Establishing the mood with a minimalist yet rhythmic guitar soundscape and situational prose, Emma Rae opens Beacon with a narrative as she sings, “We drove to Beacon on a Monday, you told me that you had to get out of the city, we sang along to old country, it’s what we do whenever you feel shitty…”
The song unfolds as a story of the pain of being secretly in love with a close friend. It is really about being caught between the comfort of being their bestie to turn to and the heartbreak of knowing they might never see us as anything more. It captures the quiet intimacy of shared drives, old country songs, personal conversations, and little moments that feel romantic to one person but ordinary to the other.
Emma Rae is painfully aware of the tension, yet constantly questions her own interpretation. The line about being called a “good friend” becomes an emotional turning point. It is conversational, confessional, intimate, and emotionally understated, which feels super authentic.
The idea of “playing the fool” hits hard, whilst the recurring scenes give the song a nostalgic, cinematic quality. Overall, it reads like a diary entry set to music, and would be perfect for a sync placement in The Half of It, Someone Great, or Love, Rosie. We love the stadium-ready rock sound which still retains a high emotional quotient.
Speaking on the release, Emma Rae confesses, “Beacon is inspired by that feeling of yearning, the unbalanced unrequited love that almost everyone has experienced at least once.” The rising artist from Stamford, Connecticut, adds, “This track feels really special to me because it’s one of those unapologetically raw songs that come straight from the gut. It wasn’t one of those songs that took a long time to write. This one flowed out, basically in one sitting.”
We learn that Emma Rae worked with Nick Kauffman and producer Aaron Carlson to bring Beacon to life, and recently opened for rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd and Shinedown at the Velocity Music Festival in Iowa. Iconic.
Needless to say, we are in awe, and have added Beacon to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream Emma Rae‘s exquisite, growing discography, including Lovely Escape, Lifeline, and Keep Me Up.