Brightwell & Moran will join host Emily Burris on the KOIN AM show on Friday, September 15th. The show airs on CBS affiliate, channel 6 at approximately 8:30am, and boy do we have a lot to talk about. The Global Songwriting Award from Talent is Timeless, recording at Abbey Road Studios, our new EP, “Land of Plenty”, and our upcoming performance at Cafe Artichoke Listening Room on September 23rd. Huge thanks to Shelly Garrett at Artichoke for setting it up.

Brightwell & Moran announce the release of their 3^rd EP entitled “Land of Plenty”. Their latest EP was written mostly over Zoom at the height of the pandemic. This collection of songs reflects both the difficult times and hopeful moments of that historic period. 

It was initially released as singles in late 2022, with the full EP plus bonus track out in the spring of 2023.  Produced by Dean Baskerville (Sheryl Crow, Pink Martini, Everclear), the sound is a sonic departure from prior releases. Jangly acoustic guitars and solid vocal harmonies are still present, but now electric guitars and strings flesh out the arrangements, with plenty of “ear candy” for those listening on headphones.  

“River Flow” is a country rock anthem about letting go of life's expectations to be exactly where you are.  “100 Pair of Wings” is a folk ballad that looks to birds as teachers and guides through our grief.   “Girl in Hollywood” sees our dreams on the big screen and encourages us to go after them.  “Land of Plenty” traces the difficult and momentous events of 2020. “Lovely Day” imagines the contours of a perfect day, when the pandemic was finally over and we could see each other’s faces again.

Brightwell & Moran’s unique blend of rock, country, folk and Americana can be heard throughout the EP, and sometimes all within a single song. Kelly Brightwell and Woody Moran form a duo that crafts their own distinctive place in the industry, and they take yet another leap forward with their new offering!

The wait is over. Both the single and the video of Bare Boards recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London have been released. Watch the video and you can be in the room for our recording session of “Bare Boards".

Courtesy of Saskia and her Talent is Timeless organization, we had the honor of working with an inspiring crew of musicians, videographers, and producers -- as well as one of Abbey Road's house engineers.We had a 2-hour rehearsal the day before where we hammered out the arrangement and instrumentation. Then it was a long recording day (almost 10 hours!) as we built the song from the ground up: recording the rough vocal and guitar scratch tracks, then percussion and bass, then keeper guitar tracks for Woody and me, then the mandolin and fiddle. Recording the keeper lead and backup vocals came last in the process.

There was a lovely canteen at Abbey Road, so we were able to have a proper meal during the day. And when we the session wrapped, we had a celebratory toast in the canteen courtyard. It was an amazing day. Although the studio is an historic landmark and icon to musicians everywhere, by the end of our experience, it truly felt like home

Goodbye "Radio Stranger". It's been a fun ride, but we are solidifying our branding, dropping "Radio Stranger" to move to "Brightwell & Moran". Folks were having a hard time finding us on the streaming platforms (look for Brightwell & Moran). No worries, it's still goofy ole us.

Radio Stranger (Brightwell & Moran) was just awarded 2022 Global Winner for Talent Is Timeless contest for our song "Bare Boards". Talent Is Timeless recognizes songwriters over the age of 50. The grand prize includes a recording session at Abbey Road Studios in London. Woo hoo!!! How cool is that? 

We had tremendous help in recording "Bare Boards" so congratulations also to: Rob Stroup - engineer & producer; Michael Henchman - bass; Jean-Pierre Garau - keyboards; Jeffrey Koch - electric guitar; Jeffrey Anthony - drums. 

(Just in case you'd like to hear a live version of "Bare Boards" click here).