“There is music I like that is not necessarily current but which is still relevant,” says Grammy Award winning producer Malcolm Burn, who has worked with Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop and Daniel Lanois, among others. “I hear something in Eric’s music that relates to ‘80s bands that I was excited about who had a lot of passion and enthusiasm to their music.”

Eric Stepanian’s Goodnight Scarlett, produced by Malcolm Burn, fits that narrative of music, which is relevant, immediate and powerful. Shorthand? Goodnight Scarlett is timeless, pure, American rock music, influenced by Stepanian’s twin heroes of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, tempered by ‘70s AM radio fare and personalized by the singer-songwriter’s unique history. 

Stepanian’s songs are often charged with a subtle sense of inner turmoil, but his gift for storytelling is what attracts, not heart on the sleeve histrionics. The songs of Goodnight Scarlett are as relevant as real life. Recorded with a handpicked band: Burn on bass and keyboards, Jon Graboff –pedal steel ( Ryan Adam and The Cardinals/Norah Jones) drummer Ethan Eubanks (Teddy Thompson, Crash Test Dummies) and guitarist Craig Ross (Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin) Goodnight Scarlett rocks a miracle mile, recalls melancholic memories like rotting rose petals, and ultimately finds release in redemption and self-acceptance.

Following a pair of band led Stepanian albums (Autumn She Leaves, Wait Out The Rain), Eric Stepanian steps up to the mic, solo. Hey kid, call us when you’re famous. As John Lennon once sang, “It won’t be long.”