Enter to win Surrender Hill's A Whole Lot of Freedom CD

Enter to win a copy of Americana duo Surrender Hill's brand new album (A Whole Lot of Freedom)! North Georgia-based Americana duo Surrender Hill (husband and wife team Robin Dean Salmon and Afton Seekins) releases its fourth album, A Whole Lot of Freedom, on April 3, 2020. An Americana/roots-rock record filled with harmonized vocals, electric guitar, and swooning fiddle, A Whole Lot of Freedom was recorded at the couple's newly-constructed home studio in northern Georgia, with contributions from drummer Mathew Crouse (who also appeared on the duo's 2018 album, Tore Down Fences), fiddler Wyatt Espalin, and guest guitarist Jonathan Callicutt. Of the 36 songs originally written for the record, Salmon and Seekins chose 18, turning A Whole Lot of Freedom into their first double-album. The tracks that made the final cut were, by and large, both melodic and mellow, influenced heavily by the arrival of their first child, Wren. The result is an album that's both personal and universal, stocked with character-driven songs and first-person accounts. To enter the contest, fill out the form below between Friday, April 3 and Friday, April 24.

"The songs were inspired by experiences we had on the road, stories from our youth growing up, stories told by family, and - of course - the feelings and experiences that come up when you have a child and you watch him grow and you reevaluate what's important," says Salmon, who splits the album's vocal and songwriting duties with Seekins. "Wren's arrival played a huge role in the songwriting, and there is a thread of some version of freedom in all the songs on this album."

"Got a little country in my soul [and] a little bit rock & roll," they sing on the title track, "A Whole Lot of Freedom," their voices wrapped around one another in loving harmony. This song shines new light on Surrender Hill, whose name was taken from the landmark in South Africa where the Anglo-Boer War came to a close. Like the song itself - and, indeed, the band's namesake, too - A Whole Lot of Freedom doubles down on themes of freedom and togetherness, written and performed by a duo of songwriters who've fought their own battles and suffered their own scars, only to surrender to, and find peace with, each other. This is a songwriter's album that appeals to casual onlookers and

vets of the trade, from "The Ballad of Rebel Wingfield" - a gorgeous, nostalgic ballad about a drug dealer who lives and dies by his own set of rules, to the sparse and sentimental "Beautiful Wren," which pays tribute to the couple's son.

Like the three records that came before it - 2015's self-titled debut, 2017's Right Here Right Now, and 2018's Tore Down Fences - A Whole Lot of Freedom proves that Surrender Hill's road-dog status - the result of a busy touring schedule that often finds the band playing more than 200 international shows a year - doesn't come at the expense of the duo's sharp, articulate writing. In addition to receiving critical acclaim and airplay worldwide, their past albums have climbed the Americana and roots charts, reaching as high as #3 on the Indie World Country/Americana Chart and #6 on the Roots Music Report.

Press praised their past releases; Strutter Magazine declared that their music incorporated "elements of Americana, Folk, Country and Singer/songwriter, sounding like a perfect cross between Bruce Springsteen, Rodney Crowell and Dolly Parton, both vocally and musically speaking." Knoxville News Sentinel admired their "effectively homey vibe," calling it "a welcoming environment built on a comfortable blend of country, rock and soul." Off-Center Reviews appreciated that "Salmon's voice has just the right amount of spit for country/folk music and Seekins adorns hers with small touches of nasal twang." And Rootstime wrote of their music, "The two songwriters present beautiful country music, heart-warming, sometimes also bittersweet, but always building soft, melancholic melodies that are easy to listen to."

Surrender Hill is featured in an episode of the documentary series currently airing on Amazon Prime entitled "Undiscovered."

https://surrenderhill.com/