Roger Harvey shows a spark of love through hopelessness with "When The Lights Come Up"

From the political to the personal, we live in a time of turmoil and at times, utter hopelessness. Sometimes that feeling is openly discussed, but oftentimes it remains an underlying feeling of dread and despair. In these times, it’s easy to get sucked in to negativity, letting dark skies cloud our vision, but if we can take a minute to step back we realize that there is good in the world and that “love has the ability to pull us out, if we let it.” That’s what Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter Roger Harvey said in a press release for his new song “When The Lights Come Up”, and we couldn’t agree more.

“When The Lights Come Up” sees Harvey get both personal and big-picture as he admits in the first verse, “Don’t wanna wake up in the morning anymore- nothing good ever comes from the TV.” On Facebook he describes his music as “peace-punk”, a fitting description for his honest approach to tackling real-world issues, though there’s also evidence of folk and country in the simplicity of his songwriting.

“When The Lights Come Up” is the second song to be released from Harvey’s forthcoming album Two Coyotes, which comes out on October 13 via Chunksaah Records. You can listen to “When The Lights Come Up”, as well as the title track “Two Coyotes” below, and pre-order the album here.

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Roger Harvey has several tour dates this fall, including a headlining show this Friday, September 29 in Philadelphia and a run of shows supporting Tim Barry. The full list of shows is below.

Roger Harvey Tour Dates:

9/29 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
10/5 – Washington, DC – DC9 Nightclub *
10/6 – Pittsburgh, PA – Cattivo *
10/7 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop *
10/8 – Detroit, MI – Smalls *
10/10 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Cafe *
10/11 – St Louis, MO – Blueberry Hill *
10/12 – Chicago, IL – Cobra Lounge *
10/13 – Indianapolis, IN – White Rabbit *
10/14 – Louisville, KY – Haymarket *
10/24 – Philadelphia, PA – Bob & Barbara’s (w/ Widower & Timeshares)
10/25 – Philadelphia, PA – The First Unitarian Church (Side Chapel)
12/7 – San Diego, CA – Casbah *
12/9 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo *
12/10 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill *