Jered Parker Harlan is finally debuting an album. As a guitarist, he’s been a part of the Fort Worth music scene for years, playing with acts like Denver Williams, Levi Ray Band, Zac Stokes Band, and Mega Chief. Now, he’s tackling the rootsy singer-songwriter thing, and Parker Hill is his first release.
“It’s taken a while to get this album out, because I wanted it to be special and done right,” Harlan said. “It’s an important album to me, and it’s a dream come true.”
Recorded at Fort Worth Sound (Toadies, Pat Green, Justin Pollard), produced, mixed, and mastered by studio owner Bart Rose, Parker Hill features contributions from bassist Aden Bubeck (Miranda Lambert), fiddler Ben McPherson, multi-instrumentalist Kerry Moore, and drummer Josh Rodgers.
“I really wanted to get into a local Fort Worth studio,” Harlan said. “I’ll probably be recording with [Fort Worth Sound] again. I was interviewing a lot of studios in the area to support the local music scene.”
Harlan also said he enjoyed working with the musicians. “I’ve worked with them before, and they’re really talented.”
For live performances, including an LP release party in Grand Prairie Thursday, Harlan will be joined onstage by his family: on lead guitar father Joel Harlan, a former Texas Tornado; on drums brother Ben Harlan; on bongos brother Shawn Harlan; and on bass Uncle Frank Harlan.
“I always wanted to get the family band together for many years now,” Harlan said. “My dad lives out of state, and we’ve done some jams in the past before but never something like this. It’s a musical reunion for the whole family.”
Some of Parker Hill indeed has a family-get-together kind of vibe. The single “Sweet Tea” and songs like “Take It Slow” are ready for gathering around the radio, while tracks like “Getting By” are about overcoming hard times.
“Most of my songwriting is about working through personal issue in life or working through challenges in life and becoming stronger for it,” Harlan said. “It’s a fun album. All the songs are personally selected and special to me.”
As an independent artist, Harlan funded Parker Hill and said he’s already working on new material for a second album. “Hopefully some of these deeply personal songs will relate to someone through perseverance and make someone feel good. What I want to accomplish with this album is to also put my stamp on a really great music scene in Fort Worth, and maybe I can put a smile on someone’s face when they’re having a bad day.”
Jered Parker Harlan album release show
7pm Thu at The Epic, 2960 Epic Pl, Grand Prairie. Free. 972-339-3742.
