Singer-Songwriter SCOTT MILLER To Release New Single On July 12

Summer Tour Includes Mountain Heritage Literary Fest And Shows With Hayes Carll

KNOXVILLE, TN: On July 12th, Scott Miller’s F.A.Y. Recordings will issue the digital single “Lo Siento Spanishburg, WVa,” Scott’s first new music since the 2009 release of his critically acclaimed LP For Crying Out Loud.

“Lo Siento…” (‘I’m Sorry’ in Spanish) is “a story of the Real Americana,” bringing light to Spanishburg, West Virginia, a beautiful little town on the banks of the Bluestone River that was named after Spanish Brown, one of its first inhabitants, whom settled on what is now known as the Miller Farm (no relation).

Miller, whom himself was raised on a cattle farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, provides some colour, “I’m a Virginian. The hardest thing for a Virginian to do (besides write a Declaration of Independence, found a nation or invent the Reaper) is to marry a West Virginian. Why? Because as soon as you say “I do” you give up half your jokes…”

“But I did marry a West Virginian. My wife is from the town of Athens, West Virginia in Mercer County. Up the road from Athens is the town of Spanishburg. Every time I’d pass by, I would start to envision what I thought it would be like there: Like the road attraction South of the Border in South Carolina with cheap Baja shirts and fireworks? Or maybe a quiet town with sleepy eyed señoritas and a kick ass Mexican restaurant!”

“Turns out Spanishburg is a quaint little town not yet discovered by the land grabbing retirees of Northern Virginia (it’s only a matter time…). That is what is happening to the town where I grew up just across the border into Virginia: soon the people that grew up there won’t be able to afford to live there. It’s the way of the world, I guess. Poor folks build it, rich folks buy it.”

Scott continues to help manage his family’s farm in Swoope, VA; balancing time there with his year-round touring schedule. This summer, he’ll join Hayes Carll for three shows and will perform a special keynote session at the sixth annual Mountain Heritage Literary Festival (MHLF) taking place June 24-26 at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, TN, just southeast of Cumberland Gap, a historic Appalachian passageway used by Native Americans and later widened by a team of loggers led by Daniel Boone.

Miller’s appearance at the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival marks a return engagement and a seasoned pairing with MHLF Founding Director Silas House (author of the novels Clay’s Quilt, A Parchment of Leaves, The Coal Tattoo, and Eli the Good) whereby Miller and House commence in a live on-the-fly collaborative effort with Scott swapping verses of songs mirrored by ancillary book excerpts read by Silas. It’s a literary form of ping-pong that electrifies those in attendance. For more information, please visit http://www.lmunet.edu/MHLF

During the past fifteen years as a founder of the seminal roots rock band The V-Roys and a successful solo artist, Miller has received high praise for his well-crafted songs delivered with raw emotion and biting wit. Whether his compositions tell the tales of fictional characters or are colored with historical archeology, Knoxville’s Metropulse sums it up best when they surmised “His songs are full of rural imagery; his trademark is the mule. And he has a degree in Russian lit from William & Mary. He is not much like anybody else we know of.”

SCOTT MILLER PRESS QUOTES
“You realize how spoiled you are when the songwriters in the round features Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Scott Miller, Allison Moorer and Dar Williams. With each performer getting just three songs each, it was Scott Miller who surprisingly made the biggest impact on me.” Paste Magazine

“Red Ball Express” was particularly stirring, recounting the story of a little-discussed aspect of World War II, and exposing him as one of the finest under-appreciated songwriters on the boat.” Kim Reuhl No Depression

“Miller’s songs are infused with heartrending pathos, particularly “Lo Siento, Spanishburg, West Virginia,” a tale of transformation in small town America, and “Freedom’s A Stranger,” an affirmative anthem even The Boss would likely love to call his own. Blurt! Online

“Miller and the Commonwealth successful combine Southern grit and homespun sentiments into songs that are, by turns, delicate, defiant, whimsical and rebellious.” Performing Songwriter

ON TOUR
June 24 – Mountain Heritage Literary Fest, Harrogate, TN
July 07 – Kingsport Twilight Series, Kingsport, TN
July 15 – McGonigels Mucky Duck, Houston, TX
July 16 РAll Good Caf̩, Dallas, TX
July 19 – Skippers Smokehouse (w/ Hayes Carll), Tampa, FL
July 20 – The Earl (w/ Hayes Carll), Atlanta, GA
July 22 – Brooklyn Arts Center (w/ Hayes Carll), Wilmington, NC
July 23 – Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington DC