LISTEN: Jake Neuman and the Jaybirds Share “Say What You Mean”

Debut EP from Americana upstarts, Little Bitty Town, out July 14th on Peacedale Records

One of the bright new voices in modern Americana is Jake Neuman & The Jaybirds, whose debut EP, Little Bitty Town, comes out on July 14th.

But Rock & Roll Globe has an early taste of the music from this 25-year-old singer-songwriter with one of the set’s best tunes in “Say What You Mean,” which we are proud to share with our readers today on the site.

“At the time of writing this song, I was definitely going through a lot,” Neuman tells us about the song’s premise. “I realized that the people that I had surrounded myself with my entire life were not who they pretended to be. Moving away from that circle of people was earth-shattering, but it taught me to value those who ‘Say What You Mean,’ if you will.”

“Say What You Mean,” along with the rest of the EP, springs from Neuman’s survival of a near-fatal brain hemorrhage, in where music served as his lifeline during a lengthy recovery.

“I was really trying to find an escape from what seemed like an inescapable situation, so I dove head-first into music,” he explains. “Artists such as Koe Wetzel, Jason Isbell, and, of course, good Ol Timmy Tyler Childers were on repeat in that trailer I was living in. They became subconscious influences when writing this song.”

Jake Neuman and the Jaybirds Little Bitty Town, Peacedale Records 2024

Neuman’s collaboration with New York City-based producer Gregory Dwane Griffith at Americana Fest 2022 also marked a turning point, leading to the creation of Little Bitty Town at Griffith’s Peacedale Records and Studio in Connecticut. For the recording, Griffith brought in a talented group of local musicians, including Jeff Hill on bass (Steve Earl, Shooter Jennings, and Rufus Wainwright), Tony Leone on drums (Little Feat and the Chris Robinson Brotherhood) and Jimmy Wallace on keys (Jack Ingram, Dierks Bentley, and Parker McCollum). The resulting sound is a unique blend of raw, modern, rootsy, and gothic, drawing comparisons to artists like Zack Bryan, Arlo McKinley, and Lucero.

In fact, going back to “Say What You Mean,” the song serves as the defining factor that ties the whole project together.

“This is actually the song that ended up getting me signed to Peacedale Records,” he proclaims. “My producer and dear friend, Greg D. Griffith, came to see a writer’s round that I was playing in East Nashville at the Bowery Vault, and I performed this one! I have to say, it felt like I was being guided by the universe when it came to the recording process. I was absolutely blown away by the wonderful musicians who contributed to this record. With a drummer like Tony Leone of Little Feat, a bassist like Jeff Hill of Steve Earle and The Dukes, and a fiddle player like Rachel Baiman, I knew we had something truly special.”

Listen to “Say What You Mean” below.