie Nile is a great artist. If there was any justice in this world, I'd be opening up for him instead of him for me." Willie Nile has toured the world many times over and will soon head out on an extensive world tour in support of American Ride.
Since 2009, PledgeMusic has been committed to nurturing a broad range of talent through innovative methods that yield career-making results. The company has become the leading international direct-to-fan company. PledgeMusic is highly regarded for interactive innovations that offer artists and fans direct and unique ways for each to share in the music making experience. Thirty-four PledgeMusic artists have been upstreamed to both major and independent labels and publishers. These campaigns have yielded ten top 40 albums to date. Some successful campaigns include The Lumineers, Ben Folds Five, Luke Bryan, Bring Me The Horizon,
Rhett Miller and Rachael Yamagata, among others.
View Willie Nile's video at: "America Ride" Lyric Video
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