With the 4th of July coming in the next few days, there is no better time to spin “4th of July”, the new track by the New York City-based singer/songwriter Mackenzie Shivers. After graduating from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music with a degree in music composition and theory, Shivers’ talents as a songwriter only grew, as evidenced by the delicate songwriting on this track. The gospel-inflected piano chords create a reflective mood that becomes all the more significant when one takes the song’s inspiration into account.
Shivers describes this influence: “I wrote this song when my sister moved to California, and we were figuring out the next time we would be able to see each other. Musically, I was listening to Elton John‘s new album at the time, so I was definitely influenced by his sound.”
Shivers’ new studio record, Shivers, will be released later this year.