Exclusive: Listen to Ali Louis Bourzgui's New Resident Lightweight Single, 'Automobiles'

When Hadestown star Ali Louis Bourzgui isn't onstage at the Water Kerr Theatre, he's making beautiful music as one half of the band, Resident Lightweight. The duo just released a single, 'Automobiles', from their new album.

"This was one of the last songs we wrote together for this album," Bourzgui explained to BroadwayWorld. "It came out of the same idea that... when I'm in the musical theater world and I see writers saying, 'All right, we have to add an up-tempo song.' That's what this song is for this album, because a lot of it is very laid back, very nature-centric and the energy of  being in a safe space or in a childhood home. We just needed a moment for a spike of energy.

"'Automobiles' is the only song in the album that lives in the pop rock world. It very much has an indie pop sound, while the rest of the album is more acoustic folk centric. So we had lot of fun writing it."

Resident Lightweight, a NYC based folk duo, is made up of Bourzgui and his roommate, Joey D’Amore. Both hailing from Massachusetts, they combine elements of nature with acoustic folk, bluegrass, jazz and storytelling. 

"I think this whole song exists as an inner monologue of really trying to deny a radical love that has entered your life. It's like you're falling in love with someone and the car keeps speeding up and speeding up and speeding up and it feels like it's gonna crash. And so you're like, 'Never mind, slow down! This is too much!' And then finally it crashes, but instead of it being as scary as you think it is, it crashes into this moment of beauty. You realize that the entire time you've actually really wanted to say yes to accepting this love and  that even though it's scary, it's really beautiful to be loved that honestly."

The single drops tonight at midnight on all streaming music platforms, but you can check out a first listen right here at BroadwayWorld.

Listen to "Automobiles" below:

Resident Lightweight's new album, Becomes a Home, will be distributed by Joy Machine Records and available to stream starting September 12, 2025.  

Bourzgui made his Broadway debut in The Who's Tommy (Tommy) 2024, for which he received a Theatre World Award, Jeff Award (performer in a leading role), OCC and Drama League nominations. His off-Broadway credits include: We Live in Cairo (Amir) NYTW. First National Tours: Company (Paul); The Band’s Visit (Haled.) Select Regional: World Premiere ofLayalina (Young Mazin/Yousif); The Who’s Tommy (Tommy) The Goodman Theater. Film / VO: Quiet Part Loud (Jordan Peele/Gimlet), The Ghost Light (Tiny Viking Productions).