McKendrick Bearden

When the stay-at-home order was issued in the spring of 2020, McKendrick Bearden cashed in his savings on recording gear, set up a home studio, and got to work. To avoid the despondence that gripped so many during the pandemic, he put himself up to the challenge of creating music all his own.

His debut solo album Bright As The Mines Out is something of a musical calling card. It nods not only to what the prodigious guitar player and songwriter can do, but also what he likes, who he is, where he’s coming from. Stirring swells meet tender relief, symphonic arrangements are countered by familiar song structure—as an artist, McKendrick finds home among a broad array of influences.

A lifelong student of music, he treated the album as an assignment—an experiment to prove his credibility to himself. He tested his expansive abilities on guitar, as well as his sensibilities as a composer and producer. The result is as vast as his skills are varied. It felt like recording music for the first time. After two albums with his band Grand Vapids, much work as a sought-after collaborator in his local Athens, GA, and touring with the likes of Eric
Bachmann and Roadkill Ghost Choir, striking out alone was unfamiliar. With no one else’s
expectations to meet, he discovered satisfaction in his own musical intuition.

The album features contributions from homegrown talent, including Jeremy Wheatley (Eric
Bachmann), Ryan Engelberger (Reptar), and Jojo Glidewell (Of Montreal). Ingenuity was
required to remain safe while recording, but the mixed fidelity of different environments and gear added texture. Most tracks, however, are McKendrick alone—singing and playing guitar, bass, keys, synth, and drums—further testament to his musical breadth.

McKendrick witnessed 2020 as a year in which the world was held up to mirror, revealing both fragility and beauty. Bright As The Mines Out is similarly reflective. It offers glimpses into the people and places that make him who he is and the fault lines in his own reality. These
observations, steeped in an overwhelming sense of gratitude, offer a tonic for despair.
The magic of music is that it starts as your own and then transforms; it becomes a thing to be
shared. McKendrick Bearden sought comfort and captured its sound. And now, after a year of music made in isolation, he’s ready to let it go.