Trapper Schoepp Releases 'Secrets of the Breeze' From New Album 'Siren Songs'

Milwaukee-based singer-songwriter Trapper Schoepp released his new single "Secrets of the Breeze," taken from his forthcoming studio album Siren Songs, out April 21 via Grand Phony (US) / Rootsy (EU).

Written following a paddle boarding accident on Lake Michigan, Schoepp sings about his respect for Mother Nature and wildlife over charming Irish folk production. Released just in time for St. Patrick's Day, "Secrets of the Breeze" was featured at Under The Radar who praised the song as "a nautical tale of stormy weather and crashing waves, framed through the lens of traditional Celtic folk stylings."

The track arrives with a jovial music video featuring students from the Milwaukee Irish Dance Studio. Siren Songs is available for pre-order.

"During the height of the pandemic, I began paddle boarding obsessively on Lake Michigan," shares Schoepp.

"My friends and I would explore this Great Lake into the winter months, passing by ancient shipwrecks, floating icebergs and Wisconsin wildlife. It became an instant refuge, filling me with a sense of wonder I hadn't felt since childhood. One December day, a strong gust of wind threw me off my paddle board into a pile of boulders onshore. I ended up in the ER with an injured foot and renewed sense of respect for Mother Nature and its many mysteries."

Nautical imagery and timeless folklore are common threads running through Siren Songs, which finds Schoepp collaborating with John Jackson (The Jayhawks, Ray Davies) and Patrick Sansone (Wilco) who produced these sessions at Cash's historic Cash Cabin in Hendersonville, TN.

On these storied grounds, the trio was blessed to record with instruments ranging from Cash's 1930s Martin guitar - which was used on the "gritty" (Glide Magazine) previous single "Devil's Kettle" - to June Carter Cash's Steinway piano and an old railroad spike.

Siren Songs opens with the driving "Cliffs of Dover", an anti-war anthem that arrived with a music video directed by Joseph Cash. The track garnered support from press including The Boot, Americana UK, The Indy Review and the Americana Music Association, along with radio airplay from Twin Cities' The Current, New York's WFUV and 88Nine Radio Milwaukee.

Hailed as "a master storyteller" by HuffPost and beloved for his "rootsy, cinematic rock that charms as it soars" (NPR Music), Schoepp's forthcoming album Siren Songs is his strongest collection of songs to date, steeped in a sonic palette of traditional American and Irish folk music while giving it new life.

Folks may recognize Schoepp when he became the youngest musician to share a co-writing credit with Bob Dylan on a long-lost song called "On, Wisconsin" in 2019. After coming across a previously unseen lyric sheet from Dylan's early recording sessions, Schoepp seized the opportunity to put music to these words about his home state.

Fortunately, Dylan approved to jointly publish the song, garnering acclaim from Billboard, Rolling Stone and more. Now, in a full-circle moment, Schoepp is featured on the Siren Songs album cover posing in front of the same pond where Cash would read and dispose of letters sent to him by Dylan, honoring a sacred kinship that started in the '60s.

Trapper Schoepp 2023 Tour Dates

3/23 - Lake Orion, MI - 20 Front Street
3/24 - Akron, OH - Barno's House
3/26 - Washington, D.C. - Pie Shop DC
3/28 - Boston, MA - City Winery Boston
3/29 - Cambridge, NY - Argyle Brewing Company
3/30 - Syracuse, NY - The 443 Social Club & Lounge
3/31 - Freehold, NJ - Concerts in the Studio (SOLD OUT)
4/1 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe
4/2 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
4/14 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry
4/15 - Madison, WI - Kiki's House of Righteous Music
4/21 - Milwaukee, WI - Colectivo **
4/22 - Berwyn, IL - FitzGerald's **
4/23 - Nashville, TN - Eastside Bowl **
5/7 - Milwaukee, WI - Shank Hall #
5/9 - Davenport, IA - Raccoon Motel #
5/10 - Berwyn, IL - FitzGerald's #
5/11 - Des Moines, IA - xBk Live #
5/12 - Omaha, NE - Reverb Lounge #

** With Mike Viola
# Supporting Daniel Rodriguez

Photo Credit: Visionary Studios