Month: August 2026

Bishop Jerry & Lady Cherry Givens Release “We’ve Got It All”

MIConnected

Jerry Lynn Givens Sr. and Cherrylean Givens are a husband-and-wife team whose 51-year journey of love, faith, friendship, and commitment has become an inspiring message for couples and families everywhere. Married on June 21, 1975, in Saginaw, Michigan, Jerry and Cherrylean have built their life together through seasons of joy, growth, challenges, and triumphs. Their story is not based on a perfect journey, it is based on perseverance, forgiveness, faith, and the daily decision to continue choosing each other. After more than five decades together, Jerry and Cherrylean turned their…

Who Is Blake Symphony? The Producer Behind nomad 2: Megajet

MIConnected

Blake Symphony has spent much of his creative life thinking about how to build worlds through sound. Now, with the release of nomad 2: Megajet, the St. Louis-born music producer is bringing that philosophy into focus through a project inspired by travel, work, culture, and the idea that nowhere has to be a permanent home. Blake Symphony began making music at 16 after hearing Timbaland’s production on Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody.” The experience activated what he describes as his “beat brain,” and receiving FL Studio, then known as Fruityloops,…

Cloud Proves Silence Can Hit Harder Than Sound With “Nobody’s Dreaming”

Barrington
Cloud

Ninety seconds in, everything drops out except one thin synth line, and that silence says more about Cloud’s instincts than any chorus could. He knows exactly when to pull back, and “Nobody’s Dreaming” is built entirely around that kind of restraint. Rather than building to one big hook and repeating it, the track keeps shifting underneath you, adding texture, pulling it away, bringing it back heavier each time. By the moment it actually peaks, the payoff feels earned instead of forced, because the climb there took its time. Compared to…

Marsha Swanson’s New Single “Something Real” Marks the Launch of TroubleChutes

Barrington
Marsha Swanson

Marsha Swanson has released her new single “Something Real,” and with it comes something bigger than a song. The track launches TroubleChutes, a project built from years of Swanson’s work helping children make sense of what they feel. The idea grew out of therapeutic and educational settings, where Swanson spent years working alongside children and families. TroubleChutes brings together original music, lyrics, illustration and storytelling, all pointed at the same emotional target, so a child struggling with a feeling has more than one way in. A song might land where…

Julia Thomsen Releases New Song ‘Meet You In Nottinghill”

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Julia Thomsen

Julia Thomsen almost didn’t play piano on this one. That’s the detail that stuck with me after hearing “Meet You In Nottinghill,” because once you know it, you start listening for the moment she steps in, and it changes how the whole thing lands. Raphael Beaudon carries the first stretch alone, and his playing has this unfinished quality, like he’s still deciding where the melody wants to go. No rush toward a hook, no obvious build. Just a man and a piano working something out. When Thomsen’s strings finally enter,…

Thomas Cole Releases “Stubble,” a Bouncy Pop Anthem About Loving the Unpolished Version of Yourself

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Thomas Cole

Thomas Cole has released his new single “Stubble,” a bouncy, flirtatious anthem that turns a five o’clock shadow into a love letter to being yourself. Built around a chorus that sticks in your head after a single listen, “Stubble” is the kind of song you catch yourself humming in the shower before you even know the words. But underneath the bar scene flirting and the playful wink of the lyrics is something a little more grounded: the idea that what makes someone attractive usually has nothing to do with being…

Darling Nikki Introduces ‘Hippie Soul’ With Cinematic Single “Stay”

MIConnected

Independent artist Darling Nikki steps confidently into the spotlight with her debut EP, ‘Hippie Soul,’ a fully self written and self produced project that serves as both an introduction and a declaration. Rooted in a rich blend of soul, funk, and vintage pop, the EP captures a modern retro sound shaped by analog warmth and a clear artistic vision. More than just a title, ‘Hippie Soul’ represents a philosophy that defines both the music and the artist behind it. As she explains, “I make Hippie Soul because I am a…