As Christian Lee Hutson prepares for the release of his debut record, the singer has tapped big-name collaborators to film a home-recorded video for his third and final single: The singer gets a hand from Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst for his “Get The Old Band Back Together” visual.
From his forthcoming debut Beginners, Hutson gets creative for a video filmed in quarantine. The singer borrows home-recorded footage of a middle school talent show and superimposes himself, Bridgers, Oberst, and Sharon Silva onto the stage. The track itself also boasts some of the same collaborators, featuring Oberst playing harmonica, Meg Duffy of Hand Habits on guitar, and Bridgers as the producer.
In a statement, Hutson explained the meaning behind the track and how everyone in the video had to record themselves from quarantine:
“A few years ago I ran into the drummer of a still-together band from my high school, who had just been kicked out. When he told the singer he’d been considering becoming a building inspector, the guy gave him an ultimatum: the band or inspecting buildings. He chose to inspect buildings, a decision that may have been impacted by the fact that the band never played a show or recorded a song. Still, he was pretty bummed about it, and that gave me the idea for this song. I had been wanting to make something with my director friend Michael Tyrone Delaney, who’d had this idea to splice up old talent show footage with footage of me and some friends showcasing some of our own ‘talents.’ My partner, Sharon Silva, showcases her Irish dancing. My childhood hero, Conor Oberst, takes an aggressive, impromptu harmonica solo in the video (and on the recording). My adulthood hero and best friend, Phoebe Bridgers, plays a master of puppets. We shot it in April so everyone had to self-tape.”
About his upcoming record as a whole, Hutson notes: “I went with Beginners as the title because that’s where I feel like I am in my life — like I’m still just learning and trying to figure out how to navigate the world.”
Watch Hutson’s “Get The Old Band Back Together” video above.
Beginners is out 5/29 via Anti. Pre-order it here.
