Braison Cyrus is making headlines after he announced his debut album, Javelina (out Oct. 22). Along with the announcement he dropped a single, "Blackwater," featuring Steve Earle.
"At the time my drummer Blair and I were at my home studio, and we'd just read a story about road rage going up during the heatwave and people getting out of their cars and shooting each other," Cyrus told Nashville.com. "It turned into a song that had this sort of backwoods creepiness to it, which made me think of 'Copperhead Road' by Steve Earle. We got in touch with Steve and played 'Black Water' for him, and he recorded his part at [historic New York City spot] Electric Lady Studios. Getting him on the song really grounded it and solidified the whole mood we were going for."
The singer and songwriter worked with his bandmates Blair Winters (drums) and Grant Winters (bass) to introduce elements like pedal steel, Hammond B3 organ and strings. He stated, "To me, it's really important to let my band have a lot of creative control," says Cyrus. "I wanted everyone to go in and do their own thing, and bring their own vision to everything we created."
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"Black Water" follows previous singles "Disappear" and "Across the Great Plains." The song was produced by Jordan Reed and Austin Jenkins. The Nashville singer first started making music as a teenager and later began writing songs for artists such as My Morning Jacket's Jim James and Conor Oberst.
Cyrus and his wife Stella McBride Cyrus welcomed their first child in June 2021, Bear Chance, after marrying in Nov. 2019. Through an Instagram post, the new dad wrote, "Bear Chance Cyrus was born June 8th, 2021 at 10:05 PM. He is 9 lbs and 22 inches of pure joy. God poured every bit of his mercy, tenderness, beauty and strength into Bear and @stellamcyrus during her herculean feat of birthing him."
Cyrus is the son of Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus and has five siblings, Brandy, Traci, Chris, Noah and Miley Cyrus.
This article was originally published on August 13, 2021.
