Elijah Ocean - Blue Jeans & Barstools (2020) [Hi-Res]

Since leaving his home state of Maine in 2009, Elijah Ocean has released 5 full-length records and toured the country countless times, opened for the likes of Dale Watson and Charlie Crockett, and backed up talents like Zephaniah Ohora and Michaela Anne. He’s played to packed houses from the Mercury Lounge to the Troubadour and at festivals such as Stagecoach, Americanafest, and SXSW. Since settling in Los Angeles in 2014, Ocean has steadily been honing his unique brand of West Coast Country Music while making a name for himself on the national stage.

LA Weekly mentioned Ocean as one of 10 artists to watch in 2017, and that year saw the release of a self-titled country-rock effort that broke 50 on the Americana charts. In March of 2018, his single “Down This Road” was hailed by Rolling Stone Country as one of the 10 best Americana and Country songs of the week.

In December of 2019, Ocean surprise-released a collection of home-spun recordings mostly captured in his parents’ barn in Maine. Back to the Lander was met with critical acclaim from Saving Country Music and AmericanaUK and was recognized as one of the 100 greatest Maine-made albums of the decade by the Bangor Daily News. The album received national airplay on SiriusXM Outlaw Country and other stations.

2020 brings another batch of fresh tunes from the prolific writer. Recorded mostly in his home studio, Blue Jeans & Barstools finds Ocean in a honky-tonk setting, singing self-penned neo-traditional songs and playing the majority of the instruments. “Behind the Times,” a song from the record, was featured on the CW Network’s Riverdale in January.

Whether performing solo acoustic or with his honky-tonk band, Ocean consistently captures audiences’ hearts and finds a common thread with his warm voice, catchy melodies, and smart storytelling.