Joe Chang’s project Gold Light is taking off on a winter tour across the South in support of the new single + B-Side release of “Lovers on the Run” and “State Line”. Hitting streaming services on Friday, Dec. 8, these songs tie together a decade-long journey with “Lovers on the Run” telling a cinematic tale of love and loss to “State Line” diving into the trials of long distance love.
The songs are of a time and that time is not 2023. Could be 1955, 1975, or anytime in the gritty 1980s. Imagine being a teen seeing the open road for the first time and mapping your route by the Texas stars with the windows down in your folks 1973 Gold Chrysler Newport. It’s such a free feeling that shows its fleetingness in this song.
“Lovers on the Run” was originally penned as a Kovacs & the Polar Bear song around 2010, with themes of 1950s teen tragedy songs and 1970s road movies. This one tells the tale of a journey from the Appalachians of Kentucky to the Georgia pines and everywhere in between before the calamity of the final moments. The song ties style wise with the closing track of Gold Light’s self titled 2013 album.
The B-side, “State Line,” dedicated to Jess, takes a different turn, driving into the complexities of a long-distance relationship. Set against the backdrop of the Carolinas and the drive from mountains to capitol, the song pulls you into the developing love story, relating to the longing and palpitating early moments of love and the power of distance mixed with those feelings.
When Joe sings this line “Cus there’s chumps burnin’ down this highway” it hits a confidence that lands and keeps pulling you in.
Gold Light, described aptly by a Nashville bartender as “Buddy Holly fronts The Cure, writing Springsteen songs,” continues to share a much needed view in the American music world. From 50’s rock and roll to classic country, Joe has a 2023 view of the past 60 years of music and is making the best of it by creating something so simple that passes down stories and priceless moments of life, but sharing it in a new way that honors everything it touches.
2023 also marks the 10th anniversary of Gold Light’s Southern Winter Tour, a celebration of music and community. Alongside this, the band will release a compilation album, “16 Golden Tracks,” featuring a decade of recordings, including these latest singles.
THURS 12/14 CHARLESTON, SC at LoFi Brewery w/ Sxvxnt and Maya Gold
FRI 12/15 COLUMBIA, SC at The Addition w/ Cannon & the Boxes, Darby Wilcox, and Som’bout
SAT 12/16 GREENVILLE, SC at Wandering Bard Meadery w/ Safety Coffin
SUN 12/17 ATLANTA, GA at Boggs Social & Supply w/ Book Club, Hensleys, and Mad Lasso
MON 12/18 CHATTANOOGA, TN at JJ’s Bohemia w/ Cult Baby
TUES 12/19 LEXINGTON, KY at The Green Lantern w/ Sugarbelli and Warren Byrom
WED 12/20 LOUISVILLE, KY at Nachbar w/ The Hot Tubs
THURS 12/21 NASHVILLE, TN at The Basement w/ Lawndry and Kyle Hamlett Cinco
FRI 12/22 ASHEVILLE, NC at Static Age Records w/ Lawndry and Elijah Raymer (of Good Trauma)
