Ross Flora’s “Home Bound” is a soulful tribute to love, belonging, and the journey back home.
From the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. “My dad would stand me up on the back of a church pew and teach me harmony parts with the congregation.” Growing up just south of Roanoke on the family farm, surrounded by strong influences in both R&B and Bluegrass. Which artists did you listen to with your dad?
Our family farm is located just far enough outside of Roanoke, VA, to have a strong country heritage where gospel and bluegrass were mostly all I heard early on. I remember being fascinated with harmony and asking my dad why people were singing off the melody and why it was such a beautiful sound. He began standing me up on the back of the church pew and having me match the 3rd and 5th parts he would sing. Eventually, I could hear those harmonies unlocked, and we could sing different parts together.
It was really gospel music and the strong harmonies that connected my love for both bluegrass and R&B. From there, my dad introduced me to the music of Tony Rice, The Temptations, Lonesome River Band, and Aretha Franklin, to name a few.
By 12, playing along to a Van Halen CD led to your dad signing you up for guitar lessons. As a teen, you began performing at various venues and festivals throughout the South Atlantic. In 2012, moving to Nashville to perform as a solo artist and touring full-time as a lead guitarist and vocalist. Released your debut single, “Cannonball,” in 2022. Can you share the backstory to “Cannonball?”
I moved to Nashville and was immediately blessed to find work as a guitar player and background singer with a well-established band. I branched off and played with other artists, but that role became what I was known for during my first couple of years here. I had a medical emergency where I burned my hands, and surgeons thought I wouldn’t be able to play again. I had to start over and focus my career on singing while, by the grace of God, I was given a second chance at playing guitar.
During the shutdown, I started writing and recording, and the first song that came about was “Cannonball.” I had a bunch of ideas in my head from over the years but had never found the quiet time that, for me, is necessary to bring them out. From “Cannonball,” I gained momentum to start producing and releasing more of my songs.
“Home Bound,” (inspired by your bond with your dog, Sadie Mae), is a soulful tribute to love, belonging, and the journey back home. “It became a kind of palate cleanser when I hit roadblocks with other songs. There are dozens of scattered notes and lyrics — little fragments of meaning that eventually came together. When they did, I knew it was time to share this song with the world.” You drew inspiration from the radiant optimism of “Blue Sky” by the Allman Brothers Band. What stood out about that song’s lyrics that influenced you most?
“Home Bound” started out as a song I’d sing to my dachshund Sadie Mae as she’d sit with me in the studio. If I were hung up on another song, I’d just put it down and start playing this one to her and come up with lighthearted lyrics on the fly to make her tail wag. I’ve got pages of ideas for it laying around, but every once in a while a profound verse would come out. Little by little it began to take shape as a testament to how much I miss her when I’m away, and how happy I am to come back home to her. I never really planned on it becoming a song I’d release but one day out of the blue the concept came together…
“Blue Sky” by the Allman Brothers is one of my all time favorites, and I have loved it since I was a kid. The way Dickie Betts expresses his incorruptible joy and the unconditional companionship from nature that he uses as a metaphor is what I tried to channel in “Home Bound” for Sadie Mae. Dickey writes that he’s nearing the end of his journey, “goin to Carolina, won’t be long and I’ll be there,” which is the basis of what “Home Bound” is about- the joy of being just around the bend from what brings you home.
“I hope this song leaves people feeling hopeful. No matter how tough things get, there’s always light at the end of the road. There’s always someone waiting for you, whether it’s a friend, a family member, or a four-legged companion who sees you as their whole world.” Partnering with Skydog Sanctuary for Horses, Philzoia Animal Rescue, Animal Wellness Foundation, and Pasadena Humane Society to raise awareness for animals in need of a loving home. How can fans help support your partners?
With the release of “Home Bound,” my team at Dead Horse Branding and I saw an opportunity to shine a light on the animals in shelters that are looking for homes themselves. At the time we released the song, and even now while writing this article, shelters in the Los Angeles area are beyond full capacity with animals and facilities affected by the wildfires.I performed the live premiere of “Home Bound” at the ‘Rise From The Ashes’ fundraiser here in Nashville, benefiting Skydog Sanctuary, Philzoia Animal Rescue, Animal Wellness Foundation, and the Pasadena Humane Society. While the link for that fundraiser is no longer available, anyone looking to help out can visit their websites and donate.
This release comes before your forthcoming EP, due out later this year, being co-written with Buck Johnson. Can you share some of the song topics you hope to write about on the EP?
The project Buck Johnson and I are working on revolves around where Southern Rock, Americana, and Country genres merge. Many of the songs lean into our experiences as performing musicians — the highs and lows — with a blue-collar outlook that people might not have heard much in today’s music.
It’s an amazing experience to work with someone like Buck, who has a lifelong passion and commitment to music and has worn nearly every hat in the industry as a hit songwriter, frontman, hired gun, and producer. I am very excited to release our EP later this year!