WATCH: Texas Band Releases Soaring Tune About an Astronaut and His Family

AUSTIN, TX — This week, Texas Country Music band Blue Water Highway shared their new single "Paper Airplanes,” the title track from their upcoming album, due March 12. Wide Open Country, an online publication deep in the Texas Americana music scene wrote, "Texas-based Americana group Blue Water Highway find wonder in daydreams on the anthemic, soaring 'Paper Airplanes.'"

The song and video follow the plight of a mother and daughter when the father is on a Space Shuttle mission headed for space. Knowing the history of some Space Shuttle missions that didn’t end well, as the viewer is drawn into the storyline, there’s a reluctance or dreading of what might become of the astronaut father.

Spoiler alert: There is no tragedy!  

When Blue Water Highway assembled to begin writing this soon-to-be-released record, the lyrics of "Paper Airplanes" served as inspiration for a new creative starting point, they said.

“We wanted to explore the contrasts of childhood and adulthood," writes singer and guitarist Zack Kibodeaux. "What is it like for you to stand in your childhood room as an adult, or look up at the stars, and how do you have dreams as a realistic, maybe jaded grown-up?”   “Paper Airplanes” opened things up for the band, setting the tone for a succession of songs the band said that quickly followed.

“It wasn’t just going to be the album we wanted to make,” says Kibodeaux. “It would be the record we needed to make.”

‘The sonic theme of the album was what we kept calling, "building a space ship in a barn,” writes singer and guitarist Zack Kibodeaux.

“It was essentially mixing organic sounds of country music with sounds of the urbanized, modern world. We achieved that with acoustic instruments and natural vocal harmonies, mixed with analog synthesizers and electric guitars. Lyrically, we were going for something similar, holding fast to elemental and timeless values of love and communication, while the world outside is rapidly changing and sometimes feeling more isolating and disconnected.’  

Paper Airplanes has received early acclaim from outlets such as American Songwriter, Parade, American Blues Scene, and Sounds Like Nashville.

Blue Water Highway recently released their music video for the song "Sign Language” also. Watch and hear it here.

Blue Water Highway was founded by Zack Kibodeaux (lead vocals/guitar) and Greg Essington (vocals/guitar) who have been best friends since high school. Zack then turned to Catherine Clarke (vocals/keyboard), to complete the three-part harmonies that the band would soon be known, and they were joined by Kyle Smith (bass).

Blue Water Highway is also the name of the roadway that links their hometown of Lake Jackson to Galveston. The band has released two full length studio albums to date, including 2015’s Things We Carry and 2018’s Heartbreak City, as well as their hit single “Evangeline”.

Blue Water Highway has performed in San Angelo at Blaine’s Pub prior to the pandemic. We hope to welcome them back soon!