Jonah Kagen Bares His Soul to the World in New Single “The Roads”
- Brian Mecinas
- Jul 14, 2023
- 3 min read
Armed with subdued vocals that command attention and a talent for packaging years of emotions into just a few verses, Jonah Kagen’s heart-wrenching new single “The Roads” delves into the turmoil and unrest of adolescent relationships. Written entirely by Kagen and co-produced with Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Vance Joy, Zach Bryan), the 23-year-old artist has continued to carve out a world of his own in a growing indie-folk genre, with nearly two million Spotify monthly listeners and over 200+ million global streams to prove it.
Jonah takes listeners by the hand and guides them down “The Roads”, building a vivid landscape through carefully placed layers of instrumentals supplemented by heartfelt lyrics. He eloquently narrates the mental dissonance attached to the realization that a relationship has resulted in the loss of the person we once were through effortlessly moving lines like “‘And we’d all love to know just where you went / Cause, honey, you don’t look the same / I barely recognize you with that look on your face’ / My God, those words are burned into my brain”. Often, investing heavily into a relationship can come at the cost of maintaining others, leaving a shell of ourselves to hold our place amongst those who care about us.
Within the four minutes of the song, Kagen expands on these sentiments as he allows us to watch him traverse the mountainous impact that a once familiar stranger has left on his life. Through past, present, and future, he’s come to find himself reliving the same experiences and memories regardless of the path he takes in search of personal growth and sanctuary, a resounding result of how deeply entrenched this person once was in his life. The song gradually builds into a rousing folk-rock number in its chorus, emphasizing this feeling as a calling card of the pain that comes with growing up and losing someone we once thought would have a permanent place in our lives: “There’s blisters on my feet / I ran right through my shoes / These roads are changing me / But they all lead back to you”. Fueled by a deep sense of nostalgia, Kagen’s lyrics capture the emotional intricacies of life’s transitional moment.
“'The Roads’ is one of those songs I feel like I’ve been working toward for so long,” Jonah writes. “It’s the culmination of so much heartbreak, so much growing up, and so much learning. Some of my favorite lyrics and sounds I’ve ever created are in this song, and I think the story speaks for itself—I hope you can feel the years of emotion and human experience pouring out in it.”
Kagen is no stranger to passionate folk ballads, having launched himself into the spotlight with 2021 debut single “broken”. The song, which has nearly 54 million streams to date on Spotify alone, solidified his rise to fame on TikTok and helped rapidly build a platform of fans who’ve rallied around each of his releases since.
Building off of the momentum of a US tour supporting Maisie Peters and the December 2022 release of his debut EP georgia got colder, Kagen has now followed up on the well-received release of “The Roads” with the announcement of a headline tour slated for October of this year. With dates scheduled in Washington DC, New York City, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Charlotte, the tour will also see Kagen and his blossoming career come full circle with a final night at Atlanta’s Center Stage Theatre in his home state of Georgia.
After wrapping up a recent summer European tour supporting Anson Seabra, Jonah headed to The Cotswolds, a strikingly picturesque area of Southern England, to film “The Roads” music video, which can be viewed below. The video was directed by David Od (Coin, Noah Kahan) who also worked on Jonah’s “18” music video.
An exciting new voice bringing an undeniable energy and sincerity through his multifaceted sound, Jonah Kagen is undoubtedly an artist on the rise. His headlining tour dates are sure to be spectacular shows that you don’t want to miss out on.
Listen to The Roads now
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