“Song for the times:” Rowan-based band Falllift releases new single “All Salt”

“Song for the times:” Rowan-based band Falllift releases new single “All Salt”

Published 12:10 am Friday, November 14, 2025

Music with a message is the name of the game for Falllift. The Rowan County-based folk duo released their new single “All Salt” featuring Boris “Bluz” Rogers on Friday, which focuses on the uncertainty and complexity of living in these political times. 

Micah Cottingham and William Steven Hall started making music together in 2020, as their worlds were rapidly changing. Cottingham grew up in Salisbury, and Hall heralds from the Charlotte area. Both have traveled and lived far away from North Carolina but were both drawn back during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s when they found each other.

The duo creates music to make people feel something. Cottingham often writes the lyrics, and Hall focuses on the instrumentals. They then come together to harmonize in the actual production.

“I don’t feel fulfilled if I’m just singing something shallow. It can be fun and beautiful, but it needs to be rooted in authenticity,” Cottingham said.

“All Salt” focuses on what it is like to live through this time of what feels like constant bad news and peril and how you process and live with it.

“I started writing this song several years ago, pre-current administration or anything, because I was already fed up with the way our society is working,” Cottingham said. “It’s a song for the times. It’s a song for a reflection of the inner feelings, the inner turmoil, but also the inner hope in response to our environment”

The song opens with the line “where do I send my rage, when every day is an event for a new age?” which Cottingham cited as a summation for the song’s goal.

The single features Rogers, a spoken word poet based in Charlotte. He won the National Poetry Slam competition in 2007, 2008 and 2018. In “All Salt,” he adds a verse from his perspective.

“Bluz coming into it was a whole other level. Truthfully, to be blunt about it, you’re not just getting two white people. You’re getting someone’s perspective from a different generation. You’re getting a Gen-X perspective. You’re getting a Black man’s perspective. You’re getting a father’s perspective,” Cottingham said.

The single was recorded at Old House Studio in Charlotte with production by Daniel Hodges. Kjeff Hansen played bass, and Emmanuel Wynter played violin. Hall played drums, guitar and supporting vocals, while Cottingham lead vocals. 

This is the fourth single the duo has released in the last two years, and they are hoping to put all of the projects together along with some unreleased songs into a full-length album in the future. For now, they are looking forward to doing some shows and catching their breaths for the rest of the year.

“They all kind of have this underlying theme of diving into those different emotional depths and uncovering what’s really there and being vulnerable about those things,” Cottingham said.

The band has a single release concert on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Visulite in Charlotte. The event will include a full band performance by the group but also tarot card readings, merch, a meet-and-greet and multiple performers. 

Going into next year, the band is hoping to embark on some tours of the Southeast, Northeast and potentially Europe to take up a good bit of the year. However, as an indie duo, they manage all of their operations and logistics.

“The longer we do it ourselves, we cultivate what we want our careers to look like before someone interested in working with us enters,” Hall said.

Beyond their music, Cottingham and Hall have also started trying to make a change in their communities. Cottingham has started Community Aid and Planning, CAMP, which runs out of Salisbury as a mutual aid organization for Rowan County. It is intended as a place to offer help and receive help for the people in the community.

“It’s like ‘show up if you want to help the community, show up if you have needs.’ No needs are too small or too big,” Hall said.

The group is still in early stages trying to scale to help as many people as possible but through more focused community action that feels personal.

“You’re saying, ‘I’m showing up for you because you’re my neighbor, and you need help. Regardless of our differences on any spectrum, you need help, and you deserve food and a place to be that’s safe,’” Cottingham said.

With the single out, Falllift continues performing around the region and looks forward to more music to come. Listen to “All Salt” on listening platforms found through their website.