B Side to reopen for live music, with Nashville singer, Sheehan, on Sept. 5

By PATRICK DEWEY • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

After being closed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the B Side Ballroom in Oneonta’s Clinton Plaza will offer live music again starting at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 5.

The first show will be by acoustic singer-songwriter Trae Sheehan.

Sheehan is touring in support of his new album “Hello from the End of the World,” which will be released Aug. 27.

“It’s very much a look into my mind,” Sheehan said.

The music has some melancholy to it alongside a sense of optimism, in his opinion. The single “Sleeveless Hearts,” which premiered last month and will be on the album, is a song Sheehan said he is excited about.

“It’s about finding your own groove when you don’t fit in,” he said.

Sheehan said one of the goals for the album is to remind listeners that even when it feels like the world is ending, there is always something to believe in and hope for.

Sheehan said the coronavirus pandemic had an impact on the making of this album. He said like many people, he began reflecting on his life and what he wanted to try to improve on.

Based in Nashville, Sheehan grew up on an alpaca farm in West Virginia and returned there during the coronavirus pandemic. He said rediscovering the environment where he first began songwriting, whether it was a West Virginia back road or a morning view of the Appalachian Mountains, inspired him.

According to a press release, in 2019, Sheehan’s album “Arizona” reached number seven on the roots charts.

In 2020, his album, “Postcards from the Country,” was featured in publications such as Glide Magazine, the Bluegrass Situation and American Songwriter.

Sheehan said he first considered a music career after high school.

Along with coming from a creative, musical family, he said singer-songwriter music by the Eagles, James Taylor, and others was a big inspiration.

Although he also grew up on classic rock, Sheehan said, “Every time I would go to write a rock ‘n’ roll tune, singer-songwriter music just came out of me.

“I listen to a lot of different kinds of music and there is beauty in all of it” Sheehan continued.

This will be Sheehan’s first tour since February 2020 and he said he’s looking forward to hitting the road again. He said he finds touring most fulfilling.

Sheehan said even the parts that people may not like, such as traveling for hours, appeal to him. He said he loves entertaining and adding to people’s enjoyment through shows. He also said because the music on the new album is melancholy and reflective, he will make sure to find ways to make the audience laugh between songs.

Sheehan, who has family in the area, said he is particularly looking forward to playing the B Side.

“I have been coming to Oneonta for years and I have a great love for Oneonta as a city,” Sheehan said.
Go to www.traesheehan.com for more information for the singer or www.bsideballroom.com for more information about the club.