Greeting listeners today, Americana duo Blue Rose has delivered their take on “If I Had a Rose,” which serves as a precursor to their upcoming debut album, Blue Moon.
“If I Had a Rose” is an ode to the first cover song the duo had ever sang together. The track was initially written by Adam Wright and later recorded by country artists Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison. In their take on the song, the duo felt they wanted to make some changes to make it their own. “We wrote our own [chorus], as well as an instrumental section, to tie the whole song together,” explains Jori Griffith.
Both members of the group, Griffith and Marcus Gebauer, hail from Chicago, and recorded their upcoming album at Chicago’s Rax Trax Recording. The duo only met recently at a party in 2022, and at that time, neither Griffith nor Gebauer were pursuing music full-time. Now, with an album release slated for May, their chance encounter in a big city changed their lives. “A blue moon is this rare, beautiful, kind of magical astrological thing,” says the duo, and that serendipitous connection is felt within their music.
Blue Rose describes their sound as “new country with an old soul”—a sound that encapsulates “If I Had a Rose.” The lyrics, especially the hook, “Baby, what I gotta do?,” capture the timeless heartache of country crooners like Patsy Cline or Hank Williams. However, the duo adds a guitar solo and instrumental break in the middle of the song, injecting the “old soul” with a new country flair.
“This record is the journey to peace, love, and fulfillment,” says Griffith, “I want people to hear the sincerity and relatable human experience within our songs.” In an effort to capture the human condition as artists strive to do, Blue Moon will feature more touching ballads like “If I Had a Rose,” along with more upbeat songs with a classic rock essence.
Blue Moon will be available for streaming on May 30th, 2025.
