Solana Beach singer/songwriter releases ‘Slightly Country’ album

Solana Beach singer and songwriter Reid Moriarty will host a Facebook watch party on Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. to celebrate the release of his latest album, “Slightly Country,” and share some of the music videos he recorded for it.

“I’m a little bit country,” said Moriarty, who has autism, and whose band Jungle Poppins has a catalog of music mostly in the pop and rock genres.

“Slightly Country” features Moriarty’s original songwriting and two covers, “Here in the Real World” by George Jones, whose music Moriarty grew up listening to, and “Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key” by Billy Bragg. He said his favorite songs on the album include “Slightly Country” and “California Cowboy.”

The songs on the album drew from some of his past experiences, such as the neighborhood lemonade stand he once started that inspired the song “Water, Sugar, and Lemons.” Another song, “Owls Won’t Let Me Sleep,” describes the hooting owls that keep him awake sometimes.

“Writing songs makes me happy and awesome,” said Moriarty, whose other projects include a podcast called “Talk Time with Reid Moriarty,” in which he interviews people he finds interesting.

Moriarty’s music videos for the original songs on “Slightly Country” include local landmarks such as the train station in Solana Beach, the Helen Woodward Animal Center where he rides his favorite horse, Solana Highlands Elementary School and the beach in Del Mar. The videos are available on his YouTube channel.

“During COVID I made my own videos because everything is closed and the gigs were canceled,” he said, referring to the live performances his band had scheduled before the pandemic caused the closure of all the venues.

He added that he was inspired to produce a country album from his Jungle Poppins bandmate Steven Crowle.

Moriarty, who has been writing music since age 12, is also working on another music project called “Quarantine Sessions.”

“Reid’s been busy during this 2020,” Andrea Moriarty, his mom, added. “It was a prolific songwriting time because there were so many fewer performances for his band.”

Moriarty has been singing in front of audiences, including in churches and coffee houses, for most of his life. His other albums include “Purple Party,” “Shine” and “Best Bros.”

Hundreds of people have been invited to the Facebook watch party on Saturday, which is expected to last approximately a half hour.

For more information, visit facebook.com/events/1517166088487744, reidmoriarty.com or his social media channels @reidmoriarty.