{"id":2451518,"date":"2026-06-09T15:13:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2451518"},"modified":"2026-06-09T15:13:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:13:43","slug":"new-music-from-jude-brothers-stephanie-smittle-and-morning-fog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/new-music-from-jude-brothers-stephanie-smittle-and-morning-fog\/","title":{"rendered":"New music from Jude Brothers, Stephanie Smittle and Morning Fog"},"content":{"rendered":"<br><div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u201cTreat Me Like A Tree &amp; Love Me For My Crookedness\u201d \u2014 Jude Brothers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jude Brothers - Treat Me Like a Tree &amp; Love Me For My Crookedness (official music video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EjwcWTot8MY?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><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fayetteville folk wonder <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jud.jude.judith\/?hl=en\">Jude Brothers<\/a><\/strong> is so good that even the longwinded title of their new single, \u201cTreat Me Like A Tree &amp; Love Me For My Crookedness,\u201d is pretty much a work of art. Out today on Gar Hole Records, the song is their first release since 2023, when they shared \u201cRender Tender \/ Blunder Sunder,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arktimes.com\/rock-candy\/2023\/05\/12\/jude-brothers-has-no-secrets-on-their-new-searingly-intimate-breakup-album\">a devastating, masterful and entirely idiosyncratic LP<\/a> that cemented them as one of my favorite singer-songwriters in Arkansas.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike \u201cRender Tender \/ Blunder Sunder,\u201d which featured only Brothers\u2019 voice and one instrument at a time, \u201cTreat Me\u201d is a group affair. Brothers\u2019 harp \u2014 their signature form of accompaniment \u2014 is still there, but also present is an upright bass (Geoff Henderson), an acoustic guitar (Grady Drugg) and, perhaps most importantly, a wandering fiddle (Patrick Mcgonigle). Mcgonigle snaps into tangled lockstep with the harp at 2:05, but for the most part, he roams freely all over the track, lending it levity and light.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\t\t\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vocally, Brothers sounds somewhat restrained here, occupying a lower and more controlled register than on previous recordings. It\u2019s a choice that works especially well because it makes room for tight harmonies \u2014 another marvelous side of Brothers that we\u2019ve yet to encounter until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we spoke with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arktimes.com\/food-and-culture\/2026\/04\/03\/gar-hole-records-leaves-fayetteville-a-qa-with-label-co-founder-kurt-delashmet\">Gar Hole Records co-founder Kurt DeLashmet<\/a> in April, he mentioned that Brothers\u2019 next album would be coming out before the end of the year. Here\u2019s hoping that \u201cTreat Me\u201d is a sign that the release date is imminent.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u201cDiamonds (Are Hard to Destroy)\u201d \u2014 Stephanie Smittle<\/strong><\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\t\t\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\n\n\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\"><div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Diamonds (Are Hard to Destroy)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uypXofdAhXY?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><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How coincidental that <em>Arkansas Times<\/em> contributor (and former staffer) <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/stephaniesmittle\/\">Stephanie Smittle<\/a><\/strong>, another of Arkansas\u2019 best singer-songwriters, would also release her first new song in years today. Perhaps even more coincidental is the fact that, like Jude Brothers, Smittle\u2019s fresh tune sees her expanding her formerly solitary sound of only voice and harp (autoharp in Smittle\u2019s case) to include more sonic elements, particularly the violin. Stephanie Just provides the strings for \u201cDiamonds (Are Hard to Destroy),\u201d a dazzling track with the South itself cast as protagonist.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe is a mother and she is a mirror \/ Queer is her bedrock, painted in blue \/ Her story is borrowed, her jewelry\u2019s been taken \/ And still she makes diamonds, still she is new,\u201d Smittle sings, her voice carrying a sweet authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDiamonds\u201d is the first single leading up to the June 23 launch of \u201cPassiontide,\u201d Smittle\u2019s second full-length album, which will be available on CD and vinyl (Little Rock photographer Anna Culpepper shot the epic cover image). Recorded by Jason Tedford at Wolfman Studios, \u201cPassiontide\u201d will be the third release from <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/mutantsrecords.bigcartel.com\/\">Mutants Records<\/a>, a new <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arkansasonline.com\/news\/2026\/apr\/08\/music-new-record-labels-listening-party-celebrates-release-of-first-albums\/\">Little Rock label<\/a> founded by Christopher \u201cC.T.\u201d Terry, Sammy Williams and JP Langston.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\t\t\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u201cUnder the Current\u201d \u2014 Morning Fog<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\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\"><div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Under the Current\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qFVPzhr6TTo?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><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The last time <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kylemaysmusic\/\">Kyle Mays<\/a>, Jordan Trotter and Justin Seymore released music together, the year was 2011 and the three Arkansas musicians, alongside Trevor Ware, were performing as Grand Serenade, an indie rock band that got its start in Heber Springs in the early 2000s. Just a year later, Ware was hit by a drunk driver while riding his motorcycle. He survived the accident, but he incurred a traumatic brain injury that left him with lifelong disabilities. Grand Serenade soon faded away.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Morning Fog<\/strong>, a fresh project from Mays, Trotter and Seymore, will never be an adequate substitution for Grand Serenade, but the new group\u2019s self-titled EP, which came out on Friday, invites comparisons to Grand Serenade\u2019s slower and more pensive side as well as <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arktimes.com\/rock-candy\/2023\/10\/05\/new-releases-from-pharoah-sanders-bonnie-montgomery-yuni-wa-and-more\">Mays\u2019 solo work<\/a>. My favorite track is closer \u201cUnder the Current,\u201d a sleepy, spellbinding track in 6\/8 time that features Mays singing partially in French. The gently dueling vocals that begin at 1:27 are unforgettable.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<section id=\"block-15\" class=\"below-content widget widget_block\"><aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<\/section><section id=\"block-34\" class=\"below-content widget widget_block\"\/>\t<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\r\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source arktimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cTreat Me Like A Tree &amp; Love Me For My Crookedness\u201d \u2014 Jude Brothers Fayetteville folk wonder Jude Brothers is so good that even the longwinded title of their new single, \u201cTreat Me Like A Tree &amp; Love Me For My Crookedness,\u201d is pretty much a work of art. Out today on Gar Hole Records, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2451519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[481607,481608,481609,481610,481611,311102,481612],"class_list":["post-2451518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-jordan-trotter","tag-jude-brothers","tag-justin-seymore","tag-kyle-mays","tag-morning-fog","tag-music-review","tag-stephanie-smittle"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/New-music-from-Jude-Brothers-Stephanie-Smittle-and-Morning-Fog.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451518","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=2451518"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2451520,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451518\/revisions\/2451520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2451519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2451518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2451518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2451518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}