STEPHANIE RYANN

                                                                "Redbirds'" 

                                                                Independent Release

Though there’s no specific blueprint for an independent artist to follow, Stephanie Ryann is proving that great things will always come together when you make the most out of every step.

With each trip to Nashville, Ryann plays several shows and records new music, stamping her name around town as she lays the foundations for her next chapter.

While the grit of her last single “Wild Thing” presented an autobiographical introduction to who she is, her newest single “Redbirds” softens the pace, unveiling her expertise in crafting a heart tugging lyric while allowing the emotions embedded in her voice to carry the proper feels on a song that was influenced by the loss of her in-laws.

“It’s said that cardinals are our loved ones coming back to visit us from Heaven and I couldn’t agree with that more based on experience,” she shared on her socials as she leans into that symbolism to not only take us through all the conflicting emotions that come with losing a loved one, but to also find peace and comfort on the other side of the pain and hurt.

Stating in the opening line, “The day you left I lost my faith,” sets the emotional tug-of-war between her and God in motion as we see her naturally questioning her heartbreaking loss like so many of us do when life throws us a situation like this.

But as she confesses that her faith was lost, there’s also undeniable proof laced into the lyrics that signals quite the opposite. Though her blurry vision has her not thinking clearly about her faith in this darker moment, we see her admitting that she is still praying and leaning into God even as she is questioning whether He hears her or ever notices the tears in her eyes.

A peace-filled optimism surrounds the aura of the somber tonality when she pulls into the chorus where we see her receiving the answer to her prayer that asked God to send angels with wings that she can see, when a cardinal arrives for her:

“Outside I see redbirds fly

Took me a while to realize

That you’ve been right here every morning since you left me

Maybe sent down from the other side

Or maybe it’s just an old hand me down lie

Either way I know it’s gonna be alright

When I see redbirds fly”

She carries that newfound optimism into the second verse as she advances the story a year forward, embracing the fact that she still hears the redbirds singing their sunrise song while admitting that she is getting back her faith.

The stark message of this song isn’t necessarily about redbirds per se, but it’s about shifting your mindset away from the overwhelming weight of any tough, hard to understand situation, to instead focus on the smallest of things that tell you God is still with you through them – in this case a visit from a cardinal.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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