Boston artist and multi-instrumentalist delivers a dynamic new alt-rock single about community, compassion, and humanity out Friday, July 17
For several years, Emily Grogan had a song inside of her that was desperate to get out. But it was little more than a casual idea, narrated by her inner voice, dancing around her head, reminding her of our shared humanity and ability to persevere through difficult times. She had an edgy bass sound as the foundation, and an opening lyric that she just could not stop thinking about: “Tell your friends to make amends, ’cause everything is about to blow.”
Obviously, the Boston rock and roll singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is living in the same world as the rest of us. She feels the chaos, sees the division, and understands the fear. The tension that we all carry with us is felt by her each day, and, inspired by recent events and some divine songwriting clarity, those early seeds of a sonic message are now fully in bloom.
Our collective struggle, and the desire to carry forward, feeds the soul of Grogan’s powerful new single, a lush and dynamic dose of anthemic empower-pop called “Tell Your Friends” that hits the streams on Friday, July 17.
The follow-up to vibrant April single “Day Off,” and part of a new album set for release next spring, the soaring “Tell Your Friends” is a commanding call-to-action by the Boston Music Award-nominated artist, rallying around the good in us and assuring that this, too, shall pass.
“‘Tell Your Friends’ came from feeling overwhelmed by the amount of chaos, division, and fear happening around us,” Grogan says. “I found myself pulling more inward this year, and in those moments when I step back into the world, I see the external chaos from a different perspective. So much of what surrounds us seems built around fear; fear that divides people, fuels greed, and creates suffering.”
Grogan admits she’s not a particularly religious person, instead more fascinated by scientific ideas like unified field theories, with how they approach the mystery of existence through curiosity and logic rather than fear or emotion. But the ills of the world and the dizzying anxiety that has a grip on our lives on a daily basis have her seeking out something greater.
“We are all part of something bigger,” she reasons. “I believe that when we move beyond fear and into compassion, we have the ability to create a more beautiful world, both in our personal lives and on a larger scale. The song is really a reminder that we could have so much more if we remembered our shared humanity, create compassion, and step beyond the ‘Us vs Them’ mentality and the culture’s harmful focus on material wealth.”
The lyrics that permeate “Tell Your Friends” illustrate the point in vivid color: “The TV blares to cover up what’s behind / I’ll cover your ears, and then I’ll cover mine” … “Don’t kill your enemies / don’t you know that they’re just there to show you your worst side” … “We’ll walk through the fields where there’s no wrong or right / And build us a tower of infinite light” … and “Don’t look back, don’t look back, don’t look back / ‘cause you’ll only see the wreckage, and it’s already done.”
With the music, arrangement, and lyrics written by Grogan, “Tell Your Friends” was co-produced by the artist with Brian Charles, and recorded at Charles’ Rare Signals studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And with Grogan providing vocals, piano, synths, and acoustic guitar, it allows her band to shine alongside her: Larry Dersch on drums; Michele Cavallari on keyboards and synths; Eric Donahue on bass and Moog; and Chad Raleigh on electric guitar.
Together, they create a commanding composition that pulls the listener in from the jump and never lets go. Grogan’s vocals act like a letter to an old friend, assuring them it’ll all be alright if we just stick together, while the music swells with a sweeping ambition and ‘90s rock ballad energy fit for arenas.
“I feel more confident in life overall which is fueling my creative expression,” she says. “I care less about judgements on my ability and my style and I have much more experience arranging and producing, so those ingredients seem to be bringing out a different style in me.”
And like most great things worth shouting about, “Tell Your Friends” took some time to emerge into its grand final form.
“This was the first song I felt I had ever written where I became a little obsessed with making it perfectly match the vision I had in my head,” Grogan reflects. “At the time, the lyrics felt almost too dramatic, maybe even a little silly, and I wasn’t sure they would make it into the final song. But they matched the energy of the bass line so perfectly that I decided to leave them.”
But the music wasn’t quite there, as she could not recall her original odd guitar tuning when she returned to try to finish the song. But this fledgling composition kept occupying her head space, and Grogan knew it would come together eventually.
Years later, while working through some old personal struggles on her commute home, additional lyrics and messaging began falling into place, and as she worked new ideas into the song, she decided to trust her instinct. Turns out some of the early lyricisms were even predictive of what the world would be like in 2026.
“When I wrote ‘How do we know when it’s real?’, I was thinking about reality itself, ideas like simulated universes, parallel universes, and the weirdness around existence itself,” she adds. “I wasn’t specifically thinking about AI at the time, but with how much AI has become part of our world, the lyrics feel even more relevant now.”
Other worlds formed and took shape, while the layers of musical elements slowly crystallized. She brought the song back to her band just a week before they were due to be in the studio recording (“Luckily, they’re all good sports, and they were completely on board,” she says with a laugh), and while Grogan was obsessive about keeping its original arrangement from her home recording, Charles and the band brought the song to its final form by finding a tuning close to that original acoustic guitar tuning from all those years ago.
“This was one of those rare songs where I felt very strongly about preserving what I had created in my home recording. It felt less like a song that needed to be reinvented and more like a vision that needed to stay true,” Grogan says. “Once we got into the studio, though, I realized the song could still evolve in ways that made it even stronger and being obsessed with keeping my original sounds might be limiting its potential.”
She adds: “Brian Charles heard the distorted guitar in the chorus and said ‘We really need to make that a Marshall sound with a Les Paul’. The moment we did it, the sound became huge. It added a level of power and emotion that brought the chorus into this bigger rock anthem territory that the lyrics begged for.”
A longtime collaborator with Charles, she credits him with helping bring the song, several years in the making, to the finish line.
“The big sound was partly intentional from the beginning, but it also happened organically and was enhanced through collaboration,” she adds. “A lot of the final impact comes from Brian’s ability to hear what a song needs and use his experience, equipment, and production skills to make it feel even bigger than what I could imagine.”
Arriving perhaps when we all need it most, “Tell Your Friends” is finally ready to be presented to the world, as if some higher power knew it needed to be saved for these tumultuous and unsteady times. We all need to reach out to our friends, and we all need to retain a sense of shared humanity. And Grogan is especially keen to share this new single with those who may need it as the stresses of life become seemingly unbearable.
“This song feels especially relevant to the moment we’re living in,” Grogan concludes. “We are all in this together. Step away from the fear, division and the drama and let’s create this beautiful world that is possible. In my songwriter’s fantasy world, I love the idea that a song can do more than entertain, that it can make someone feel seen, shift a perspective, be a reminder of a better way and maybe effect positive change. That’s what I hope ‘Tell Your Friends’ can do in these challenging times.”
Pass it on.
Connect with Emily Grogan:
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The Emily Grogan Band features:
Emily Grogan: Vocals, backup vocals, piano, synths, acoustic guitar
Larry Dersch: Drums
Michele Cavallari: Keyboards and synths
Chad Raleigh: Electric guitar
Eric Donahue: Bass, Moog
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‘Tell Your Friends’ production credits:
Music, arrangement, and lyrics by Emily Grogan
Co-produced by Emily Grogan and Brian Charles
Recorded at Rare Signals in Cambridge, MA
ISRC Code: QT3FH2635168
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Emily Grogan short bio:
Emily Grogan is an artist who refuses to fit neatly into one box. A multi-instrumentalist with roots spanning rock guitar, classical piano, punk rock drums, and reggae saxophone, her music carries a tension between discipline and rebellion. Grogan has spent years writing, performing, and recording, releasing two previous albums and playing stages across the U.S. and internationally. Her work has drawn critical attention, including a Boston Music Awards nomination for Singer-Songwriter of the Year, as well as a New England Music Award nomination as a member of a band in which she played alto saxophone. She has also received praise from the Boston Herald and Boston Globe, which noted her as a potential breakout from the Boston music scene.
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