There’s something to be said of living in the moment these days. With a barrage of devastating headlines, and even more exhausting social posts, it can be difficult to hold onto the world right before your eyes. Singer-songwriter Josh Kelley wrote his song “Busy Making Memories” as his children tottered around him one crisp January morning. Now, the musician gives the sentimental ballad a piano update with a muted, intimate new video, premiering today on American Songwriter.
Videos by American Songwriter
“This version of my new single was created as a way to force myself to learn the song on piano. As I was going over the song in my studio, my eldest daughter walked in to say hello and just started taking footage of me recording the song,” he says. “I’d say about three takes were cut together on this video. I’m very grateful she came in and captured this moment, otherwise it would just be the audio and no visual.”
“I never saw this day in my brain when I was carving out the rest of my life,” he sings. In processing the present, one of unimaginable joy and warmth, he learns he might have taken even the faint possibility of it all for granted. His voice rises in heavenly rings around him, as he sings, “Two little girls and one little boy making angels under Snow White sky’s / But I’m grateful for the changes in the plans that I once made / Because they had me running like a rabbit on a wheel too busy chasing empty dreams.”
The Augusta, Georgia native considers for a moment what this new performance could mean for his career going forward. “My goal for 2020 is to become much more proficient on piano for my live shows, and I feel I’ve already made great strides,” he says. “It’s good for me to try to learn as many of them on piano as possible as I’m often in situations where there is a keyboard or a piano laying around but not a guitar, like a radio station conference room or at someone’s house. It’s good to be versatile.”
“Busy Making Memories” is Kelley’s first bit of original music since 2016’s New Lane Road. He is expected to release a new record this summer.
Watch the new version below.
Here are his upcoming tour dates:
March 5 – New York, NY – City Vineyard
March 6 – Boston, MA – The Haymarket Lounge at City Winery
March 8 – Philadelphia, PA – The Loft at City Winery
March 19 – Atlanta, GA – City Winery
March 20 & 21 – Augusta, GA – The Country Cub Dance Hall & Saloon
March 22 – Nashville, TN – City Winery
April 4 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
April 16 – Denver, CO – Globe Hall
April 19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Hotel Cafe
April 29 – Chicago, IL – City Winery
April 30 – Indianapolis, IN – Lo-Fi Lounge
May 1 – Cincinnati, OH – Ludlow Garage
May 2 – Columbus, OH – A&R Music Bar
