The Joyful X Ambassadors
New York-Based Rock Band Appreciates You
X Ambassadors is going to release their third studio album Joyful later this year. But for now the Ithaca, New York-based rock band is giving us the music video for the title track and it’s as awe-inspiring as it is powerful.
Led by the strapping vocals of frontman Sam Harris, “Joyful” is an inspirational and thoughtful ballad about appreciating the small things in life, while finding a reason to be happy when your world is crumbling around you. It might sound hokey, but the strong words of encouragement—along with Harris’ robust vocals—are nearly impossible to ignore.
“One day my brother sent me an MP3 of some chord changes he’d written and I started immediately singing the phrase ” … to be joyful,” over and over again,” according to a statement from Sam Harris, who co-wrote the song with his blind brother and the band’s keyboardist Casey. “If someone like Casey, who I’ve watched overcome so much adversity in his life, can appreciate the beauty of this world, then I ought to be able to as well.”
As for the music video, directed by Tess Harrison, the band is performing “Joyful” with a full gospel choir at The Los Angeles Theater in California, only to reveal the theater is empty at the very end. I really like music videos that take place in empty arenas or theaters. It shows how hard and intense musicians perform even if no one is around to see or hear them. It’s about the music and not the reactions or accolades from an audience — especially for a song like “Joyful,” which makes it more powerful. And man, that saxophone solo!
X Ambassador embarks on a North American tour starting in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on February 23.
