Bristol-based collaborators and partners Seamus Egan & Moira Smiley, are releasing a new single “Mourning Dove” on Nov. 25. This new song chronicles the intimate struggle of love, loss and growth across two winters of isolation in rural Vermont. 

“Last winter, early 2022 brought a stubborn melancholy to our house,” wrote Smiley in an artist statement. “Two musicians with identities linked to the feedback loops of performance and collaboration tried to stay connected to each other across a second winter of isolation. In the drear of March, we learned how we’d pulled together against a world of fears, but had forgotten our own wants and needs in the process. These lyrics tumbled out in April after I’d spent a few weeks adventuring on my own, and Seamus sent me the voice memo of a tender chord progression. Meanwhile, a pair of mourning doves took up residence by our house. Their presence was a wild, potent reminder of the cycles and mysteries of partnership. Their long, mournful calls reminded us of the faith and hope we hold in one another.”

The single’s music video shows Egan & Smiley’s layered connection to each other, and to the evocative calls of the mourning doves outside their window. Find more at seamuseganproject.com or moirasmiley.com.

UPCOMING SHOW IN BRANDON:

On Dec. 4, Egan and Smiley will give two concerts at Barn Opera in Brandon. “A Celtic Christmas” will be presented at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 and available at barnopera.com.