New Releases category interest

Singer and songwriter LAURA PURSELL today releases “Shooting Star,” the video and title track from her latest album. Watch it HERE. Marking the first single from her SHOOTING STAR album that came out on Netcom Music this past September, it is PURSELL’s distinctive and finely etched interpretation of the BOB DYLAN composition that appears as the final track on his 1989 Oh Mercy album. Listen to “Shooting Star” on all streaming platforms HERE.

The “Shooting Star” video was filmed and directed by Andrew Rozario and Cinematographer Mike Stryker for Casting Life Films in various downtown Nashville musically historical locations. Viewers will see the famous alleyway behind Tootie’s Orchid Lounge, the backstage entry to the Ryman Auditorium, and just across the alley is the back entry to Roberts Western World, “Nashville’s Home of Traditional Country Music.”

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The final scene in the video is atop the pedestrian bridge next to the Tennessee Titans’ Nissan Stadium that offers up the best view of Nashville’s nighttime city skyline, reflecting the city’s growth. “Nashville is where I was born and raised, and I wanted to honor and pay homage to the soul of Nashville I grew up in—the places within our ever-changing skyline that have thankfully been allowed to remain authentic as our city continues to grow,” says LAURA.

“Shooting Star” was the last song LAURA performed live on the evening of March 16, 2020 when she and her band (consisting of drummer Chris Ross, bassist Jeff Takaguchi, and pianist Rick Hils) were told to fold up and leave the stage of a Burbank, CA venue as the city of Los Angeles was shutting down at midnight due to the Covid-19 pandemic mandate. “Chris Ross had brought this song to my attention as we were looking for hidden gems to cover and possibly record. Ironically, the night we performed this song, my dear friend and guitarist, Barry Zweig had passed away and the song’s lyrics struck me even deeper.”

“Shooting Star” was never a single for Dylan, “and after we recorded it,” says LAURA, “I played it for the head of my record label, Netcom Music’s Ray Clawson. He responded to the musical conversation that was happening between my vocal and Kenny Meredieth’s guitar. He loved the connection and the feeling that was captured on this recording.”

During the time of the lockdown, LAURA and her band began to meet daily in her living room at her then-home in Studio City, CA to rehearse and keep their chops up, work on new tunes, and figure out the road ahead. Facing an uncertain future, they recorded a collection of songs at producer and guitarist Kenny Meriedeth’s Deep End Music Studios in Burbank. They set their focus on material from the Americana, country and roots rock idioms. LAURA states, “This album reflects a pivotal time when I began to stretch out vocally, work on different genres, and embrace a new vibe that reflected what the band members and I were going through at the time. Recording this album kept us all somewhat sane and energized.”

Halfway through recording SHOOTING STAR, LAURA’s beloved father Bill Pursell—a respected Nashville pianist, composer, and orchestrator/arranger—passed away from Covid-19. SHOOTING STAR was shelved indefinitely, and LAURA relocated back to her hometown of Nashville to settle her father’s estate and solidify his musical legacy. In the fall of 2021, LAURA picked up where she and the band had left off while recording SHOOTING STAR. Out of dozens of recorded tracks, 10 songs were chosen for inclusion for the album. SHOOTING STAR is an ode to loss and memory, and the perfect title for this collection of songs.