“In the pandemic, singing together was one of the most dangerous things you could possibly do, and there was a sort of existential heartbreak in knowing that so many artists were going through such a dark time without being able to do what we love,” shares Taub. With its lush Wurlitzer tones and smoldering horns, “Sing Again” emerges as a soul-stirring celebration of the creative spirit. “This song came from envisioning that moment of everyone finally gathering to sing again,” says Taub. “Because even after the worst devastation, people always come back together—the creativity of community always perseveres.” Watch and listen now: The third full-length album and Atlantic Records debut from Shaina Taub, Songs of the Great Hill came to life over the course of countless daily trips to the enchanted spot of its title. In the bleakest days of lockdown, the New York City-based singer/songwriter would head to the North Woods of Central Park with a notebook in hand, then set to work on the incandescent batch of songs that now comprise the album. “It felt very much like a metaphor for the time we were all living through—trying to trudge up this great big hill with some sense of grace, looking for some kind of hope in all the dread and isolation,” recalls Taub, also a multi-award-winning composer and actor in musical theater. “After a while, it felt like I was writing into existence all the songs I needed to hear.” Produced by 3X Grammy Nominee Josh Kaufman (The National, Bonny Light Horseman, The Hold Steady), Songs of the Great Hill fully channels the tension of the current moment while bearing a certain charmed quality that defies time and circumstance. A massively prolific artist whose past triumphs also include winning the 2019 Kleban Prize, receiving a Jonathan Larson Grant in 2014 and working with Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban to co-write the Emmy Award-nominated opening number for the 2018 Tony Awards, Taub recently teamed up with Elton John to pen the lyrics for the upcoming Broadway musical The Devil Wears Prada. Along with The Devil Wears Prada, Shaina is now gearing up to star in her own original musical Suffs, premiering in spring 2022 at Off-Broadway’s Public Theater. Next, do people who are tone-deaf hear music differently?
