The men of the emerging Colorado roots-jam outfit Tenth Mountain Division look to one of their heroes with the new single, “Burning Heart”. Premiering today exclusively through Live For Live Music, the song honors the memory of late Yonder Mountain String Band co-founder Jeff Austin.
“Burning Heart” plods along by way of author Winston Heuga‘s mandolin. Sharing the same instrument as Austin—and acting as the bluegrass heart of Tenth Mountain Division—the lyrics come off as intimately personal. The words point to some of the extremes that plagued Austin’s life, though they could be said just as easily about so many others.
Syncing with the Chase Taylor-directed video, spacey keyboards chime in to the largely acoustic track as the titular burning heart ascends to a new plane of existence. The musical transformation highlights Tenth Mountain Division’s diverse sound, as the tender rootsy ballad gives way to an experimental breakdown. “Burning Heart” shows that Jeff Austin’s spirit lives on, displayed visually through the video and spiritually through the song. The video ends with a quote from the YMSB classic “Half Moon Rising”: “The stars, they guide my way across the night.”
“After my dad’s passing when I was 15 years old I sort of disassociated from serious emotions, anything that could cause me lasting emotional pain, looking back, I subconsciously blocked out,” Heuga told Live For Live Music of the song. “I had lost touch with empathy and in turn, my creativity.  I hadn’t written a song in a long time, and it turned out I needed to be in touch with those deeper emotions to evoke real art.
“When Jeff Austin died in 2019 it was the first time I’d wept since my dad’s death in 2010,” he continued. “It opened up a well of feelings I’d been suppressing and allowed me to begin a healing process. It’s strange feeling so connected to someone you barely knew, but that was the great thing about Jeff, you didn’t have to know him in order to know who he was. He let you in to his mind through his songwriting, stage antics, and charisma. ‘Burning Heart’ is what came from that experience.”
Watch the music video for Tenth Mountain Division’s new single “Burning Heart”. The band is currently touring Colorado with a show on Friday in Buena Vista. See below for a full list of tour dates and visit the band’s website for tickets.
Tenth Mountain Division – “Burning Heart” (Official Video)
