Artist: Stoney LaRue
Album: Onward
Label: One Chord Song/Smith Entertainment
Release date: 11/1/19
For nearly two decades Stoney LaRue has sustained a seminal music career that was dug straight out of the red dirt in Oklahoma. His rock infused country “tude” coupled with a dominating set of vocal pipes quickly identified him as a rising star with his 2002 debut album Downtown.
Sold out shows in a continuous 200 plus dates a year tour schedule, high charting albums on Billboard, iTunes and the Texas Regional Radio Chart, featured videos on CMT, over 1 million albums and singles sold, guest vocal performances on songs by Lee Ann Womack and Miranda Lambert, shared stages with some of the biggest names in country music and a most coveted debut performance at Nashville’s renowned Grand Ole Opry, one could say his bucket list grows shorter by the year. But for LaRue, there is only onward movement, and that sentiment is the compass point of his new album Onward set to be released on November 1st on One Chord Song/Smith Entertainment.
Album: Onward
Label: One Chord Song/Smith Entertainment
Release date: 11/1/19
For nearly two decades Stoney LaRue has sustained a seminal music career that was dug straight out of the red dirt in Oklahoma. His rock infused country “tude” coupled with a dominating set of vocal pipes quickly identified him as a rising star with his 2002 debut album Downtown.
Sold out shows in a continuous 200 plus dates a year tour schedule, high charting albums on Billboard, iTunes and the Texas Regional Radio Chart, featured videos on CMT, over 1 million albums and singles sold, guest vocal performances on songs by Lee Ann Womack and Miranda Lambert, shared stages with some of the biggest names in country music and a most coveted debut performance at Nashville’s renowned Grand Ole Opry, one could say his bucket list grows shorter by the year. But for LaRue, there is only onward movement, and that sentiment is the compass point of his new album Onward set to be released on November 1st on One Chord Song/Smith Entertainment.
Much like LaRue’s humble beginnings, Onward is purely organic both in its raw disposition and in the recording of it. LaRue teamed up with GRANMMY Award-winning producer and hit songwriter Gary Nicholson who also co-wrote the songs on the album and recorded it at his studio in Nashville.
“I’m now getting back to being happy,” LaRue cites. “I’ve been writing a lot and figuring out what direction I am going in. That’s why this album is called ‘Onward.’ It’s a more mature album written about myself, humanity and the truth. The writing of it turned out to be medicine that didn’t have to be prescribed.”
The album dives head-first into the opener "Fallin' and Flyin'," one of 10 songs co-written by Gary Nicholson. The track was famously performed by Jeff Bridges in the 2009 country music drama Crazy Heart. In LaRue's hands, it's a humble admission, part of his journey toward self-improvement. "I never meant to hurt no one/I just had to have my way/if there's such a thing as too much fun/this must be the price you pay," he sings. Likewise, he lays bare his soul in "You Oughta Know Me by Now," a song that Nicholson and his co-writer Shawn Camp wrote especially for LaRue. While it's framed around a man's shortcomings and bad habits, it also conveys a precious honesty, like much of the vulnerable album does.
LaRue further explores that idea on "Meet Me in the Middle," a gritty duet about compromise with the legendary Tanya Tucker. "It's about the idea of reciprocity in a relationship, of yin and yang. You want to think that everything's supposed to be equal and find the balance, but it never turns out that way, does it? It's always a shift of power," he says.
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