Today, Georgia singer-songwriter Jonah Kagen teams with 2X PLATINUM-certified singer/songwriter Sam Barber for the rebellious “Burn Me,” out now via Arista Records. The new song, which is accompanied by a tour video, came together while the pair were sharing the road on sold-out tours of North America and Australia. It also arrives the same week that Jonah’s dependence-haunted hit single “God Needs the Devil” hits #1 at Alternative radio, a year after its original release.
“Burn Me” combines Jonah’s rich, rugged quaver with Sam’s power-packed tenor — something listeners have been asking after for a good while — but it’s far more than fan service. The poignant song embodies the internal struggles of growing up around different faiths with contradicting values, in a society that has plenty of opinions about that. For Jonah, that meant going to a school that taught him his father would burn eternally for being Jewish. As the song grows from a single acoustic guitar to a whirlwind of strum, the boys come together to belt out the chorus: “I don’t know if I was made from God’s hands, but I know my father is a good man / I’m realizing now how the earth bleeds, so if you’re gonna burn him you can burn me.”
Jonah shares a little background on “Burn Me”: “I grew up in a religiously mixed family filled with nothing but love. Even still, there was always a weird thing none of us really talked about — that one of my parents’ religions technically condemns the other one to Hell, and the other doesn’t even believe that Hell is a thing. I wrestled with it for a long time, and ultimately came to this conclusion: I have no idea what’s wrong or right, but I do know that my parents are both angels sent from somewhere, and if they’re going down for their beliefs, I’m going down with them!”
Jonah is only just back from Australia — where he played his most recent stomp-along single “The Reaper” — and is gearing up for a summer full of shows, including his co-headlining Rideout Tour with the Crowe Boys, dates with Wyatt Flores, a lengthy leg of Vance Joy’s North American summer headliner, and festivals that include the Calgary Stampede, Montana’s Under the Big Sky Festival, and Louisville’s Bourbon & Beyond. See the full itinerary below.
Late last year, Jonah shared Black Dress, a stirring six-song set recorded and produced by the man himself while living, touring, and traveling in his Airstream trailer (read more here). With standouts like the darkly cinematic “Matches” and the slowly building “Don’t You Give Up on Me Yet,” the EP takes listeners on a journey through shout-along peaks and lonesome valleys.
“God Needs the Devil” hails from that release and has so far been streamed over 75 million times worldwide on its way to dethroning The Black Keys from Alternative radio’s top spot, not to mention featured among Spotify’s Pop Rising playlist’s Best Songs of 2024.
Jonah’s studio-rigged Airstream ensures that the new music will keep coming even as he heads into his busiest summer on record. Stay tuned as he sets his sights on a proper debut album.
Jonah Kagen on Tour
Jul 3 – Calgary, AB – Calgary Stampede Festival
Jul 11 – Bentonville, AR – The Momentary – Rideout Tour with the Crowe Boys
Jul 12 – Omaha, NE – Barnato – Rideout Tour with the Crowe Boys
Jul 14 – Fort Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre – Rideout Tour with the Crowe Boys
Jul 16 – Missoula, MT – Top Hat Lounge – Rideout Tour with the Crowe Boys
Jul 20 – Whitefish, MT – Under The Big Sky Festival
Jul 22 – Emigrant, MT – The Old Saloon – w/ Wyatt Flores
Jul 24 – Grand Junction, CO – Warehouse25sixty-five w/ Wyatt Flores
Jul 25 – Sandy, UT – Sandy Amphitheatre – w/ Wyatt Flores
Jul 27 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater HEADLINE SHOW
Sep 3 – Portland, ME – Thompson’s Point w/ Vance Joy
Sep 4 – Shelburne, VT – The Green at Shelburne Museum w/ Vance Joy
Sep 9 – Detroit, MI – The Masonic Temple Theatre w/ Vance Joy
Sep 10 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE w/ Vance Joy
Sep 14 – Louisville, KY – Bourbon & Beyond Festival 2025
Sep 16 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Yards Ampitheater w/ Vance Joy
Sep 17 – Wilmington, NC – Like Oak Bank Pavilion w/ Vance Joy
Sep 18 – North Charleston, SC – Firefly Distillery w/ Vance Joy
Sep 22 – Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre w/ Vance Joy
Sep 24 – Cary, NC – Koka Booth Ampitheatre w/ Vance Joy
Sep 25 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica w/ Vance Joy
Sep 26 – Lewiston, NY – Artpark Mainstage Theater w/ Vance Joy