On her debut album Young, Dumb and in Love, breakout singer-songwriter liv. has assembled a Voltron of Americana’s most exciting artists. liv., who hails from the Hudson Valley, worked with Van Plating to produce the album, which processes the five stages of grief after a breakup.
The record includes guest performances from Will Payne Harrison, Adeem the Artist, Nathan Kalish, and Van Plating herself. Mya Byrne joins live on guitar in her latest single, “Red Hoodie,” which The Boot is excited to exclusively premiere today (Oct 13).
The song is autobiographical — though not based on liv.’s experience. She found inspiration from her college roommate’s experience navigating a sudden breakup. One minute he was all smiles and jokes, then left liv’s friend behind to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Before their sudden split, the roommate ordered her boyfriend a custom hoodie as a Christmas present, leaving her unsure what to do if she couldn’t cancel the order.
Van Plating added her signature touch of Americana-meets-heavy-rock by adding a twin fiddle track to the song, while Byrne’s swooning guitar rounds out the song’s sticky-sweet sadness.
“As time went on, and as I reflected on experiences of my own, I realized that the red hoodie also served as a symbol of giving more, caring more, and of loving more,” explains liv. “I think everyone has felt that way at one point or another.”
Get an exclusive first listen to “Red Hoodie” below:
You can learn more about liv. by visiting her official website and by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
liv., Young, Dumb and in Love Track List:
1. “Young, Dumb, and in Love”
2. “Lemon”
3. “The Mistake”
4. “Red Hoodie”
5. “Ghost”
6. “Hey You”
7. “If You Wanted To”
8. “Big Red Moon”
Top 10 Kelsey Waldon Songs
With three albums of original tunes already to her name and another, No Regular Dog, coming on Aug. 12 via Prine’s Oh Boy Records, Waldon has accumulated a vast catalog of well known hits and undercover gems. Her songs cover everything from her Western Kentucky upbringing to working as a bartender upon her moving to Nashville, self discovery, the hypocrisy of religion and more.
In 2019, she became the first new signee to Oh Boy Records in 15 years — and for good reason. Let’s take a look at our choices for Kelsey Waldon’s 10 best songs, so far: