Now This Nashville Recording Artist Releases a New Single “Cumberland Falls” and Hopes She Can Survive a Pandemic by Bringing Her Projects to Life from Home

NASHVILLE, TN, April 02, 2020 /Neptune100/ — “As a 49 year old grandmother writing, performing and singing everyday, I’m competing to make a name for myself in Nashville and beyond. And now, facing a worldwide pandemic certainly adds a challenging twist to my journey,” says the critically acclaimed singer and songwriter Rhonda Funk, who just signed with the Americana-focused indy label Pure Music Nashville in January. Funk and the label just released Cumberland Falls, her first single in a “6-pack of Singles” that will be digitally delivered over the course of 2020 to her fans old and new.

In September 2016, Funk suffered a large aneurysm that required brain surgery. After a miraculous surgery and subsequent recovery, she began on a journey to fulfill her lifelong ambition of becoming a professional musician and writer in Nashville. Just 6 months later, Funk landed here and recorded Someday, a country flavored album, with a team of A-List musicians and engineers.

“Fast forward to today, and signing a record deal in 2020 is what I’ve been working so hard for. This is my chance to show the world what I can do. The even bigger miracle now is going to be how music can break through at the same time that Covid-19 is bringing the industry to a screeching halt.”

Funk, whose ironically-named 2020-21 “Cabin Fever” tour had already grown to 70 shows in 17 states, was forced to postpone or cancel all of the shows, like thousands of her fellow musicians. As a result, she’s releasing and promoting the new single by actively video chatting and performing on Facebook Live and using Instagram and Twitter as vehicles to connect and engage daily with her many fans around the globe.

For Cumberland Falls Funk wrote the lyrics and music, sings lead vocals and plays acoustic guitar. The tune also features guitarist Tom Britt (Vince Gill) along with Grammy Award Winning Time Jumper Joe Spivey on fiddle, mandolin and acoustic guitars. Recent Grammy Winner Paul Brown plays piano and organ, along with backing vocals by Clare Cunningham and Casey Parnell. The rhythm section features John Heithaus on bass and drummer, co-producer and engineer Peter Young (Loretta Lynn, The Brothers Brown.) It was recorded under the musical direction of executive producer John Heithaus, with the creative support of David Santos (Melissa Etheridge, John Fogerty and Crosby, Stills & Nash.)

“It almost feels insensitive now to get excited about my new music with all that’s going on today,” she says. “However, since I can’t perform, this single and the five others yet to come over the next few months are my primary hope of generating income.”

“I truly hope that Cumberland Falls is a breath of fresh air and that the music makes people smile, even for a moment. I remain positive that we will get through this together. And I pray for those impacted and that hope spills over to those around me to help them navigate one more day.”

Cumberland Falls is available wherever you find great music including iTunes, Spotify and Amazon.

Founded in 2016, Pure Music | Nashville is a multimedia production, marketing and distribution company dedicated to Bluegrass and Americana music and artists who love to perform and produce content for audiences around the globe. Founded by Managing Partners, Luke Bulla and John Heithaus, Pure Music Nashville works with both well-established and emerging artists from concept to launch on their musical, entertainment and educational endeavors. Pure Music Nashville is proud to be a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), the Grammy Foundation, Americana Music Association, NSAI, ASCAP and various local/regional/national/global charitable initiatives.

ABOUT RHONDA FUNK: Rhonda grew up in the Snoqualmie Valley east of Seattle, Washington and later moved to Central Oregon in Sisters. Her parents first took her to a recording studio when she wrote her first song at the age 15. Since then she has released 3 Independent Christian albums and one independent country album. Now a signed artist living in Nashville, Rhonda recorded tracks for a six-pack EP in January of 2020, which will release one song at a time in 2020. In the past three years she has written over 200 songs with industry professionals and had her first cut by a major artist, a Christmas duet featuring T Graham Brown and Claudette King (the daughter of blues legend BB King). www.rhondafunkmusic.com