{"id":2212893,"date":"2025-12-26T15:10:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T15:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2212893"},"modified":"2025-12-26T15:10:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T15:10:21","slug":"jesse-smathers-chases-the-light-on-new-single-dark-clouds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/jesse-smathers-chases-the-light-on-new-single-dark-clouds\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesse Smathers Chases The Light On New Single \u201cDark Clouds\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/worldmusiccentral.org\/pickin-up-steam-jesse-smathers-steady-climb-through-bluegrass-ranks\" title=\"\">Jesse Smathers<\/a>, singer and guitarist with Lonesome River Band, has released a new single, \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4oDiXH9\" title=\"\">Dark Clouds<\/a>,\u201d on Mountain Home Music Company. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDark Clouds\u201d comes from early country and Grand Ole Opry figure Kirk McGee, whose original recording remains little known. Smathers describes the song as \u201c<em>a prayer for finding one\u2019s way in life; a desperate plea to be put on the right path<\/em>,\u201d noting its \u201c<em>thoughtful and deep lyric<\/em>\u201d and its lonesome, existential tone.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dark Clouds\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KEbECFtxbu4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The recording features Hunter Berry on fiddle, Nick Goad on mandolin, Joe Hannabach on bass, and Corbin Hayslett on banjo, whose mix of old-time and bluegrass styles runs through the track. Smathers delivers the vocal in a lower, more somber register than usual, with harmonies from Goad and Patrick Robertson underscoring lines such as:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>My whole life through I searched to find<br \/>My special place among mankind<br \/>Each road I take, it seems, is wrong<br \/>I keep hearing this sad, sad song<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>and the refrain:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>Dark clouds moving across the sun<br \/>The earth grows black and once again I\u2019m blind<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Smathers points to the contrast between the minor turn in the chorus and the major feel of the verses as a source of emotional balance. The song \u201c<em>help[s] tonally convey the sense of hope in finding where \u2018one\u2019 belongs<\/em>,\u201d and connects it to his own low points and the prayers that helped him through.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"790\" height=\"526\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/worldmusiccentral.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Jesse-Smathers-Photo-by-Laci-Mack.webp?resize=790%2C526&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Jesse Smathers surrounded by acoustic guitars.\" class=\"wp-image-107549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/worldmusiccentral.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Jesse-Smathers-Photo-by-Laci-Mack.webp?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/worldmusiccentral.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Jesse-Smathers-Photo-by-Laci-Mack.webp?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/worldmusiccentral.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Jesse-Smathers-Photo-by-Laci-Mack.webp?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jesse Smathers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>A native of Eden, North Carolina with family roots in western North Carolina, Smathers comes from a noted musical lineage. His grandfather Harold Smathers and grand uncle Luke Smathers recorded for June Appal and received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1993. After early success at fiddlers conventions in North Carolina and Virginia, he joined the James King Band in 2010. He later worked with Nothin\u2019 Fancy, and became a member of Lonesome River Band in 2015, winning the IBMA Momentum Award for Vocalist of the Year in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Smathers moved to guitar in Lonesome River Band in 2021 and released his self-titled solo album <em>Jesse Smathers<\/em> in 2022. He now lives near Floyd, Virginia, and teaches at the Handmade Music School when not on the road, continuing to share Appalachian traditions with new audiences.<\/p>\n<div class=\"guerrillawrap\">\n<div class=\"guerrillagravatar\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5edbe3c3cb9eb17444f04e58aba75ae61da0785b1ad24ec34778ee48af31dd80?s=80&amp;d=identicon&amp;r=g\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5edbe3c3cb9eb17444f04e58aba75ae61da0785b1ad24ec34778ee48af31dd80?s=160&amp;d=identicon&amp;r=g 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-80 photo\" height=\"80\" width=\"80\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<h4>Author: <span>World Music Central News Room<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>World music news from the editors at World Music Central&#13;\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"addtoany_share_save_container addtoany_content addtoany_content_bottom\">\n<div class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/worldmusiccentral.org\/jesse-smathers-chases-the-light-on-new-single-dark-clouds\/\" data-a2a-title=\"Jesse Smathers Chases The Light On New Single \u201cDark Clouds\u201d\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share\" href=\"https:\/\/www.addtoany.com\/share\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.addtoany.com\/buttons\/share_save_171_16.png?w=790&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Share\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source worldmusiccentral.org \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jesse Smathers, singer and guitarist with Lonesome River Band, has released a new single, \u201cDark Clouds,\u201d on Mountain Home Music Company. \u201cDark Clouds\u201d comes from early country and Grand Ole Opry figure Kirk McGee, whose original recording remains little known. Smathers describes the song as \u201ca prayer for finding one\u2019s way in life; a desperate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[37339,427427,311953],"class_list":["post-2212893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","tag-bluegrass","tag-jesse-smathers","tag-world-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2212893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2212894,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212893\/revisions\/2212894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2212893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2212893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2212893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}