Sunflowers and Leather

Debut album from Savannah, GA native Jonah Kagen, Sunflowers and Leather, is inspired by life’s balance of love and loss, light and dark. The album was written, recorded, and produced entirely by Kagen while traveling across the American South and West in a converted Airstream trailer. 

On the album Jonah said: “Sunflowers and Leather is a snapshot of my mind at this point in my life. It’s an investigation of all the questions and existential wonders that live with me, and it’s documentation of my search for meaning, purpose, identity, and faith. There are connections between all of these songs (and to previous projects) hidden in the lyrics throughout the album. The title comes from the lyric in my song “Matches”: “When I die, I want my life to look like sunflowers and leather.” What I mean by this is–when I’m on my deathbed, looking back on my life, I want to see experience and beauty; struggle and joy; things to cry about, and things to cry laughing about. I want to have stories to tell. These are the stories that I have to tell right now.”

As Jonah notes, Sunflowers and Leather is built on contrasts. The title itself captures the duality at the heart of the record. For Jonah, “Sunflowers” represents beauty and joy, while “Leather” speaks to pain and grit, both of which he believes are essential to the human experience. That balance runs through the music: songs like “The Reaper”and “Burn Me” (featuring Sam Barber) wrestle with mortality, faith, and inner conflict, while others lean into love and connection. “You Again,” turns raw heartache into something universal, and “Black Lung” explores the feeling of being told to minimize your personal struggles because “someone always has it worse” and that your worries are “all in your head.” Threaded together, the album captures Jonah’s signature mix of intricate guitarwork, honest lyricism, and a voice that makes every song feel intimate yet sweeping.