Bridges (EP)

Bridges
EP by Mickey Guyton
Released	September 11, 2020 (2020-09-11)
Genre	Country pop[1]
Length	19:00
Label	Capitol Nashville
Producer	Nathan Chapman Karen Kosowski Forest Whitehead
Mickey Guyton chronology
Mickey Guyton (2015) Bridges (2020) Remember Her Name (2021)
Singles from Bridges
"What Are You Gonna Tell Her?" Released: March 6, 2020 "Black Like Me" Released: June 2, 2020 "Heaven Down Here" Released: July 24, 2020

Bridges is an extended play by American country music artist Mickey Guyton. It was released on September 11, 2020 via Capitol Records Nashville and contained six tracks. The EP was produced by Nathan Chapman, Karen Kosowski and Forest Whitehead. Bridges was Guyton's first EP release in five years and includes three singles that reflected her recent musical shift and recent events involving the COVID-19 pandemic and the various Black Lives Matter protests. The EP received positive reviews following its release and also charted Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

Background

At the time of Bridges' release, Mickey Guyton had not released an extended play in over five years.^[2] Guyton used this period to reflect on her musical identity. In an interview with The Washington Post, Guyton felt as if she was not being true to herself when she first began releasing music in 2014. She explained that her initial results in Nashville did not go to her expectations, which made her realize she needed to speak her truth. She started writing songs that reflected her experiences as a woman and a person of color working in the country music industry.^[3] Guyton composed material for Bridges over the course of two years that reflected her recent experiences. She collaborated with new songwriters, such as Josh Kear and Jesse Frasure.^[4]

Content and recording

Andrea Williams of the Nashville Scene described the content of Bridges as doubling "down on her desire to build a better world through her art."^[5] Jessica Nicholson of Music Row stated that she "dives deep into her own experiences, hopes, and grave disappointments as a Black female artist" in her description of the EP's content.^[6] The EP included four tracks produced by Karen Kosowski. One track was produced by Nathan Chapman and Forest Whitehead while a second track was co-produced by Kosowski and Whitehead.^[7] Kosowski also co-wrote three of the album's tracks while Chapman wrote one track. Guyton co-wrote all six tracks.^[1]

Bridges contains a total of six new tracks.^[1] Included on the EP is "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?", a song Guyton released earlier in the year,^[3] as well as "Black Like Me" a song that Guyton had first written in 2019.^[8] The song was inspired by the book of the same name and discusses the experiences of Guyton growing up as a black woman.^[6] Other songs on the album focus on different themes, such as "Rosé", which Taste of Country called "a drinking song for the women."^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Music Row	Favorable
Nashville Scene	Favorable
Off the Record	Favorable
Sounds Like Nashville	Favorable

Bridges received positive reviews from critics and journalists. Lauren Laffer of Sounds Like Nashville called it "Guyton's most powerful and moving work to date."^[7] Andrea Williams of the Nashville Scene called it "classic Guyton" in relation to its production. Williams also commented on the album's material in comparison to music by other country performers: "The fact that a mainstream country artist can spend four tracks of six on an EP talking about anything other than breakups and beer is remarkable. Even "Rosé," Guyton's ode to the pink drink of choice for so many women, is less fluffy than it seems."^[5]

Jessica Nicholson of Music Row praised the effort as well: "Mickey Guyton serves up six rounds of bold, elegant, emotionally nuanced music on the new EP—with more strength, fervor, wisdom, vocal and political prowess—and yes, playfulness—than many full-fledged albums."^[6] Off the Record found that the album showcased a type of authenticity that was missing from current country music: "Simply put, Guyton’s EP is where country music needs to be in 2020, documenting the real human experience...This EP breaks your heart, puts it back together and helps you find peace all in one project."^[10]

Release and chart performance

Prior to the EP's release, Guyton had performed "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?" at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee. It was Guyton's first radio seminar appearance since 2015.^[6] The song was released as a single on March 6, 2020.^[11] On June 6, 2020, Guyton released the second single off the EP, "Black Like Me". Guyton had originally intended to release it via promotion and marketing. However, following the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter protests, she decided it to release it via social media. Eventually, the song was picked by streaming sites such as Spotify, who included it on their country playlist.^[12] On July 24, 2020, "Heaven Down Here" was released as the album's third single.^[13] Bridges was officially released on September 11, 2020 via Capitol Records Nashville.^[1] It was Guyton's third extended play to chart on the Billboard Top Heatseekers survey, where it reached number 23.^[14]

Track listing

Bridges^[1]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Heaven Down Here"	Mickey Guyton Josh Kear Hillary Lindsey Gordie Sampson	3:34
2.	"Bridges"	Victoria Banks Emma-Lee Guyton Karen Kosowski	3:05
3.	"What Are You Gonna Tell Her?"	Banks Emma-Lee Guyton Kosowski	3:13
4.	"Rosé"	Banks Guyton Kosowski	2:55
5.	"Salt"	Cary Barlowe Jesse Frasure Guyton Steven Lee Olsen	2:39
6.	"Black Like Me"	Nathan Chapman Fraser Churchill Emma Louise Davidson-Dillon Guyton	3:32
Total length:			19:00

Personnel

All credits for Bridges are adapted from Allmusic.^[15]

Musical personnel Victoria Banks – Background vocals Nathan Chapman – Bass, piano, steel guitar Eddy Dunlap – Pedal steel guitar Jesse Frasure – Piano Mickey Guyton – Background vocals, lead vocals, Evan Hutchings – Drums Karen Kosowski – Acoustic guitar, background vocals, electric guitar, synthesizer Miles McPherson – Drums Steven Lee Olsen – Background vocals Marc Rogers – Bass, bass guitar, double bass, electric guitar, synthesizer bass Gordie Sampson – Organ Justin Schipper – Pedal steel guitar Derek Wells – Acoustic guitar, banjo, electric guitar, mandolin, pedal steel guitar, slide guitar Forest Whitehead – Acoustic guitar, banjo, bass, electric guitar, keyboards, piano

Technical personnel Chad Carlson – Engineer Nathan Chapman – Drum programming, engineering, producer Jesse Frasure – Programming Serban Ghenea – Mixing John Hanes – Engineer Scott Johnson – Production coordination Karen Kosowski – Editing, engineer, mixing, producer, programming Jason Massey – Strings Miles McPherson – Engineer, percussion Michael Mechling – Assistant engineer Andrew Mendelson – Mastering engineer Gordie Sampson – Programming Justin Schipper – Engineer F. Reid Schippen – Engineer, mixing Derek Wells – Engineer Forest Whitehead – Drum programming, engineer, producer

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[16]	23

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United States	September 11, 2020	Digital download streaming	Capitol Records Nashville	[17]

References

1. "Bridges: Mickey Guyton: Songs, Reviews, Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
2. Collar, Mike. "Mickey Guyton: Biography & History". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
3. Yahr, Emily. "Mickey Guyton has been ready for this moment. Country music kept her waiting". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
4. Hudak, Joseph (13 August 2020). "'Black Like Me' Singer Mickey Guyton Plots 'Bridges' EP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
5. Williams, Andrea. "Mickey Guyton Stands Strong on Her New EP Bridges". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
6. Nicholson, Jessica (16 September 2020). "Mickey Guyton On Her New EP Bridges: "I've Said My Truth"". Music Row. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
7. Laffer, Lauren (13 August 2020). "Mickey Guyton to Release 'Bridges' EP in September". Sounds Like Nashville. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
8. Houghton, Cillea. "Mickey Guyton Announces Bridges EP: This Is My Truth". Taste of Country. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
9. Stefano, Angela. "Mickey Guyton on Finding, Keeping Faith in Darkness". Taste of Country. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
10. "REVIEW: Mickey Guyton – Bridges (EP)". Off the Record. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
11. Shaffer, Claire (6 March 2020). "Mickey Guyton Releases Devastating New Song 'What Are You Gonna Tell Her?'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
12. Hight, Jewly. "Country Star Mickey Guyton: Why Being 'Black Like Me' Shouldn't Be Twice As Hard". NPR. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
13. "In a Crazy World, Mickey Guyton Seeks "Heaven Down Here"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
14. "Bridges chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
15. "Bridges: Mickey Guyton: Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
16. "Mickey Guyton Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
17. "Bridges -- EP by Mickey Guyton". Apple Music. Retrieved 18 February 2021.