Bywater Call’s Latest Single: “Roll” Canadian Roots, Rock, and Soul Band Releases Uplifting Retro-Soul Number

Canadian Roots, Rock, and Soul band Bywater Call are excited to release their second single of 2024, “Roll”, an uplifting and quirky retro-soul number. Stream the single HERE.

The single release accompanies the official announcement that the band will release their highly anticipated third studio album Shepherd on August 9th.  The album will be available to pre-order on May 15th from www.bywatercall.com.“Roll” was recorded and mixed by Bywater drummer Bruce McCarthy at his studio The BeatFarm in Toronto. “This song, through the stories of three ordinary people, speaks to the curve balls thrown at us all in the game of life,” says Bywater Call’s singer, Megan Parnell. “The lesson: you have to hold your head up and just keep moving forward.”

Featuring a signature bass line played by Mike Meusel and conceived by keyboard player John Kervin, who throws in his own tasteful organ lick, the original inspiration for “Roll” was an old James Carr R&B tune, “The Dark End of the Street.” The song, however, quickly took on a life of it’s own.  

 

Throw in the classic soul of Otis Redding, the American rootsiness of the Wood Brothers, a little humour and quirk, mainly supplied by drummer Bruce McCarthy’s percussion, some twangy resonator and fiery slide guitar from Dave Barnes, sultry vocals from Meghan Parnell, and then top it all off with the unforgettable horn section of Julian Nalli (sax) and Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and a gospel-inspired build that will have us all celebrating our resilience; out comes “Roll”.

The release of “Roll” follows the early March release of “Holler” which saw extensive A-list radio play on UK’s Planet Rock Radio, and the 2023 releases of singles “Sweet Maria” and “For All We Know”, which received rave reviews from UK, Europe, and North America. All three tunes will be included on the new album.

Set to be released August 9th, 2024, Shepherd features a captivating mix of 10 original songs, showcasing the bands continual exploration, experimentation, and reach beyond the boundaries of their genre, further developing their own unique voice. The new music shows their growth, while still paying tribute to their historical and contemporary influences.

Packed with ripping rock tunes, quirky off-beat numbers, and beautiful ballads, the upcoming album Shepherd is exuberant, rootsy, funky, joyful, and heartbreaking all at once. At its core, this album celebrates, and reflects the human experience with all its highs and lows: love, passion, regret, patience, resilience, reconciliation, anger, hardship. This album will truly take the listener on a journey.  

Shepherd is the Bywater Call’s first fully self-produced and self-recorded album.

Bywater Call is currently UK Blues Award nominated for International Blues Artist of the year.  They have toured extensively in Europe where shows have been praised by Dutch, German and UK media, with references to Meghan as one of the best female voices in blues and roots today.  

The band has been busy. In 2023 alone, they played a total of 96 shows in 10 countries, 89 cities, 19 US states and 3 Canadian provinces, including Joe Bonamassa’s third Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean Cruise.  

In October 2024, they will headline their second UK tour. Tour info at www.bywatercall.com.