Chestnut Grove’s latest single is the product of a solitary sticky riff. Guitarist John Tyler was fooling around on a microKORG synth/vocoder during a soundcheck—and out came something that immediately attached to the other members and wouldn’t let go.
“The next chance we got, we wrote the rest of the song around it,” says Dee, who co-founded the Philadelphia-based band with high-school pals Tyler and drummer James Daniels. “It happened very organically.”
With a fluid, communal sound that incorporates indie rock, R&B, funk and soul, Chestnut Grove has found its legs with a fleshed-out lineup that includes keyboardist Shannon Murphy and bassist Jared Filer, plus onstage help from percussionist Jeff Mann, sax players Connor Dunn and Vince Gleason and trumpeter/percussionist Alex Styer. The band’s live set draws on material from a pair of LPs, 2021’s The Album and 2023’s Can’t Stand The Music, that have earned accolades from local and national outlets like Philadelphia magazine, WXPN, American Songwriter and NPR.
Though it’s an accurate representation of Chestnut Grove’s groove-driven agenda, “Xpress Urself” also offers some hints as to where the group may be headed.
“Lyrically, I was feeling very moody, and there’s a deeper meaning about how everything now is just content and influencers and views and likes,” says Dee. “It’s exhausting. I’m someone who thrives on social interaction and connecting. We like to have fun together, so that’s reflected in the general idea of us dancing in the video. Don’t be afraid to let loose and express yourself.”
We’re proud to premiere Chestnut Grove’s “Xpress Urself” video.
—Hobart Rowland
