New album captures the local lifestyle like no other By Cory Davis, general manager, 30A Radio
Our goal with 30A Radio is to provide you music that makes sense driving along 30A, sitting at the beach and watching a sunset, or just something to listen to as you drive to visit the area. We search everywhere for original music from our surrounding feeder markets. And our format really isn’t a format. Well, it is kind of — Southern coastal beach music. Occasionally, we find a song we add that just fits perfectly into that broad category. And now we are adding 13 songs. Because our friends at firstnoteplay.com just dropped the brand new “Come Away to 30A” album — and wow.
Featuring music by Will Thompson, Jamie Kent, Tim Jackson, Lindsey Thompson and Anthony Peebles, all the songs give you the feeling of being on 30A, or may give you the urge to book a stay immediately. The first song on the album was debuted in the 30A Radio Airstream studios late last year called “The 30A Sticker Song.” This could be the first sing-a-long song in South Walton. Kids will learn it immediately, and it will probably make you notice the more than one million 30A stickers in circulation even more.
“Come Away to 30A” is a collection of songs celebrating the people and places of Highway 30A. Tommy Jackson with First Note Entertainment explained, “Every time writers come to Santa Rosa Beach, they fall in love with 30A, and immediately want to write a song about the area. One day we looked at each other and said let’s do it. In honor of this area, let’s set aside some quality time and really write a project. We wrote for eights months and with some of the best writers around. We then took it to Nashville and an area studio and came up with something we are really excited about. We hope this area is as in love with this as we are.”
Long time local singer/songwriter Tim Jackson said, “I am so proud to have been a part of this musical project for the corridor of 30A. This has been such a big part of my musical journey the past three decades. I finally get to give something back to the ones that have given me so much.”
Another song from the album that could be an anthem for the area is Fun day Sunday, sung by Will Thompson. “This CD is more than just words put to music,” he says. “It’s a group of theme songs for a community of people who have a love for this area.”
We love the album, artists and efforts they put into this album, and welcome it to our daily music rotation on 30A Radio. If you’d like to get a digital copy of the album, head to firstnoteplay.com and grab it. They offer CDs, too.