My son Elliot has been writing songs for decades. Seriously. Like, basically since he’s been literate. I won’t embarrass him by sharing anything from deep in the archives. I’m just saying: he’s been working on this stuff for a while. And now he’s put something out on music streaming services and social media — in collaboration with another Pittsburgh artist — and that is something to celebrate!

His first single, “MARIGOLD,” is a bop. And I’m not just saying that because it’s my son’s (and my son’s friend’s) song. The song makes me want to dance and sticks in my head. I find myself humming it and singing it hours after listening to it. If you want to find this new release for your own listening pleasure, the artist name (specific to this collaborative project) is MANIAM, and their main presence in the public sphere right now is the MANIAM Instagram account. A music video for this single can also be found on Instagram Reels. They even got a write-up from a local music magazine, which reveals a fun twist to the lyrics:

In a more condensed form, I can just tell you that the magazine write-up describes MARIGOLD as a “love song for the sun.”

Let’s take you back to March 2026. The sun is finally poking through after a long, cold winter, and Michal and Elliot are reminded of how much they’ve missed her… Help us show MANIAM the love they show the sun in this glowing debut single, “MARIGOLD.” And don’t forget the third member of the group, Michal’s cat and artist manager Basil, featured in every song Michal has released to date.

Let me know if you give it a listen — and what you think of it, if you do. I’m proud of Elliot for a lot of different reasons, but this is certainly one of them.