Single Premiere: Ben Cook-Feltz, “Magnet On Your Refrigerator”
The Minnesota-based singer-songwriter applies his trademark wry wit to a new single about the joys of settling down far from Music City. Hear it first here!
Ben Cook-Feltz’s “Magnet On Your Refrigerator” single artwork.
Although he was raised in Iowa, singer-songwriter-keyboardist-drummer Ben Cook-Feltz has been ubiquitous in the Twin Cities scene for over a decade: His first Minnesota album, Sunday Afternoon Sessions, came out in 2006. He’s released six more records since then and has a new one, Trucks, coming out in October 2023, which he’ll celebrate with an album release show at Icehouse in Minneapolis on October 26. (Cook-Feltz today announced a Kickstarter to fund a vinyl pressing of Trucks!)
The first single off the new record, “Magnet On Your Refrigerator,” comes out tomorrow, Friday Aug. 25. It’s been a highlight of his live shows for a while (and he even shared a live performance of it on our Smouse in the House podcast), so we’re privileged to share the exclusive premiere right here!
Ben Cook-Feltz. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Cook-Feltz is known for his heartfelt but whimsical songwriting, the kind of songs that alternately make you laugh with a quirky turn of phrase or unexpected non sequitur and get you in the feels. The new single is a prime example of that. “Magnet On Your Refrigerator,” a sweetly sung, poppy, keyboard-powered ballad, is lighthearted but surprisingly poignant, combining gently snarky humor with a sense of sincere contentment.
It starts off extolling exaggerated charms of Music City (“They say the trees are green as hell in Nashville / and whiskey flows from a well in Nashville”) but soon serenades a much less storied place in Minnesota (“I live about a mile away from Richfield / I honestly don’t have that much to say about Richfield”) where Cook-Feltz makes his home because “I can watch my baby grow / and I don’t really mind the snow…”
“‘Magnet On Your Refrigerator’ initially started out as a knock on a trend I’d noticed in a lot of Americana songwriting, which was to look to Nashville as something of an end-all-be-all Big Rock Candy Mountain,” Cook-Feltz explains. “But I pretty quickly decided I didn’t want to write a mean-spirited song. I was much more interested in writing a song about who I am and where I’m at, at this point in my life. It’s about finding peace in recognizing your true self, and using that peace to guide you forward.”
Listen to “Magnet On Your Refrigerator”!
Album Release Show
Ben Cook-Feltz will celebrate the release of his album Trucks on Thursday, October 26, at Icehouse in Minneapolis. He’s assembled a special band of local talents for the occasion, including Haley Rydell, Dave Mehling and Taylor James Donskey! Acclaimed Minnesota folk/pop singer-songwriter Mary Bue will open the show. Doors are at 6pm and the music starts at 8pm.
Song Credits
Ben Cook-Feltz - Keys, Drums, Lead Vocal
Andy Schuster - Bass
Peter Remiger - Acoustic Guitar
Aaron Fabbrini - Pedal Steel
Lightnin’ Joe Peterson - B3
Haley Rydell - Harmony Vocal
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the primary music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol’s additional creative side hustle is writing self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley!
