A recent article published by Seacoastonline.com highlights the release “Mason Jar of Home,” an album released by the musical group Black Agnes and produced by front man, Michael Dunbar ’15, student at the College of the Holy Cross. The album, recorded at Rocking Horse Studio in Pittsfield, has sold roughly 250 copies and been gaining traffic on the music streaming service Spotify.
Seacoastonline.com reports the new EP is heavily rooted in folk and Americana but colored with alternative production and arrangement. The second track, “Lylo (All Will Be Well),” features soft synths a la The Police. “Acid Reflux Blues,” a rootsy rocker, starts off with a clean electric guitar sound reminiscent of '90s alternative rock. It fits, as Dunbar said last spring, that he intended to give his own musical roots a modern take.
Dunbar was awarded a Mellon Summer Research grant from Holy Cross to record the album. The foundation offers grants to students working towards a variety of careers who apply each year, from writers to researchers.
“Usually songwriting is the thing I do when I should be doing homework,” Dunbar said. “To actually have it be my job was like, ‘Wow, stressful,’ but it was also really exhilarating.”
Related Information
This “Holy Cross in the News” item by Jacqueline Smith ’15.
