LA singer/songwriter Rosy Nolan provides a first glimpse of her debut album ‘Main Attraction’ with the rain-soaked, fiddle-infused single “Rising Up” – an explosive blend of gothic country that embodies the urgency of political resistance.
Stream: “Rising Up” – Rosy Nolan
Heavy rain pours down, accumulating in the streets and saturating the sky with gray gloom. You can almost sense the moisture in the air clinging to your skin, and smell the distinct scent of damp asphalt and redwood bark. In such weather, everything seems to slow – except for the whirlwind of thoughts in your mind. Rosy Nolan’s “Rising Up” captures that feeling: a tempest in the mind and heart, where personal reckoning intertwines with political unrest. It showcases gothic country at its best – a combination of traditional and contemporary sounds, bluegrass and blues, featuring passionate fiddle and mandolin battling in the downpour, while Nolan’s voice cuts through the chaos like a beacon in the dark.
Main Attraction – Rosy Nolan
The hooks lie absent beneath the bar
The porcelain mug bears a crack
My fingertips are sticky from breakfast
This shirt barely conceals my back
I’m perched high atop a barstool
Just waiting for someone to call
Nick Cave seeps through
the ceiling speakers
Then trickles down the cafe walls
Atwood Magazine is excited to debut “Rising Up,” the first release from Rosy Nolan in 2025 and the lead single from her upcoming debut album Main Attraction (independently releasing on October 17). Immersed in Americana roots, Western swing, honky tonk, and vintage country, Main Attraction pays tribute to the iconic American records of the 1920s–1940s while revealing Nolan’s own heart and narrative. “Rising Up” stands out as one of the album’s most politically charged tracks – penned during the 2016 presidential election yet resonating even more strongly in the years that followed – intertwining imagery of floodwaters, devastation, and the twisting coastal roads of Northern California with the fierce intensity of Nolan’s performance.
The song is a natural force in every sense: the fiddle slices through the soundscape, and the guitars pulse with urgency, with each stroke becoming hotter and heavier. Above this rising surge, Nolan’s voice ascends – clear, aching, infused with raw emotion, heartache, and defiance. Gentle vocal harmonies in the chorus lend additional elevation to already impactful hooks, forming a rallying melody:
The water is rising up
And drowning the sound of my voice
It breaks down every barricade
Leaves nothing left to destroy, to destroy
It paints a vivid picture of being overwhelmed and erased, where nature’s power reflects the burden of social and political turmoil. Each line swells like the waters she sings about, the melody lifting as the lyrics depict a scene of collapse. By the time she repeats “to destroy,” it’s less a lament of defeat and more a proclamation that, even when stripped down, she’s still present – still singing.
Rosy Nolan © Jack Hackett
Rosy Nolan © Jack Hackett
The fight for voice and visibility is deeply rooted in location for Nolan, who connects “Rising Up” to the winding roads and rain-drenched landscapes of her former Northern California home. “I thought a lot about Mendocino County while writing this song,” Nolan shares with Atwood Magazine. “How no one in LA seemed capable of driving in the rain. I didn’t realize it was a NorCal skill until I moved down here. I spent many hours weaving along Highway 1 up north, hugging those curves as I pressed the gas, flirting with the broken yellow line. Dappled light filtering through the redwood canopy felt like a divine revelation. With a cigarette in hand and trouble in mind, I chased the next mile marker seeking a sense of peace.”
This poetic snapshot encapsulates both the song’s cinematic breadth and its intimate essence: the road as a space for reflection, escape, and confrontation. That journey transforms into a metaphor for navigating turbulence – personal, political, environmental – with courage and grace.
I ignore the paper sitting on the counter
Unable to bear the news these days
I shake my head wherever I go
At this nation in chaos
These Angelenos can’t manage the rain
They slow to a crawl down the highway
I hail from the north where clouds darken the skies
On rough roads, we accelerate our drive
Crafted in the tense days leading up to the 2016 election, “Rising Up” emerged from profound unease. Nolan recalls sitting in a café in Los Angeles during a torrential downpour, listening to Nick Cave seep through the speakers as if it were trickling down the walls. “It was clear Trump was on course to win,” she reflects. “I was donating money, phone
LA singer-songwriter Rosy Nolan presents the first glimpse of her debut album 'Main Attraction' with the rain-drenched, fiddle-infused single "Rising Up" — a surge of gothic country infused with the intensity of political defiance.
