Cross Atlantic Release Poignant Single “Dear Hometown”
Last week saw the first single release of 2021 from talented Nashville based duo Cross Atlantic whose journey we have followed closely here at Belles and Gals for some time now.
“Dear Hometown”, as the title suggests, sees husband and wife James and Karli paying homage to the people and places that shaped them …well, to be more precise the cinematic lyrics are crafted around Karli’s experiences of growing up in Bolivar, Missouri and reflect her deep musical roots. And this beautiful ballad is my favourite release from Cross Atlantic to date.
“I wanted to write a song for them, because I think as you get older, you realise how much of you is ‘you’ because of where you came from,” Karli says. “This song is so special to us because we believe that chasing a dream like ours requires us to be fearless in certain ways, but all we really want to do is make our families and hometowns proud.” James, who hails from Guernsey, UK, adds, “Everything about that song is true to Karli. We essentially stopped the write and interviewed Karli about everything about her hometown experience. We could have written 10 or 11 verses to that song.“
A co-write with Porter Howell and Brady Seals, the track was co-produced by James and Derek George (Randy Houser, Joe Nichols). Karli unsurprisingly takes lead vocals on this release but as always there’s some beautiful harmonies from her husband . You can really sense the love she carries for Bolivar as she shares memories of her time there, including driving her father’s truck down a gravel road when she was nine years old and then in her teens how she proudly wore the town’s “No. 8” as a member of a hometown sports team. “The more I live the more I understand you made me everything that I am” she declares .
