At the heart of “Everybody’s Battling Something” is a simple truth. Everybody’s carrying something, even when it doesn’t show. The song appears as the tenth track on Parts Work by Mechanical River. Written and recorded by Joel Hamilton, it moves with an easy swing, drifting along on a bouncing piano line on the album.

For this live session, Hamilton is joined by Jeff Caldwell, reworking the song on acoustic guitars. The shift brings the performance closer, unveiling the song in an intimate, direct light. Filmed in front of the “I Love My Friends” mural at the former Hunter-Gatherer building on South Main Street, the session took place just weeks before the site’s demolition in June 2025.

Against that backdrop, the song’s message feels especially resonant.