Rob Leines is ready to raise a little hell in his new song “Saturday Night.” Press play below to hear the self-described “southern-fried rock ‘n’ roll” singer-songwriter’s latest; it’s premiering exclusively on The Boot.
A classic rock-sounding guitar line and steady, pounding drumbeat set the stage for “Saturday Night,” a song about feeling free and falling in love. Its protagonist has spent all week at work at the oil refinery, so he’s “cuttin’ loose / I got nothin’ to lose / I got a brown bag of my favorite booze / And I ain’t gonna let nothin’ slow me down,” Leines sings.
This blue-collar guy repeats his Friday night plans on Saturday, and both times, there’s an additional piece to the puzzle: a woman. Though Leines’ band gets more and more frenetic throughout each verse, a line of handclaps steady things out a bit as he professes, “I don’t know where you’re goin’, but that’s where I wanna be / You’ve got me sh-sh-shakin …”
“Baby, we’re electric / Can you feel it in your bones? / I love the way you kiss me, touch me, keep me wantin’ more,” Leines admits as the band picks up again. A instruments-only jam keeps the pace up before a bridge gives way to a raucous, rockin’ ending.
“From work hard to play hard, “Saturday Night” is an energetic description of blowing off steam after a day of hard work,” Leines tells The Boot. “That energy embodies the emotion and aggression from playing live.”
“Saturday Night” comes from Leines’ forthcoming new album, Blood, Sweat and Beers, due out on March 19. It’s his sophomore studio record, following 2018’s Bad Seed, though Leines also released a live project in 2020. He co-produced the album with Eric Rennaker and recorded it with his live band, thereby imbuing the project with a distinct energy.
“A lot of these songs are about blue-collar pride. They’re about the workingman’s experience,” Leines says. “I’m trying paint a picture of what it’s like on the road, and what it’s like in the South. My roots are still very much tied to the area, and you can hear that in the sound.”
The son of a father enrolled in the military, the Georgia-born Leines lived in Utah, California and then the Southeast again, before heading back to the Golden State. After high school, he worked as a whitewater rafting guide before making music his career.
Listen to Rob Leines’ “Saturday Night”:
50 Country Albums You Must Hear Before You Die:
LISTEN: 50 Country Albums Everyone Must Hear Before They Die