Southern Avenue - Be The Love You Want (2021)

Memphis soul powerhouse Southern Avenue release their third full-length album. Be the Love You Want was produced by multi-Grammy® winner, Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Deer Tick, Susan Tedeschi, Jackie Greene), and co-produced by Ori Naftaly.

Be the Love You Want is Southern Avenue’s most ingenious and personal effort thus far. Since their inception, the band has produced a wide-ranging collection of original music – predominantly co-written by Israeli-born guitarist Ori Naftaly and powerhouse lead vocalist Tierinii Jackson – that links them to their home city’s glorious past while at the same time, demonstrates their ambitious intent to evolve Memphis music to contemporary effect.

Be the Love You Want sees Southern Avenue teaming up with artists like multi-Grammy® award-winning pop superstar Jason Mraz and certified Platinum producer Michael Goldwasser from Easy Star All-Stars on “Move Into The Light” for a churning, funk-blasted burner. Besides writing with him on the first single, the band also collaborated with Cody Dickinson from North Mississippi Allstars for the song “Heathen Hearts.” The songwriting core grew within the band as well, as drummer Tikyra Jackson and bassist Evan Sarver collaborated to co-write “Let’s Get It Together” and “Pressure.”

The band brilliantly bridges the power of Memphis soul with jamband liberation, gospel blues, and R&B to craft their own timeless brand of American music. The ambitious sonic approach expertly complements Be the Love You Want's rich themes of self-love, self-empowerment, personal accountability and the desire to push through towards something greater in life.