Today, Omaha, NE rock band Space To Play share their immersive debut self-titled album out now via Omaha Music Group. Alongside the full album, the group find peace in acceptance and alone time with "Lovely Lonely Days" and its scenic music video out now. Celebrate the new record with the band's official hometown release show at Omaha's Slowdown tonight featuring Matt Beck of Matchbox Twenty, with tickets and more information available here.
Penned over 15 years ago, "Lovely Lonely Days" captures a tender moment of acceptance. Bandleader Matt Banta (vocals, guitar, piano) shares, being written amid a divorce, "The song was capturing a moment of peace as I realized that I could just accept the fact that you will have lovely days, and lonely days, and you can’t have it one way or the other." With soothing and gentle instrumentation, Banta shares, "I open the song with the imagery of being in the ocean, floating freely, and letting the motion carry you, much like life. As with all of our music, the groove and vibe is there, supporting a more delicate approach musically."
Watch "Lovely Lonely Days" (Official Video)
Instead of rejecting what life can bring, Banta finds it's better to embrace them. On the track's picturesque music video, directed by Christopher Good, Banta says,"I think the video captures the ups and downs in life and that it helps when you embrace them."
The new album came together organically, with no firm expectations other than to make art that felt true to the band. When writing the music, Banta noticed a shift in his approach as he has evolved as a person and an artist. Banta notes, "Specifically, in my earlier years, I tended to write to process feelings and what I was going through in life–now, I'm writing purely from an artists' perspective and am able to be much nimbler thematically."
The album touches on a wide range of themes–failing relationships, hope in the face of adversity, living life to the fullest, and observations of society. The previously shared "Daylight's Comin" features pounding drums, groovy guitar riffs and optimistic lyricism culminating in an encouraging tune that looks to a promising future.
The newly established Omaha Music Group allows the group complete creative control and hands-on development opportunities. Banta shares, "Our goal with the label is to create a vehicle not only for our own music but for others that are seeking a place where their creativity can be cultivated and developed in order to help them become the best version of themselves artistically."
After being in various bands and touring the world, Space To Play is ready to present a project with fresh perspectives and new energy. "All of us toured and experienced success in our 20s, took a break to raise our families, and are now giving music another real shot with much more experience and perspective, and with a renewed sense of purpose." Now, the band is thrilled to reunite with an album that is intentionally crafted, genuinely inspired and musically expansive.
Born in 2021 from impromptu jams, Space To Play is an evolution of Omaha's 90s rock outfit Blue Moon Ghetto (BMG) who shared stages with Ben Folds Five, Semisonic, The Urge and more. The band of longtime musicians is made up of Banta, brothers Clint Thomas (bass) and Kevin Thomas (guitar), Scott Evans (drums) and Dana Murray (producer, percussionist), who has previously performed with Norah Jones, Branford and Wynton Marsalis, Aloe Blacc and more.
Not merely a rock band, Banta adds, "Space To Play, both the album and the band, represents how BMG has grown from a rock band into more of a creative force focused less on what the results will be stylistically and more on the process of becoming the best artists we can be, individually and as a whole."
Space To Play's genre-blending, uplifting debut album Space To Play is out now. Catch the band live tonight on this special release day in Omaha and connect with the group via Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
