REFLECTIVE, SELF-PENNED TITLE TRACK OUT NOW
Unlearn Album Art | Courtesy of Big Loud Records | Download Here
NASHVILLE, TENN. – When it comes to 27-year-old emerging artist-writer Griffen Palmer, there’s always something more; a deeper meaning in a winking lyric, a tricky, switch-laden phrase buried in a three-minute earworm, a story to uncover that’s more than meets the eye. On April 28, Palmer will release his anticipated 10-track debut album Unlearn that proves no exception.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Palmer laughs. “I’ve been dreaming of putting out my own album for as long as I can remember. It was important to me that we hold on releasing my first album until we had the songs just right, and I’m equal parts amazed and proud of how it has all turned out.”
Capturing the rollercoaster experience of life and relationships as a modern twenty-something, the wordsmith arms himself with instantly accessible lyricism, small-town sentiments, real world realizations, and heartbroken ballads across his collection of original songs.
Palmer steers listeners from the first note, kicking off with career-launching waltz “Second Guessing” and jumping headfirst into life giving lessons, both learned and unlearned; from the past due, post-breakup check in of “By The Way,” to the dark bar tease of “Came Here To Leave,” to regret-soaked drinking song “How Many Beers,” and the flirty, simmering standoff of “Bottles On The Table.”
Finding solace in music in the early pandemic, Palmer wrote every song on Unlearn with GRAMMY-nominated creative Geoff Warburton (Shawn Mendes, Machine Gun Kelly, 5 Seconds Of Summer). Both natives of Pickering, Ontario, Palmer and Warburton quickly discovered a musical partnership for the ages.
“Geoff and I met by chance because of a house party in my hometown, his girlfriend (now fiancé) introduced us. He took a chance and got to know me, which is when we figured out that we both played for the same rugby club, love a lot of the same music, and eventually realized we like writing together,” Palmer remembers. “Geoff’s family to me and this record wouldn’t exist without him.”
Palmer and Warburton’s songwriting partnership has also led to outside cuts, like Keith Urban’s “Polaroid,” and standouts from The Band Camino, Chelsea Cutler, Lily Rose, Jade Eagleson, and more.
“Griff continues to blow me away every time we write,” shares Warburton. “He’s mature beyond his years, and I think so many people will really resonate with his story. I’m so proud of him and these songs, and can’t wait for the rest of the world to hear them.”
Brought to life by studio master/producer Joey Moi, the set of Palmer/Warburton one-two punches shows off their knack for crafting ultra-catchy hooks with heartfelt appeal, with Palmer’s sharp, crystalline vocal serving as a critical anchor throughout.
Unlearn Track List
Giving a glimpse of what’s to come today, Palmer just released Unlearn‘s powerful, retrospective title track along with its accompanying performance video. Vulnerability on full display, Palmer voices his most personal lyric yet, juxtaposing the journey to “unlearn” beliefs about love and relationships born from his formative years growing up in a divorced home, against the hope and discovery of finding out what love can look like in a relationship all his own.
“This one meant a lot to me when we wrote it, and that feeling grows for me every time we play it,” Palmer shares. “It’s a song that I really needed when I was younger, so I’m hoping that people out there that feel like I did when I was a kid might hear it now. I just hope it makes them feel understood.”
Keeping his foot on the gas this spring, Palmer is already taking Unlearn to the stage, delivering a set where his “knack for songwriting is obvious, and he has the vocals to back it up” (Country Swag) in cities nationwide supporting labelmate Lily Rose’s 2023 headline tour. The SiriusXM The Highway “Highway Find” isn’t slowing down, tacking on a performance at April’s Live in the Vineyard Goes Country to his stacked calendar.
“I feel really lucky to be where I am right now,” Palmer says with a smile. “I’m touring for the first time, seeing people actually know and sing lyrics I wrote in person. I’m putting out this album that we’ve been working towards for years. It’s been important to me to try to stay human amid any of the pressures and expectations of the business; today, I feel profoundly grateful and grounded and ready.”
ABOUT GRIFFEN PALMER
Sizzling Big Loud Records upstart Griffen Palmer is more than meets the eye. Growing up musically, his artist/musician father instilled an early appreciation for lyricism in him that soon turned into a love for the craft of songwriting. Cultivating a strong pen and sturdy performance chops through four-hour, back-corner cover sets in dusty college bars at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University, the D1 rugby player’s house party introduction to GRAMMY-nominated hitmaker Geoff Warburton (Shawn Mendes, Machine Gun Kelly) was the tip of the scale that moved him to Music City. Winning NBC’s Songland in May of 2020, the in-demand wordsmith has only continued stacking cuts with global superstars like Florida Georgia Line (“Second Guessing”), Keith Urban (“Polaroid”), The Band Camino, Chelsea Cutler, MacKenzie Porter, Jade Eagleson and more. Hot off his debut release, a solo version of “Second Guessing,” the SiriusXM The Highway’s “Highway Find” performed the heart-stopping ballad on ABC’s The Bachelor. On the road now with labelmate Lily Rose supporting her 2023 headline tour, the 27-year-old’s midwestern drive and versatility are on full display, soon to be showcased on his debut album Unlearn due April 28.
CONNECT WITH GRIFFEN PALMER
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER |
# # #
Media Contact
Griffen Palmer | Image by Chris Hornbuckle | Download Here
