MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere Of John Calvin’s “Sturgeon Moon”

John Calvin’s “Sturgeon Moon” is an ode to wandering. “It’s meant to convey a sense of freedom that can only come from those rare moments where we’re unencumbered by real responsibilities,” says the Florida-based Americana troubadour. “But there’s an edge to that experience, too. There’s loneliness just beneath the surface, a pretense that solitude is purely a choice.”

Calvin knows something about the nomadic lifestyle. The son of a career military man, he was born in Fort Benning, Ga., and spent his childhood on the move, living in South Korea, Germany and Washington, D.C. He attended the University of Virginia, then headed to the Bay Area before landing in New York City, where he met his wife. Next came a relocation to Dallas, where he released his 2018 debut, Masquerade Monday, and wrote much of its follow-up, the self-released Greener Fields & Fairer Seas, due January 24. Now a resident of Boca Raton, Calvin was still living in Texas when he wrote “Sturgeon Moon.”

“The song is a great example of one of my favorite experiences in the studio,” he says. “You walk in with a song that seems to fit one mold—in this case, a finger-style tune with a slight Elliott Smith vibe—and it becomes something totally different. It’s really a testament to producer Nate Campisi and Greg DeCarolis (bass, organ). Both heard a bossa-nova vibe early and crafted a lovely walking bass line and the sparkling Rhodes accents.”

We’re proud to premiere John Calvin’s “Sturgeon Moon.”

—Hobart Rowland