Marc Ambrosia announces new album

If Marc Ambrosia’s Gay & Proud album plays through as a celebratory joyous triumph, that’s probably because it is.

Serving up his most upbeat songs to date, Marc Ambrosia has crafted an album that feels like a victory lap upon coming out as gay last year.

“Twenty years ago, I was a second grader who was just discovering he was gay,” Ambrosia reveals. “I was absolutely scared to death that if anyone ever found out, my life would be over. To think all these years later, my deepest darkest secret is now the crux of my greatest musical creation is beyond anything nine-year-old me ever could’ve imagined.”

Throughout the dazzling 11 track set, Ambrosia takes listeners on an almost-chronological journey of living in the closet, coming out to close friends in private, wrestling with finding courage and letting go of fear, coming out publicly and the relief felt after doing so, a call for unity in our country despite our differences, and finding peace in one’s authenticity while encouraging others to follow suit.

”We have so much to learn from each other,” Ambrosia says. “If living my life as honestly and openly as possible can help someone else out of the closet, this record will have done its job tenfold and my life will have very much been worth living.”

Combining his authentic coming out journey and his unique musical flair, Marc Ambrosia’s Gay & Proud is a defining moment, sure to move its listeners both rhythmically and emotionally.

"Gay and Proud" will be released August 30, 2024 via Roon Boon Records.

PRESS

THOMMY DELANEY INTERVIEWS MARC FOR BLOW UP RADIO

07/21/23

Thommy Delaney talks with Marc about coming out, trailblazing LGBTQ+ icons, and Marc’s latest single, “Gay and Proud.”

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MARC AMBROSIA IS GAY AND PROUD

06/25/23

Sonically, a slow simmer builds to a boil throughout “Gay and Proud.” Ambrosia progresses from a gently-delivered first verse, all the way to a triumphant, shout-along burst of energy in the final chorus — symbolic of his own journey toward self-acceptance and confronting his most palpable fears.

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STEREO STICKMAN: GAY AND PROUD REVIEW

06/23/23

Marc Ambrosia puts in his most passionate and gripping performance yet for this release, the sheer weight of the concept clearly being lifted through the very act of singing these words out loud.

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MARC AMBROSIA EMBRACES AUTHENTICITY ON ANTHEMIC SINGLE, “GAY AND PROUD”

06/23/23

Ambrosia's voice carries the weight of his experiences, pouring sincerity and passion into every note. The production, still being meticulously crafted in the studio, complements the anthem-like quality of the track, creating an immersive musical experience.

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MARC AMBROSIA HAS DEBUTED HIS ELECTRIFYING COUNTRY-POP-ROCK RECLAMATION, “GAY AND PROUD”

06/23/23

Gay and Proud is the title single from Ambrosia’s upcoming studio album, which promises to carry the same themes of overcoming self-hate and moving towards self-love, acceptance and peace.

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VIEW PRESS ARCHIVE

“I’ve known I was gay since I was eight years old. Despite that, I never in a million years would have thought I’d be able to admit that to anyone, let alone publicly…The idea of limiting the realness of any gay relationship I was in or limiting my own realness as a human-caused me to break down. I couldn’t go on living that way, I wasn’t going to go on living that way.”
- Marc Ambrosia on living in the closet for twenty years

THE EXCLUSIVE COMING OUT INTERVIEW: MARC AMBROSIA - GAY AND PROUD

06/01/23

47 Magazine interviews Marc to discuss his sexuality, the long and winding road of his coming out, his upcoming single, “Gay and Proud,” and much more. This article is a MUST READ for any Marc Ambrosia fan!

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ON HIS 4TH FULL-LENGTH STUDIO ALBUM,

“I’m stepping out with my head held high and my chest puffed out,” Ambrosia says of writing the album opener, “We Are Who We Are.’” The alt-rock jam is both an anthem of individuality and nonconformity and also a clapback to folks who try to cast people into certain boxes based on misperceptions. “Things are how they are, nothing ever changes, everything is law… but all of that is wrong, cause you’ve gotta write the lyrics of your very own song” Ambrosia sings over McNelis’ searing guitar.

“No such thing as getting over this, my heart’s an open wound and it can’t be fixed,” sings Ambrosia on “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am,” a juxtaposed jam that speaks to Marc’s darkest days in the closet when he considered suicide. “You get to a certain point where living in the closet just doesn’t feel like living at all, so why bother?” he says. “As has been the case many times, my Grandparents saved my life, though they didn’t know it this time. We gathered the whole family together to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary and I was just flooded with the desire to hit this milestone for myself one day - a happily ever after with the love of my life, basking in the love of friends and a family that we built together. I knew the only way I’d be able to achieve that would be to find my way out of the closest and really be open to finding a real, honest, unashamed love. Six months later, I had started coming out to a small number of trusted people in my life.”

Ambrosia summarizes some of those coming out conversations on “You Can Tell Me,” a jubilant homage to allies of the LGBTQ+ community. “When I was struggling to find the words and come out to my best friend, she said ‘Marc, you can tell me.’ As a result of that exchange, this song was born!” Ambrosia explains. “It was funny, the people who know me best weren’t surprised at all, they had even speculated for years. Now that I was saying the words out loud, we’ve been able to take our relationships to a deeper, more profound level. I’m more myself than ever before. I describe my life now as ‘life in high-def.’ The picture is less blurry and more vivid. Everything in my life has been enhanced since coming out and that’s thanks in large part to the acceptance and love I’ve been showered with since coming out.”

Ambrosia’s vividly enhanced perspective is on full display on “Willingly and Unafraid,” a quieter tune where his voice takes center stage as he sings about letting go of fear and embracing all that lies ahead in life. “I wanna savor every smile, keep it on my face for a little while; go to the mountain with raised hands naked to the world and just dance,” he sings. “I was preparing to officiate one of my best friend’s weddings and was thinking about the need to lean into life without unnecessary worry” Ambrosia reveals. “For my friend, it was leaning into married life with someone she has loved for years. For me, it was leaning into a life outside of the closet, which I had never allowed myself to envision until coming out.”

If “Brooklyn” is Marc praying for freedom, then the title track, “Gay and Proud” is Marc finally finding it and reveling in it. A powerful, rallying anthem for anyone who finds their way out of the closet, “Gay and Proud” showcases Marc singing in an evocative roar, illustrative of his own liberation.

“Twenty years ago, I was a second grader who was just discovering he was gay,” Ambrosia reveals. “I was absolutely scared to death that if anyone ever found out, my life would be over.”

With conviction Marc sings, “Starting from a clean page, throwing away the rage… I’m not mad anymore. I’m wiping away the tears, giving into my worst fears… I don’t want to be sad anymore”

Indeed, Marc has turned a new page and where his closeted life ends, his out and proud life begins, offering him an opportunity to reset and finally exhale.

Marc exemplifies this with a brilliant cover of Neil Sedaka’s “Beginning to Breathe Again.”

“When I first heard that song, I thought ‘man, if I ever come out - that’ll be the song to do it with,” Ambrosia admits. “I heard Neil has always wanted to have that song played in a movie. I don’t think it’s made its way into any blockbusters yet, but it’s been a pivotal song in the movie of my life.”

Starting off with Marc singing a capella, then gradually adding piano accompaniment from Eric Raible, the song serves as Gay & Proud’s most tender moment. Lyrically speaking, it’s almost as if Neil wrote the song specifically for Marc at this moment. “I love me for myself and it’s better now I’m the true me, the light shines through me… I’m beginning to breathe again.”

“Found Light” finds Marc delivering a sweet and tender, good old fashioned love song. “We recorded it right after Edge and right before we started working on Gay & Proud,” Ambrosia says.

“We weren’t sure what the plan was with that song, but it was something beautiful we had and as we started to finish Gay & Proud, it revealed itself to be something we needed. It speaks to the feeling of finally achieving peace, getting to the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s more than just a love song. It’s a song about getting to where you want to be. It speaks to being grateful for the journey and doing everything in your power to hold onto who you’ve become along the way.”

While “Found Light” could’ve essentially closed the album, Marc felt it was necessary to end with an upbeat message to other folks still living in the closet like he was for so long. As a result, “Finally You” serves as a sweet power pop send-off.

“It’s a song I wrote to my younger self and for all those still in the closet,” Ambrosia confesses.

“For far too long you’ve been denied of chasing the apple of your eye… breathe deep, take a leap, set yourself free… it’ll all work out, take it from me,” Ambrosia sings knowingly.

“My inner child has experienced a lot of healing since coming out,” says Ambrosia. “My wish for everyone who is on a similar journey is that they get to where I am now - gay and proud. It’s more than just the title of my record, it’s the story of my life, and more importantly - it’s the life goal I have for every closeted person in the world.”

One never knows the way their life will play out and perhaps that’s the most stunning thing about Marc’s Gay & Proud album. It captures the feeling of an unimaginable life taking root and then blossoming into something uniquely auspicious. As Marc says with tears of joy welling in his eyes, “To think all these years later, my deepest darkest secret is now the crux of my greatest musical creation is beyond anything nine-year-old me ever could’ve imagined. If living my life as honestly and openly as possible can help someone else out of the closet, this record will have done its job tenfold and my life will have very much been worth living.”

Honors & Nominations

SNJ Millennials’ 30 Under 30 Trendsetter Award Winner - 2018
Second Place American Idol Experience Winner - 2014
“Bleed” nominated for Best R&B song - 2019 WSTW Homey Awards
Best Male Solo Artist nominee - 2018 WSTW Homey Awards
“Love Like Rock & Roll” nominated for Best Collaboration - 2016 WSTW Homey Awards

Notable Performances

The famous Trocadero Theatre - Philadelphia, PA (sold out show)
Kimmel Center Verizon Hall - Philadelphia, PA
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - Cleveland, OH
Jersey Shore Music Fest - Seaside Heights, NJ (crowds of over 17,000)
May Fair - Collingswood, NJ (crowds of over 50,000)
American Idol Experience - Orlando, FL
Haverford Music Fest - Havertown, PA
Beacon Theatre - New York, NY

Opened for

Lisa Loeb
Sasha Dobson
The Icarus Account

Concerts performed for Charities

Ronald McDonald House
Bianca’s Kids
Relay for Life

Popular Radio Singles

“Take Good Care of Me”
“Shoes”
“Love Like Rock & Roll”
“Let Me Be Your Secret”
“One Step Back”
“World with You”
“Bleed”
“When I’m Craving Love”
“Feelings Don’t Die”

Marc Ambrosia chronicles his coming out journey with candidness and confidence. Digging deep into his personal life and turning struggle into strength, Marc delivers his most compelling batch of songs to date - Gay & Proud.

Plans for Gay & Proud took shape in late 2022, about a year after Marc had come out to a close circle of trusted family and friends. “I had just released my last record, Edge but hadn’t stopped writing,” says Ambrosia. “What I was noticing about the new songs is they all centered around my coming out. I’ve always written about my own life, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that these songs would tell my story, but it did shock me a bit. To see what these songs represented and the arc they built when all put together. I knew this was going to be a record more substantial than anything I had ever done.”

Tracking commenced in early January 2023. Having grown familiar with home recording techniques as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the album was recorded at the various homes of the musicians who played on it. Rick Eddy (of Chelsea in Orbit and Vibrators V2) tracked drums at his home studio, Go Man Go Productions. Ben Morris and Thanny Nixon tracked bass at their homes, and Anthony Cubbage (of Age of the Bear) tracked guitars at his home studio. Other musicians, Steve LoCastro (of The Brownies) and Eric Raible (of the Wayside Shakeup) recorded their piano tracks at the Gradwell House in Haddon Heights, NJ, where Marc recorded all of his vocals and put the album together with the help of engineer, Eric McNelis (of Sleep In), who also played some electric guitar on the project. “Eric and I work so well together.” Ambrosia reveals. “He knows how to take my ideas and develop them and he gets the mixes just right without the need for many tweaks. Ours is a collaboration that yields the most slick and pristine results.” Those results are on full display throughout the album, which delivers Marc’s most stirring and celebratory tunes to date.

While Marc was out to a handful of trusted individuals, he didn’t come out publicly until June 2023. One individual who knew about Marc’s sexuality was photographer Cody Williams who worked with Marc on several shoots. “Cody came to me in May of 2023 and said he was working with 47 Magazine on a special Pride Month issue.” Ambrosia explains. “They wanted to highlight LGBTQ+ artists. Cody asked me if I’d be interested in using this opportunity as a way to come out publicly to the world. Before I knew it, I was being photographed and interviewed in Brooklyn about coming to terms with my sexuality and embracing my gayness. It was the most thrilling experience to finally give my inner truth the microphone and tell my own authentic story.”

Marc’s 47 Magazine article wound up being the publication’s most viewed story in its history. Simultaneously, it changed Marc’s life for the better, but right before the article was about to go live, Marc was profoundly nervous.

“We were wrapping the shoot in Brooklyn and I was told the article would be going live by the end of the week.” Ambrosia details. “While I was excited, I was also extremely unsure as to how this would affect my life.”

“Cody and the 47 Magazine team had left and I walked along the Brooklyn bridge staring at the Statue of Liberty for hours. I prayed that after the article went live, my life would change in only the most positive ways. Even though I had been to see the Statue of Liberty years before, for the first time in my life - I was seeing her with the feeling of freedom wrapping itself around me. That’s what coming out felt like for me - finally finding and feeling freedom.”

This moment is captured with precision on the album’s rocking lead single, “Brooklyn.”

“I said a prayer to lady Liberty from Brooklyn bridge so that I would know what freedom means,” Ambrosia sings with vigor. “I was looking for deliverance from demons inside that I learned to live with silently.’

Turning things up, Marc channels his inner Rolling Stones for a punchy jam about unity, “Two Worlds Apart.”

Written in 2020, “Two Worlds Apart” started out as a somewhat political, somewhat tongue and cheek relationship focused song.

“It was an election year and it was plain to see how divided we were as a country,” Ambrosia laments.

“Four years later, here we are again in another election year, as divided as ever.”

So what exactly is a politically motivated jam doing on Marc’s ‘coming out of the closet’ album? “To me, ‘Two Worlds Apart’ is a perfect fit on Gay & Proud because it’s really a song that celebrates all of our differences and aspires to embrace unity and coexistence despite them,” Ambrosia explains.

“It’s a song that calls for us all to break free from our tribal mentality and come together as one. Gay, straight, trans, bi, black, white, asian, jewish, democrat, republican, muslim, man, woman, child, you name it - let’s unite as one human race and acknowledge the fact that yes - we come from different backgrounds with varying life experiences, but at the end of the day - we may be two worlds apart, but that’s really not that far away.”

Those sentiments continue with the glistening funk flavored “One Together.”

“I had written that song as a result of hearing some celebrity interviews that set my songwriter mind off,” Ambrosia reveals.

“It was Rosie O’ Donnell who said ‘When you yell nobody hears you.’ I found that to be particularly profound, so I held onto that for years. ‘Love is love and there’s not alot of it… not in this life, not enough’ that was a quote from the late Bob Saget. Another profound statement that stayed in my mind for a long, long time. Shortly after Bob’s passing, it came back to the forefront of my mind. At that time, I had some music I was writing lyrics to and it seemed to fit, so I wrote the song around that and brought in the Rosie line too, which also fit with the overall theme.”