Directed by Sarah V Burns and Alex Sherratt, Dom Flemons has shared the music video for ‘Traveling Wildfire’, the title track of his new album, which is also one of our Featured Albums of the Month (reviewed here).
“…one thing that keeps Dom Flemons engaged and inspired is his indelible belief in the magic and wonder of music. It is that spirit which rises to the fore so definitively on this deep, indispensable new album.”
Danny Neill, Folk Radio
As mentioned in our review, Traveling Wildfire is Flemons’ fifth solo album from Flemons…Accolades such as a Grammy nomination for his 2018 Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys, and his weighty alias identity as The American Songster suggest his music is making a mark that is hard to ignore. While it is clear with Traveling Wildfire that a far more personal statement is sought this time around, this experienced serial collaborator has still found room to bring in a multitude of extra-musical partners. It is produced by Ted Hutt, who also contributes guitar and electric bass, while the sound is fleshed out by a combo comprising David Hidalgo, Marc Orrell and Matt Pynn. There are also guest appearances from Sam Bush and James Fearnley (heard playing delightful piano accordion on the LP’s closing instrumental). Indeed, the record’s title track is a fair pointer to the fitting, yet understated, use of his band, where the dark moon is “beaming as the final melody is being played” and sounds linger and bounce around the foreboding canyon being painted so vividly in our mind’s eye.
Flemons shared the following on the video:
“The official ‘Traveling Wildfire’ music video came together when I began working on ‘The Real Wild West’ 4-part documentary series, which will debut as a Curiositystream Original this year. For the shoot, my wife, Vania Kinard, suggested that I perform ‘Traveling Wildfire’ and she also helped coordinate the filming location at the Superstition Mountains in Arizona. We timed the shoot so that we could capture the Arizona sunset and then directors Sarah Burns and Alex Sherratt, along with the entire camera crew, produced some incredible footage of iconic Arizona landscapes. My original song ‘Traveling Wildfire’ was written in a hotel room in Nashville, TN back in 2021 during Hurricane Ida. Now, ‘Traveling Wildfire’ can be heard as the opening theme song for the new original documentary series, ‘The Real Wild West.’ Special thanks to Roller Coaster Road Productions for creating this brilliant music video that brings ‘Traveling Wildfire’ to the spotlight.”
Traveling Wildfire is also our Song of the Day.
Traveling Wildfire is out now on Smithsonian Folkways – Stream/Buy