Singled Out: Goodnight Sunrise's Rockin' In The Free World

Keavin Wiggins | 04-23-2023

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Toronto rock band Goodnight Sunrise tells us about their cover of the Neil Young classic "Rockin' In The Free World". Here is the story:

We've been covering Neil Young's legendary protest song "Rockin' in the Free World" for years on tour, and it's evolved into a highlight of our set. Somehow it only becomes more and more relevant, so even though it's been covered a million times before, we felt compelled to record a version that sounds and feels like the modern state of the world.

In 2022 we played Tallinn Music Week in Estonia, 2 months after Russia invaded Ukraine. In solidarity, the festival moved its 2nd day to the eastern city of Narva, which borders Russia across a river. Performing this song on an outdoor stage to festival attendees in front of us as well as tourists standing across the river atop a 15th century fortress is an experience we'll never forget.

The artwork for the single is a manipulation of a photo we took of that border crossing; it was so strange to think we were looking at a place that was so beautiful but that had also seen so much conflict over so many centuries. Turning it into a 360 spherical photo symbolized to us the cyclical nature of both war and the perpetual hope for peace and for a truly free world for all.

It was only after we got home that we learned that Neil Young wrote it after a planned '89 Soviet Union tour was cancelled, and his guitarist said to him "we'll have to keep on rockin' in the free world".

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the band here