Not too long ago I packed away over 30 years of existence into a moving truck and a Toyota and moved from one end of the country to the other. It was the first time I’d seen that much of America. Miles of road ahead and behind, from the beach to the sprawling nothingness of the middle of what seemed to be nowhere. All those recent memories came to mind as I sat down with “Starboard (Escape To Cozumel)” by Nero Simon and the Sunsetters. With a storyteller at the wheel and Americana as the gas, this song took me back to Interstate 40.
Nero Simon, alongside his eight-piece band, doesn’t hold back on “Starboard (Escape To Cozumel).” Musically, the debut single from Simon’s debut album, has this sort of 60’s Britpop meets 80’s mainstream feel but lyrically and the way he delivers it, there is a little Americana in the foundation but the walls have a lot of rock and roll going on. As I said, this one made me think back to those late-night drives because the essence of this song reminds me of when road trips were void of navigation systems, and a great set of albums were all you needed to get from point a to point b.
My trip took me nowhere near where Nero Simon has called home over the years. Born in the city that never sleeps, raised in the Florida Keys, and now based in Atlanta. He has experienced a lot with each new city welcoming him in. Now, with eight talented musicians behind him as the Sunsetters, Nero Simon is set to make waves with his debut, out soon. While we all wait for that, we can listen to “Starboard (Escape To Cozumel)” out now on all major music and streaming platforms.
Written by Kendra Beltran
