Exclusive track premiere of ‘How Wonderful’ by Flower Festival, taken from the upcoming album, ‘Age,’ out January 26th, 2024 via Moone Records and Anxiety Blanket Records.

While the idea of an album being born of finding peace with oneself is nothing new, in Micah Dailey’s hands it’s a beautifully symbolic harmonizing of past and present.

The Flower Festival’s new LP was mixed and mastered (along with contributions) by the incredible John Dieterich (of Deerhoof), and features other collaborations with Nicholas Krgovich, Qais Essar, Lonna Kelley (Giant Sand) and Michael Krassner (of Califone and Boxhead Ensemble).

“This sounds silly, but ‘How Wonderful’ feels like my magnum opus. Not because I think I’ve broken some type of “artistic ground.” Definitely not. It’s a simple song. But because it’s the first thing I’ve written that makes me cry. It exists in the grey area between love and suffering. And it represents my lifelong commitment to live there.”

<a href="https://flowerfestival.bandcamp.com/album/age">Age by Flower Festival</a>

Flower Festival’s 3rd full-length album was written at two significantly different times in Micah Dailey’s life, taking music recorded over 8 years ago, revisited and finished with lyrics written today. Much of the album’s influence came from a newfound peace and appreciation for his upbringing. “It’s easy to dismiss art we’ve created in a different time- like I hear recording techniques; I hear riffs or instrumentation I wouldn’t do now. But the album came from a new way of engaging with art that really freed me, a peace about where I was at both of those times in my life.” Having grown up in the Middle East, Micah moved back to Arizona in 2011 where an internal tug-of-war rooted in guilt and inadequacies made for some significantly self-deprecating songwriting, as you might imagine being that his album at the time was entitled ‘Cry Baby’.

The push and pull of this mindset made Flower Festival’s album full of artistic parallels that marry the new and the old, without forcing the two. Becoming a father and husband, Micah’s way of living-room-recording had to be adjusted as well, getting to a point of contentment that there might never be a moment of complete quiet, but embracing that there may be faint samples of kids playing or guests chatting.

Having created an album in a way that both embraced and let go of significant restraints, a reconciliation derived from Flower Festival’s examination of his artistic ego. “Spending almost 10 years on an album is a long time, but as a musician I know I’m in no way prolific… and I’m making art that provides closure for the young artist I was. I had to go back to the places where hurt happened- like examining the darkest parts of marriage, losing close friends, the stuff you have to endcap to process.” Thankfully, Flower Festival’s way of creating art lent itself to a freedom found only when the external and internal pressures of making music “the right way” have all but gone- and from it came an album that was worth waiting for.

Headline photo: Ben Peck

Flower Festival Facebook / Instagram / SoundCloud / YouTube
Moone Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp
Anxiety Blanket Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp