LIZ KENNEDY RELEASES “COYOTE,” EMBRACING NEW MUSIC THAT SPEAKS TO THE HEART

NASHVILLE, TN – (January 31, 2024) – Crafting relatable lyrics comes naturally to Liz Kennedy, who has announced her latest release, “Coyote,” After experiencing a whirlwind of personal changes, the San Francisco-based singer-songwriter has come to see songwriting not as a choice but as something she must do. She recognizes that music is what sustains her and provides a way forward. A decade of critical success as a recording artist has allowed her to grow more confident in her ever-evolving persona—quirky, humorous, and deeply insightful—dedicated to truth and always striving to find something original to say. The single is the third from her upcoming album and is available for pre-save on streaming platforms HERE. 

In support of the new music, Liz will release an official video produced by Eric Peltier to accompany her new song, which will be available on her official artist YouTube Channel HERE on February 14. 

Adding her thoughts to the song’s meaning, Liz shared, “It was the beginning of the Covid shutdown. The city was quiet. San Francisco. And at the top of my hill, Telegraph, I saw a coyote walking calmly across the intersection for the first time in 30 years.  My boyfriend asked me to move to the country with him a few days later. I lived in Sonoma County for 7 months. The pandemic was a different reality for each different person. Being older, I was scared … but safe. Covid changed almost everything. Everything after that is, to me, the afterlife I refer to in the song. “Right here, in this afterlife…”  It still feels like an afterlife. The “world spinning crazy.”  But living in the country for the first time since childhood brought me hope. I hoped that if I made it through, I’d return and “try to set things right”. Or at least, bake a blackberry pie.”

“Kennedy’s writing makes excellent use of long-standing formulas and consistently finds ways to pour old wine into new bottles. It further aids her efforts that she’s a unique singer with supreme interpretative powers whose performances take already fine lyrics and transform them into mini-epics of the heart.”-Gashouse Radio.

“Right here in this afterlife
Here’s to new friends in the countryside
But it’s time; time does come
When you need to find home 
You saved me, I saved you from being alone
The garden came in nice
Tomatoes red and ripe
When you visit, bring me a good one

Right here in this afterlife
You have my heart, yeah, I’ll come back anytime

And the world’s still spinning crazy
And just as wild as the world has always known it could be
Now the hawks, they’re winging
On this hill where I’m back living
In the city, by the bay

Right here in this afterlife
Well, we haven’t died, we’re still alive
Not too old to hold a light
And help to set things right
Right here in this afterlife
I can bake a blackberry pie
Right here in this afterlife…” 

Produced by Joel Jaffe and Liz Kennedy and engineered and mixed by J. Jaffe, “Coyote” was recorded at Studio on the Hill with Liz Kennedy (vocals/acoustic guitar), Jeff Campitelli (hand-drums/bodhran/djembe), Marc Levine (bass), J Jaffe (BGV/acoustic guitar), Hardy Hemphill (BGV/harmonica/keyboard), Eamonn Flynn (keyboard) and Pete Contino (accordion). 

Stay current with everything Liz Kennedy on her website lizkennedymusic.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to her YouTube Channel for the latest videos.

Music is available on all digital platforms Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music and Amazon Music.

ABOUT LIZ KENNEDY

After going through a whirlwind of life changes, the San Francisco-based singer-songwriter Liz Kennedy has come to see songwriting not as a choice but as something she has to do. She says music sustains her and offers a way forward. Her decade-plus as a critically acclaimed recording artist has brought her confidence in her ever-unfolding identity as a quirky, often humorous, and ever-insightful storyteller committed to honesty and finding something unique to say.

Jaffe, whose credits include Maria Muldaur, Lenny Williams and Magic Christian, is the renowned engineer and producer of Studio D in Sausalito, where legendary artists like Bonnie Raitt, Ringo Starr and Carlos Santana have recorded. One of the greatest influences on Kennedy’s development since she took the plunge into recording, he has helmed all her previous recordings, Clean White Shirt, A Good Peach, Nothing Like an Angel, Speed Bump, and Hike Up Your Socks. Jaffe adds numerous string textures to Kennedy’s songs, including acoustic and electric guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and ebow.

Kennedy describes herself as honest and observant and adds, “I sure hope I can easily laugh at myself.” Her songcraft – where the lyrics always follow the music – perfectly reflects that thoughtful self-assessment. The fascinating part of the process is not knowing just where the inspiration will come from. “It’s strange how emotional pain and joy can equally send you racing to the piano to capture something … whether it’s a butterfly or a heavy brick.

After graduating from Stanford University, where she studied anthropology and journalism, she settled in the Bay Area and worked for film companies that made TV commercials.  Before reality TV became a mainstream part of our culture, Kennedy specialized in casting real people (instead of professional actors) for commercials. She also married and raised two children. In her later 40s, when she realized she had “songs in my head” that had never been recorded, she met Jaffe, who liked what he heard and encouraged her to take her work as a singer/songwriter more seriously. In addition to her growing catalog of recordings, she has performed at renowned Bay Area hotspots such as Sweetwater Music Hall, the Throckmorton Theatre and Club Fox. Kennedy enjoys performing live in an intimate setting and finding a connection people make to her songs. I love to hear what someone gets from a song, in their way.  A good song should translate into another person’s language. Yet before performing, there is recording. “I’ve had inexpressibly sublime moments in the studio, listening to what these great musicians bring to my songs,” she says. “I have fallen to my knees with the joy of an unexpectedly beautiful touch. There’s no greater moment for me than when we are all listening to the finished product and loving what we hear, experiencing our collective ownership.”