Boston alt-country and Americana collective harness the past to deliver
a golden new single with hypnotic harmonies on Friday, April 10
Each new song Other Brother Darryl unveil acts as a sort of self-help book. Contained within are life lessons and exploratory tales of personal experience wound gently around the Boston alt-country and Americana collective’s hypnotic harmonies, unfurling like a little voice inside our heads, reassuring us that things will, in fact, be alright.
So as we find ourselves at a seasonal crossroads, with winter’s sheltered stillness giving way to the colorful and optimistic blooms of spring, a sense of what comes next can be equally exciting and anxious. But the next step in our own personal journey is not possible without all the ones that came before it, and that’s at the nurturing core of the octet’s captivating new single, “Take It With You,” set for release on Friday, April 10.
This sterling new composition, which swirls and aches with a tender precision in showcasing the reassuring magic contained within Other Brother Darryl’s distinguished sound, is the follow-up to last month’s “Peaceful Alibi.” And it adds another mystical chapter to the cosmic canyon rock band’s forthcoming sophomore album, Hey Yeah Hey, out June 26.
“We’re shaped by our past,” says guitarist and co-vocalist Nate Leavitt. “All of the experiences in our life are what makes us who we are. Good or bad, these are the things that make us who we are and it’s important to recognize that. It doesn’t mean you have to live in the past; in fact it’s the complete opposite. Live in the now but know you’re here because of your past.”
Part of a monthly rollout of new singles before the album arrives, “Take It With You” comforts and consoles just ahead of two key Other Brother Darryl live dates: May 1 at Lowell’s The Town and The City Festival in Lowell, where they share the Warp & Weft stage with The Wolff Sisters; and then June 6 at the highly-anticipated New England Americana Festival a Bellforge Arts Center in Medfield.
On the surface, “Take It With You” is a song that implores exactly what the title implies. And beneath that surface comes a true sense of calm empowerment, aligning a message of how each step along our own journey has led to this moment in Other Brother Darryl’s own special way, where a seemingly endless and uplifting chorus draws the listener close, swirling with a lived-in sense of emotion and a weathered Americana infectiousness that would not sound out of place alongside classics from The Byrds or Tom Petty.
“What inspired this tune was a story about somebody once saying they wish they could change things, and the response from their teacher was to ‘bring it with you,’” notes co-vocalist, lyricist, and percussionist Dan Nicklin. “We often talk about unpacking things and getting to the bottom of it. The sentiment of ‘bringing it with you’ is grabbing your baggage and taking it; you can unpack it if you want, but make sure you bring it with you because if you’re strong enough now to unpack it, it’s because of what you lived through. So don’t turn your back on those memories.”
Captured in that message is both a sense of cautious nostalgia and hopeful anticipation, something Other Brother Darryl has skillfully translated through music, bringing their harmonic magnetism to global audiences. It has earned the band a win as Country Artist of the Year at the 2024 Boston Music Awards before being nominated last year for Americana Artist of the Year and Music Video of the Year (“Watch The Trees”), capping a 2025 that began with the release of acclaimed debut album Roll Shine Roll.
Together, this group of friends and collaborators have been shaping the delicate and deliberate Other Brother Darryl sound since their inception the past decade or so, where they bonded at a long-gone Somerville rock club over a shared love of The Jayhawks, Wilco, and true authentic artistry, the type of harmony-driven Americana sound that feels both intimate and personal… and that’s not to mention the TV show Newhart, where the group traces its moniker.
Joining Leavitt and Nicklin in the current shape of Other Brother Darryl are Dan Cederholm (drums); Derek Feeney (acoustic guitar); Chad Raleigh (multi-instrumentalist); Jim Collins (bass, vocals); Dave Lieb (piano, vocals); Matt Odabashian (organ); and Dave Mirabella, a co-founder and beloved brother who provides spiritual guidance from the other side after passing away in 2022.
“We are spoiled to have so many great players in this group,” notes Leavitt, one of three guitarists in the lineup. “The interplay between all of the instruments is so tasteful in this band. But I love playing with Derek and Chad and we complement each other really well. In this song, my 12-string guitar part introduces the vocal melody at the beginning. Then there’s the countermelody played on the lapsteel by Chad in the chorus. Of course all of the texture and color from the rest of the instruments are so nicely orchestrated… we often all get caught listening when playing it together live.”
Adds Raleigh: “When Other Brother Darryl first started, it was a much smaller operation, with fewer voices in the room, fewer perspectives shaping the sound. Now there are more of us, and that naturally changes things. You’re going to hear different styles and vibes coming together. It’s still rooted in alt-country and Americana, but now there are more musical personalities influencing the arrangements, the feel, even the way the songs build. It’s less one lane and more of a conversation. That’s where a lot of the evolution comes from — it’s the sound of a fuller band.”
Remarkably, Other Brother Darryl first recorded the original demo of “Take It With You” on April 10 of last year – exactly one year before it would be released to the world. After the melody and arrangement came together fairly quickly – like all great songs, in any genre – Leavitt recalls the excitement in the studio as Nicklin was crafting the lyrics.
“I remember the suspense and anticipation in the room as Dan was writing what would become this beautiful, long-winded chorus,” Leavitt admits. “I still don’t know how he sings it without taking more breaths than he does. I still have a hard time singing the harmony with him nevermind remembering all of the words!”
Nicklin would eventually cultivate a chorus that stretches out like the arms of a loved one ready to give us the hug we need; building and exhaling with layers of voices as the band cradles the message, buoyed by Raleigh’s lapsteel for a sense of levity. And Nicklin recalls a sense of nervousness in the tumbling, breathless nature of it.
“I remember the moment when I first showed everyone the chorus and thought, ‘this is a strange one,’” he admits with a laugh. “But there are so many little parts that make the whole on this one. It’s not just a straightforward three- or four-part harmony of the main vocal line. It truly is a sum of the parts that make the chorus so strong; each little harmony piece taken separately wouldn’t be much, but their sum is just so good.”
Its initial conception, as well as its eventual release into the wild, within the first few weeks of spring informs its musical sound and lyrical message, and while unveiling it on the one-year anniversary of its recording was purely coincidental, it confirms its place on the calendar.
“When it comes to deciding which song to release when, we’ve always been mindful of the seasons,” Leavitt adds. “Music is such a big part of everyone’s life and listening to it is so important to one’s mood and mental health. Spring is nature’s way of telling us it’s time to take a moment and reflect on the past before moving forward. It doesn’t surprise me that we wrote this song in a time of rejuvenation.”
Where “Peaceful Alibi” was a tender ballad about not being afraid to face our challenges, a sonic compass for life’s winding navigation, and the determination that ultimately delivers appreciation, “Take It With You” faces them head-on, and implores us that the only way through is by carrying all that came before to meet this golden moment. Because it’ll only make us stronger, and the challenge easier to conquer.
It acts as another sonic chapter in the self-help book, soundtracked by Other Brother Darryl, one cherished harmony at a time.
“This song is a gift to anyone I’ve ever loved, to family and strangers alike,” Nicklin concludes. “And a reminder to myself that while some days are harder than others, that’s what makes us human.”
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Other Brother Darryl features:
Dan Nicklin: Vocals and percussion
Nate Leavitt: Acoustic guitars and vocals
Dan Cederholm: Drums
Derek Feeney: Acoustic guitar
Chad Raleigh: Electric guitars
Jim Collins: Bass, Vocals
Dave Lieb: Piano, Vocals
Matt Odabashian: Organ
Dave Mirabella: Spiritual guidance
‘Take It With You’ production credits:
Written by Other Brother Darryl
Produced by Dan Nicklin
Recorded and mixed by Dan Nicklin at Henley Row Studios in Stoneham, MA
Mastered by Brian Charles at Rare Signals in Cambridge, MA
Cover design and logo by Dan Cederholm
Band photo by Pat Piasecki
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Other Brother Darryl 2026 bio:
Other Brother Darryl are an eight-piece Boston-based alt-country supergroup, winners of the 2024 Boston Music Award for Country Artist of the Year. Calling their sound cosmic canyon rock, the band is made up of veteran singer-songwriters and local luminaries: Dan Nicklin (vocals, harmonica, percussion), Nate Leavitt (vocals, acoustic guitar), Dan Cederholm (drums), Chad Raleigh (multi-instrumentalist), Derek Feeney (acoustic guitar), Dave Lieb (piano, vocals), Matt Odabashian (organ) and Jim Collins (bass, vocals), with the enduring spirit of their late brother Dave Mirabella as inspiration and guidance.
The roots of Other Brother Darryl stretch back to 2012 at Somerville’s beloved (and now defunct) club Radio, where each member crossed paths regularly with their own projects. Bonded by a shared love of big folk harmonies, the cosmic country of CSNY, The Jayhawks and Wilco, and even a wink to the TV series Newhart, the band carried on an unspoken promise: that one day they’d bring their collective vision to life.
That promise arrived with the release of their debut album Roll Shine Roll in February 2025, recorded at Nicklin’s Henley Row Studios. The eleven-song set is a meditation on resilience, loss, and brotherhood, dedicated to Mirabella, who passed away suddenly in 2022. Praised as “deep as Music from Big Pink by The Band” (Vivascene), the album has since surpassed 30,000 streams, with the single “Watch the Trees” alone passing 10,000 streams and earning rotation on Boston’s premier Americana station, WUMB.
Momentum has continued to build with each step. The band were finalists in the storied Rock & Roll Rumble, released a mini-documentary about their origins, rolled out six singles from Roll Shine Roll, which in addition to “Watch the Trees,” included “Until I Do,” “Sometimes,” and “The Ballad of Joni & Graham,” which have established their reputation as torchbearers for authentic Americana and alt-country. The year of the album’s release, the band was nominated for two Boston Music Awards, in the Americana of the Year and Video of the Year (for “Watch The Trees”) categories.
Onstage, Other Brother Darryl have become fixtures in the New England scene and beyond: appearing at the New England Americana Festival, the Outlaw Music Festival (Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Wilco) at BankNH Pavilion, and the Underwater Sunshine Festival curated by Adam Duritz of Counting Crows. They’ve also shared bills with acts like Deer Tick and Will Dailey, further cementing their standing as a band that thrives both in the studio and live.
With sophomore album Hey Yeah Hey arriving in June 2026, sparked by lead single “Peaceful Alibi” in March, Other Brother Darryl remain committed to carrying their cosmic canyon rock forward. A sound born of friendship, community, and the belief that real music played by real people, for good people, still matters.
