PREMIERE: Belfast musician Michael Kerr tackles grief in gritty video for 'Life Goes On'

Belfast singer-songwriter Michael Kerr has released a stunning video for new single 'Life Goes On', premiered by Hot Press below.

The track is a first taste of Kerr's new EP, which is due to arrive in 2022. Influenced by greats such as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Van Morrison, ’Life Goes On’ is a song about grief.

One person is helpless to do anything while the other insists that there’s nothing to do but accept the inevitability of death. It’s the end for one but not the other, but the person you have lost has given you their blessing to move on with your life, no matter how soul-crushing it feels to do so.

Created and directed by Danny Mills of Dan Dan Media; the gritty video stars local Belfast actor Richard McFerran. The storyline centres around a man rebuilding his life following an agonising event.

“I wanted to present the song as an emotive piece of storytelling as opposed to the usual me sitting on a bar stool playing the song," Michael Kerr says of the clip. "I was introduced to Dan through Doot Doot Music and I loved the previous work he’d done with other local artists. He’s hit the nail on the head with this video. I was not only delighted with it but I was also delighted that I didn’t have to be in it. I'm really looking forward to sharing it."

Speaking about the single itself, Kerr describes how he initially wrote the song a number of years ago and put it on the sidelines while he figured out how to progress.

"I sort of benched it for five or six years as I didn’t know what to do with it musically. I knew there was a good song there but I couldn’t place it or know how to best deliver it. When I was pitching songs in New York, it managed to find its way back into my periphery and I gave it to Michael Mormecha to throw some ideas at it. With that and the whole pandemic, it became a meaningful song again and felt right to get it out there."

"When I wrote the song I was thinking about a story my uncle told me when he visited my grandfather in hospital just before he died. My grandfather was unwell for a while and I think he knew he was ‘goosed’, as he used to say. My uncle said the night before he died he was with him and he determinedly took the oxygen mask off his face and said, 'It's not working, take it away'. Despite my uncle's attempts to force the mask back on him, he realised it was his way of saying I'm ready to go. It was a tough one to hear but that was my granda, he knew when his time was up.”

Whilst making a living on the local circuit, the Northern Irish artist has been slowly building his portfolio as a singer-songwriter. The singer grew to national attention following the release of his 2018 EP, Treasure Chest. Since that release, Michael has supported artists such as Steve Earle, John Oates, Hothouse Flowers and has been playlisted on BBC Radio One's Introducing.

Kerr's highly personal songwriting has evolved to form melody-driven songs on a foundation of swelling guitars and heartfelt lyrics. His cinematic latest offering marks Kerr's first single release from his upcoming EP. Stay tuned for Michael's upcoming project in 2022.

Check out the edgy video for 'Life Goes On' below:

Photo credit: Joe Laverty