Riley Pearce’s You Won’t Be There Is A Raw Portrait of Modern Fatherhood

Indie-folk artist Riley Pearce delivers his most emotionally charged work yet with You Won’t Be There, a single that cuts straight to the heart of contemporary creative struggle.

The track serves as the centrepiece of his upcoming album The Weight of Our Dreaming, due October 31 via Nettwerk.

Pearce’s latest offering explores the profound loneliness that comes with pursuing artistic dreams whilst building a family.

The song captures those midnight moments when touring musicians stare at hotel room ceilings, calculating time zones and missing bedtime stories.

His vocals carry the weight of genuine exhaustion, backed by Andy Lawson’s atmospheric production that mirrors the emotional distance between stage lights and home.

What makes You Won’t Be There particularly interesting is Pearce’s refusal to romanticise the struggle. Rather than presenting the classic “tortured artist” narrative, he offers something more nuanced: The guilt of a father who knows his daughters need him present, not just successful.

The track’s sparse instrumentation allows space for vulnerability, with subtle pedal steel contributions from Grammy winner Lucky Oceans adding texture without overwhelming the intimacy.

Since his 2016 debut, Pearce has built a reputation for honest storytelling. You Won’t Be There continues this trajectory, addressing universal themes through deeply personal experience

Pre-save Riley Pearce’s new album, The Weight of Our Dreaming.