The Last Revel’s “Solid Gone” wouldn’t exist (at least in its current form) if it weren’t for a serious close call. “In early 2023, my wife and her former band got in a car accident while on tour driving through some nasty winter weather in eastern Montana,” says Last Revel banjo player Ryan Acker. “By some fortunate miracle, everyone involved was OK, and there were no major injuries.”
Acker and his wife, Lena, were understandably rattled by the experience. “We’ve both always known that the life of a touring musician comes with a certain amount of risk, but an extremely close call like this conjured up some heavy emotions to face,” he says. “I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if she didn’t come home from that tour.”
“Solid Gone” is a standout track from Gone For Good, the Minneapolis-based indie-folk trio’s upcoming LP, available July 18 via Thirty Tigers. Produced by Trampled By Turtles’ Dave Simonett, the album veers from intimate to epic as it charts the unpredictability and beauty of life as an traveling artist and an inhabitant of a world where the hits keep coming.
“Just because you found your soulmate doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed another chance to see them,” says Acker, whose own touring schedule has taken its toll over the years. “I wanted the music and instrumentation to reflect this ships-in-the night feeling. The main banjo-and-fiddle melody doesn’t intuitively line up with the chords and rhythm section until you get to the release of the chorus.”
We’re proud to premiere the Last Revel’s “Solid Gone.”
—Hobart Rowland
See the Last Revel live.
