A six-month labor of love will be revealed to the public on Friday night, Nov. 22, at Songbirds when Monday Night Social releases "Watch It Burn."
The new, 10-track album was recorded at The Foundry, produced by Brett Nolan.
"It's not a concept album; it's songs that all of us have written," says Janet McGarity, one of the band's three founding members. "Christian Mann and Brock McGarity (the other members of the founding trio) are the primary lyricists, but the music is very collaborative between all five of us."
The new album includes Monday Night Social's popular "Shutting Down Tennessee," which McGarity names with the title track as her two favorites on the album.
"'Watch It Burn' is kind of an angry song. It's about investing in a relationship that maybe you should have never invested time in the first place; you were wasting time," she describes.
The McGaritys and Mann began performing in 2015 as an indie-folk group focusing on three-part harmonies. Their songs in those early days were tunes they had written before meeting each other.
If you go
› Where: Songbirds Guitar Museum, 35 Station St. (South), 41 Station St. (North)› When: 423-531-2473MONDAY NIGHT SOCIAL ALBUM RELEASE WITH SHERRY COTHRAN› When: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22 (N)› Admission: $10 in advance, $12 day of showCONFEDERATE RAILROAD WITH BEN CHAPMAN› When: 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22 (S)› Admission: $20ERICK BAKER WITH OLIVIA DAPONTE› When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 (N)› Admission: $25JOURNEY TO THE HEART: THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE TO HEART› When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 (S)› Admission: $12 in advance, $15 day of show
In 2016, they began writing songs together, which led to refining their sound and direction. By this point, three-part harmonies had become central to their identity, but the real transition came in the form of instrumentation. Bass player Josh English joined the group, then drummer JG Oliver came on in 2017.
"JG joins, and his first show was Road to Nightfall," McGarity recalls.
After winning the 2017 Road to Nightfall, and headlining one night in the Nightfall concert series, Monday Night Social finished out the year with shows at the Revelry Room, The Country in Nashville, festivals in Chattanooga and Baton Rouge, venues in South Carolina and Georgia and the release of a new EP, "Mixtapes Never Lie."
The band will sell 'Watch It Burn" for $12 at Friday's show. Then they hit the road in support of their new music.
"We are in Savannah, Georgia, the Saturday after Thanksgiving," she says. "We're going to Charleston, South Carolina, for New Year's Eve, and at the beginning of January we will be in Asheville, North Carolina."