Kevin Atwater is a singer-songwriter from Downers Grove, Illinois whose music and lyrics cover a wide variety of topics, including love, heartbreak, queer identities, and more. Kevin Atwater currently has two EPs, titled Retriever and Downers Grove and loads of different singles. He currently sits at 256.4K monthly listeners on Spotify.

Two months after the release of a reimagined version of his EP titled Downers Grove filled with features on each song of different artists, Kevin released a single titled Ferry Beer on September 27th, 2024. On his TikTok page, @kevinatwatermusic, posted on March 6, 2024, Kevin released an acoustic version of the song featuring a caption stating, “[This is] a song about when i realized my relationship was doomed on the Staten Island Ferry.”

Ferry Beer

Rating: ★★★★★

Through a beautiful melody and lyrics that tug on your heartstrings, Kevin Atwater perfectly shows his emotions throughout this song. I find myself listening to this song on repeat and just staring at the ceiling, feeling every word jab into me. The first lines, “I wish we were married / Wish your name was mine / And was that so scary to you / In our better lives?” show Kevin’s desire for commitment, one that’s meaningful and grounds them. However, there is a feeling of resistance or fear from the other person (“was that so scary to you”), showing that this ideal life may only be that, ideal, but not real. The symbol of the ferry boat shows the fleeting nature of the relationship, such as in the lyrics: “The ferry went back / To the place it came / I dreamt we were married / I woke up the same.” The ferry going in a loop yet always returning to the same place shows that the relationship cannot go forward; the relationship is stuck, and there is nothing they can do to stop them from drifting. The lyrics, “And you’ll wanna hurt me/When you open your eyes/I’ll wake you up early/To give you the knife,” although jarring, perfectly show how Kevin begins to almost accept the end and even help it to continue. The pain and vulnerability almost manifest into Kevin, creating a sense of, “If you want to hurt me, I’ll help you do it.” Overall, this song gets a five stars for its beauty and depth, even in only 2 minutes and 49 seconds.

Find Kevin Atwater and Ferry Beer on Apple Music, Spotify, and other major streaming platforms!