Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-06-10
Jeff Symonds’ second full-length album, Don’t Worry, I Do Alright, arrives today on all platforms, delivering his instantly memorable melodies and lyrics about navigating life’s challenges. As Dave Franklin of The Big Takeover writes, Symonds “does more than write songs; he examines life’s minutiae and tunes the everyday into the profound.”
Where his debut, riverrun, was a sprawling double album with a loose narrative arc, Don’t Worry, I Do Alright is deliberately leaner.
“I loved the 35-minute album growing up — digestible but long enough to show a range, and it fit on one side of a Maxell cassette,” said Symonds. “I wanted the follow-up to feel like a different experience.”
The album closes with the 12½-minute epic “2:17pm (Solano And Masonic),” in which Jeff imagines four characters facing one another on a city block, their melodic lines intersecting across the song.
“Last summer I sat down at the piano with a four-note melody stuck in my head — a happy version of ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ — stayed up all night, and at dawn I had ‘2:17’ start to finish. That’s when I knew the album was ready to record.”
Three guest singers join Jeff on the track: Susee Witt, singer-songwriter Hilary Fonda Webb, and frequent collaborator Megan Slankard. Witt also takes lead on the ballad “It’s Too Late.”
“When I heard Susee deliver it, I knew that was the one that really resonated.”
Guitarists James DePrato and Gawain Matthews — who also recorded and mixed the record — round out the ensemble.
“Dip and Gawain crucially hear things I can’t, and that just takes all the tunes to a higher level.”
The album includes all four pre-release singles: the tongue-in-cheek rocker “48 Lines About 12 Men (For Craig Finn),” the piano-driven “Water From A Glass,” gig-life homage “Back Of The Stage,” and Americana reflection “Estate Sale.”
Jeff’s sixth release for ElectraCast, the album finds him in an expansive creative moment.
“This record feels like a step forward, which is exciting. I’m grateful that the well is far from dry.”
Jeff Symonds is a Bay Area-based indie singer-songwriter and co-host of the 50 Years Of Music with 50 Year Old White Guys podcast.
ElectraCast Records was founded by songwriter/producer Peter Rafelson and filmmaker/entertainment marketing executive Mark Netter as a division of ElectraCast Media.
Don’t Worry, I Do Alright is available now on all streaming platforms.
Visit https://www.jeffsymondsmusic.com to learn more.
