Next Tuesday Tyler Boone will release his new song, “Next Life,” a tribute to the victim’s of last month’s shooting at Emanuel AME Church. Boone recorded the song with Charleston-based Americana duo Finnegan Bell, and on July 21 the guys will debut the song on the Bridge 105.5 at 8:20 a.m.
On the night of June 17, Boone and Finnegan Bell (Warren Bazemore and Shane Williams) were in Nashville. “We were sitting at a speakeasy and the waiter came up and said, ‘Did you hear?'” Boone recalls. The next day the trio headed back to Charleston. “It was a 9/11 moment. We couldn’t believe it,” says Boone.
Boone, who is moving to Nashville soon, lives just four blocks from Mother Emanuel. He already had the makings of a song when he heard about the tragedy, but since the song wasn’t really going anywhere he decided to work with it and add a chorus and create a tribute song to the victims — and to Charleston.
Calling it “not exactly a Christian song,” as a way of acknowledging the song’s universality, Boone offers up lines like “I’ll see you in the next life” and “I’ll always be yours and you’ll always be mine” in an effort to wrap his arms around the community.
Knowing that the song would sound better with harmonies, he enlisted the help of Finnegan Bell who he calls the “kings of harmonies.” Matt Zutell produced the song, and Aaron Utterback (bass), Charlie Thompson (pedal steel), Joey Cox (drums), and Mike Rogers (drums) contributed to the single.
If you don’t catch the single on the radio, make sure to head out to Thursday’s benefit at King Dusko.
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