Lisa De Angelis Releases Retro Revival New Single 'Wildwood (Time To Grow Up)'

Lisa De Angelis makes cowboy music for city slickers. Arms tattooed, cowboy boots polished, flared jeans snug, this five-foot firecracker's signature Alt-Country sound is what might've happened if June Carter Cash came up in Sydney's Inner West and joined The Black Keys. For fans of Sierra Ferrell, Nikki Lane and Margo Price, Lisa De Angelis is one to watch.

'Wildwood (Time To Grow Up)' is an Americana/Bluegrass barn-stomper that chronicles the seasons of an unfulfilling relationship: a warm summer, hopeful autumn, cold winter, and finally a nostalgic spring. 'Wildwood' hollers in at a rollicking clip and takes its listener along for the ride, through the yearning for something to be everything, right through to the moment of realising it's Time To Grow Up.

"I wanted a break up song that feels hopeful, and exhilarating, and joyful, and something to dance to instead of cry to." Lisa muses. "I was in a long distance relationship for a year and it was a difficult complex period of my life. I could see these four distinct seasons we went through together, and that I'd given him a whole year to see if he could do better and the reality was that he couldn't. This was him at his best, and that wasn't good enough for me - and it took that whole year for me to realise that's okay."

Lisa co-produced 'Wildwood' with her partner, drummer and producer Paul Bain (Travis Collins, Kirsty Lee Akers), at their home studio in Brisbane's north.

"Before we decided to DIY 'Wildwood' a few different producers took a run at it, but everyones natural inclination was to make it sound sad to match the lyrics - and this song was never sad for me", Lisa says. "I've always been super involved in the production side of my music, but after co-producing [my last single] 'My Sister's Blue Suitcase' with Paul I felt really confident in the direction I wanted to go in and in our ability to get it there ourselves".

The musicians who played on 'Wildwood (Time To Grow Up)' are a 'who's who' of Australian country session musicians: Golden Guitar Award-winner Gabi Louise on fiddle; Michael Moko (Kasey Chambers, Fanny Lumsden) on guitars, banjo and mandolin; Sonic Edwards (Judah Kelly, Dan Davidson) on bass guitar; and rounded out by Paul Bain on drums, percussion and mixing. Golden Guitar Award-winner Melody Moko joins her husband Michael Moko on honey-smooth backing vocals to bring 'Wildwood' home.

The release of 'Wildwood' is just another milestone in a mammoth start to the year for De Angelis: in 2024 she has played Nashville's CMA Fest, made her Tamworth Country Music Festival main stage debut, and had her song 'My Sister's Blue Suitcase' named as a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition.

Throughout her career De Angelis has toured with and opened shows for some of Australia's best, including Steve Kilbey of The Church, Grinspoon frontman Phil Jamieson, blues guitarist Nathan Cavaleri, Golden Guitar winner Catherine Britt - and soulful country heavyweight Hayley Jensen, who is a fan of De Angelis' blending of old and new sounds.

"Lisa is a total joy," Jensen says, "[An] ultra-talented human who brings her own unique twist to the world of country music. I'm here for all of it!"

De Angelis has toured as both opening act and backing vocalist for ARIA Award finalist Amber Lawrence, while also being mentored by ARIA Award winner Fanny Lumsden. Her debut album, co-produced by De Angelis and Bain, is due for release in early 2025.

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