Photo courtesy of Mick Fury
It wasn’t all that long ago that country artist Mick Fury released his documentary, Front Porch of America. We featured that documentary right here on Think Country https://thinkcountrymusic.com/whats-new/mick-furys-the-front-porch-of-america-project/. That was back in 2018. There was an update to that project in 2019 which we also covered https://thinkcountrymusic.com/whats-new/mick-fury-front-porch-of-america-season-2-update/. Both of these were important events which Fury explained to me today.
“Sitting on a porch in East Nashville, Sean (Patrick McGraw) and I were struggling to write a song as we watched the wide variety of folks that live on our side of town pass by. People from all walks of life were shuffling past when one of us said, ‘It’s like we’re sitting on the front porch of America.’ From that, a song was born, which would later turn into a documentary of the same name where I drove 9,000 miles around America, interviewing folks from their front porches. Today it’s become an orchestra. What better way to show unity in these crazy times than to have these talented independent musicians from all over the country, LA to Nashville, Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale, Iowa City to Vermont, show their version of the lyrics of “Front Porch of America” that they resonate with. At its root, the song is about empathy, and that kindness is what truly makes us American. I’m very grateful to know so many lovely and talented souls willing to send me their take on that beautiful sentiment so that I might slice it together, organic and raw and unfiltered as it may be and share it with the world.”
Photo courtesy of Think Country
The result of those artists all sending Fury their individual contributions, and his video editing, as simple as it may be, is a stunning compilation now available on YouTube. The “Front Porch of America”, that actually began on a front porch of America, is becoming something of a grassroots project, growing and morphing into something different all the time. From a simple song to a documentary to a countrywide compilation at a time when it’s needed most. As someone who knows Mick Fury personally, I can say with conviction that this is something I know he believes in. An individual with a huge heart and a love for his country and his fellow Americans, as well as a passion for music, I can only imagine where this song may go in the future. I don’t expect this is the last we’ve heard from it, but until then, I hope everyone will turn to YouTube to view this amazing video. It certainly moved me and I applaud all of the musicians that took part. For the record, I watched it from my back porch in America and it’s just as brilliant. View it from anywhere in the world, whether it’s a porch, a living room or even while sitting on a bus or lying on a blanket in the middle of a park. This is is for everyone everywhere.
Here’s the link to “Front Porch of America (Orchestra)” on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vBOdzILHiVk
“Front Porch of America (Orchestra)” was written by Mick Fury and Sean Patrick McGraw
Artists that participated in the video in order of appearance:
Alyssa Trahan (Nashville, TN) https://www.facebook.com/AlyssaTrahanOfficial/
Brett Berwager (Nashville, TN) https://www.facebook.com/brett.berwager?fref=search&__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARAyuwZW6RbTSyoKAmXWwb4fjd3sO6bBJZGlqAIQtioQnFDFipUqdeZWhCJK3qvJqT_LvMBfuEtc7Uld
Adam James Deiboldt (Nashville, TN) https://twitter.com/adamjames4real
Joey Arcuri (Ithaca, NY) https://www.driftwoodtheband.com/
Tommy Connors (Syracuse, NY) https://tommyconnors.com/
Chad Hollister (Worcester, VT) https://chadmusic.com/
Steven J Fisher (Los Angeles, CA) https://www.facebook.com/stevenjfisher
Ciara Rae (Fort Lauderdale, FL) http://www.ciararae.com/
Christine Moad (Iowa City, IA) https://linktr.ee/misschristinemusic
Jake Sommers (Nashville, TN) http://www.jakesommersdrums.com/
Billy Harrison (Syracuse, NY) https://www.facebook.com/liamalonemusic/
Joey Lewis (Buffalo, NY) https://www.facebook.com/FunktionalFlowMusic/
Amanda Broadway (Nashville, TN) https://www.amandabroadwayband.com/
Jackson Dreyer (Nashville, TN) https://www.jacksondreyer.com/
Jeff Spirko (Nashville, TN) https://www.facebook.com/jeff.spirko
Rich Ortiz (Albany, NY) https://richortiz.com/
Mick Fury can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MickFury/
*Featured image courtesy of Think Country