Every Friday, BGS shines a light on some of our favorite new tracks in bluegrass, folk, Americana and beyond. Then we ask the artist about the inspiration behind the music and pass their wise words along to you.

This week, fiddler M’Gilvry Allen and his dearest friends share an optimistic old-time tune, “I Know There’s Gonna Be Good Times Again.” That folk feel also carries through to Eliot Bronson’s pensive new song, “I Have Always Been Alone,” a highlight from his notable new album, Arrive. And after a few years out of the spotlight, Jake Bugg brightens up the landscape with the uptempo “Never Can Tell” from his reflective new album, Alamo.

Bluegrass and Americana fans will want to check out the Swedish group Echoes & Rhymes’ thoughtful song, “Make One Feel Alive,” which encourages us to see the beauty in everything. That note of encouragement will come in handy as the holidays approach. If you kinda sorta dread the family get-togethers (even with the best of intentions), give Humbird’s “12 Month Ringer” a spin, as she’s toasting to the better days ahead. For a further dose of feel-good vibes, tune into Valerie June’s splendid interpretation of “What a Wonderful World.”

Sean Kiely’s music video for “Two Moths” uses subdued special effects to give the video a full-band feel, even though he’s alone, wondering where a relationship went wrong. That’s followed by Cara Luft’s “The Banjo Is a Gift,” a salute to the instrument we just can’t live without. (See how many banjo players you know in her clever video.) And finally, Zach Seabaugh is wearing his heart on his sleeve on “I Need a Light.” There can never be too many songs about having someone in your corner, cheering you on. Share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Because, as we say every week, You Gotta Hear This!

M’Gilvry Allen, “I Know There’s Gonna Be Good Times Again”

Artist: M’Gilvry Allen
Hometown: Ashland, Oregon
Song: “I Know There’s Gonna Be Good Times Again”
Release Date: October 16, 2026
Label: Specific Records

In Their Words: “I wrote this tune in my studio in West Oakland the same week I first went into San Quentin to play music with the men inside. It came out crooked. It’s in calico tuning dropped down to F-C-F-A, and the meter is… to be honest I have no idea. It’s some version of 10, but no one in the crew agrees on it. When I’m writing a tune I often feel an impulse to square it up, but left this one crooked because a lot of the old-time tunes I love move like that. The lyric that makes the chorus was with me the first day, and the rest of the lyrics showed up about six months later while I was driving around listening to a voice memo of the tune in my truck.

“Everyone singing on the track is someone I love: Leah and Chloe from Rising Appalachia, my Singing The Bones bandmates, and Maya and Jordan of The Good Dream, who cut their harmonies in their living room the morning Maya’s water broke. I put a couple 808s underneath because I can’t help myself, but most of the bass is recorded on my octave fiddle over a direct line. The song is a prayer I’m still holding, I guess. That we’re all getting free, that we’re all going home.” — M’Gilvry Allen

Eliot Bronson, “I Have Always Been Alone”

Artist: Eliot Bronson
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Song: “I Have Always Been Alone”
Album: Arrive
Release Date: November 6, 2026
Label: New Pain Records

In Their Words: “My family comes from blue-collar working people: coal miners, fishermen, and Pentecostal preachers. They were outcasts, misfits, and survivors. My mother’s father was a waterman in Crisfield, Maryland. The family lore is that he deserted the army and hid out on a ship in the Chesapeake Bay, working as a cook. He died when I was young, and I mostly remember him chewing tobacco and reading the Bible in his easy chair. This song is my way of tracing the thread through their lives and mine. It’s about the existential loneliness that, strangely, ties us all together.” — Eliot Bronson

Jake Bugg, “Never Can Tell”

Artist: Jake Bugg
Hometown: Nottingham, England
Song: “Never Can Tell”
Album: Alamo
Release Date: November 13, 2026
Label: Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “It’s really hard to know who to trust in this day and age, especially growing up how I did and having to be vigilant and observant of the people around you. ‘Never Can Tell’ is about that. Life throws so many parallels at you and it’s hard to know which way to go. You’ve just got to go with what your gut tells you.” — Jake Bugg

Echoes & Rhymes, “Make One Feel Alive”

Artist: Echoes and Rhymes
Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
Song: “Make One Feel Alive”
Album: Wide & Blue
Release Date: October 8, 2026
Label: Ella Ruth Institutet

In Their Words: “‘Make One Feel Alive’ is about loving someone who has the ability to see beauty in everything around them. It’s a song about doing everything you can to be a part of that person’s life, but also about letting go.

“Some people have the ability to see the beauty in everything, to choose to see the good. It’s important to cherish that perspective in a world where the cynical and suspicious side often shouts the loudest. And at the same time, you must be careful not to stifle or exploit the goodness, you must respect it and let it breathe. The nicest person doesn’t always get the most respect even though they should.

“Some of our songs are more in the bluegrass genre and this one is more towards Americana, and we love playing it because it´s both sensitive but also has a lot of power. It’s nice to combine the bluegrass sound with drums and create a different sound than the traditional.” Edith Lundahl, Echoes and Rhymes

Humbird, “12 Month Ringer”

Artist: Humbird
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Song: “12 Month Ringer”
Album: Morning When It Comes
Release Date: September 25, 2026
Label: Nettwerk Music Group

In Their Words: “’12 Month Ringer’ is one of the more straightforward songs I’ve ever written. I picked up a guitar and wrote it as a means to literally interrupt a panic attack on New Year’s Eve while spending time with loved ones at a cabin on a frozen lake for the holiday. It was a low point in a hard season of life. The chorus is a desperate attempt to make myself smile and also meant as encouragement to any listeners: it gets hard out there. We can only do our best, which is occasionally a sad affair, but I think there’s something endearing and respectable about honoring that. Playing it with the band adds delightful levity to the whole thing, and Rich Hinman’s pedal steel part is so satisfying.” Siri Undlin, Humbird

Valerie June, “What a Wonderful World”

Artist: Valerie June
Hometown: Humboldt, Tennessee
Song: “What a Wonderful World”
Release Date: November 13, 2026
Label: Concord

In Their Words: “Working with elementary and middle school students through Yo-Yo Ma and Nicholas Ma’s American Revival program gives me hope for a more beautiful world. Many of these young people have been deeply affected by the disruption of families and communities along the border, violence in their neighborhoods, and countless other challenges. Art and music can be powerful healers. They create space for connection, expression, joy, and hope. We often say that the world is a dark place right now, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed or powerless to make a difference. But we don’t have to stand on the sidelines. We can join the leaders in our own communities and work together to make things better. Change starts at home.

“When Louis Armstrong first sang ‘What a Wonderful World,’ many artists still had to enter through the back doors of some of America’s finest venues. Today, we are free to walk through the front door. That freedom reminds us that, while we still have a long way to go, we have also come a long way. Progress happens when everyday people believe in one another, come together, and work toward a more just, compassionate, and beautiful world. I believe in humanity. I believe in the power of art and music to bring us closer together. And I believe in the wonderful world we can create—one child, one community, and one act of kindness at a time.” – Valerie June

Sean Kiely, “Two Moths”

Artist: Sean Kiely
Hometown: Jersey City, New Jersey
Song: “Two Moths”
Album: Long Live the Low
Release Date: October 16th, 2026
Label: Multiple Logo

In Their Words: “‘Two Moths’ is the album opener for Long Live The Low. All the drama of the record is kind of right there in the song — the main character meets someone, they fall in love, and it turns out there isn’t quite enough to sustain them by the time the sun comes up. Something can be attractive, like moths drawn to a streetlight, but then it all looks different in the light of day, when a bigger light source illuminates the periphery too. The rest of the record wrestles with the implications of all that. Tries to make sense of loss and heartbreak in the absence of knowledge or communication. And after digging around for answers, at the end of the album the song ‘Misunderstanding’ settles on trying to let the mystery be.” — Sean Kiely

Cara Luft, “The Banjo Is a Gift”

Artist: Cara Luft
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Song: “The Banjo Is A Gift”
Album: My Heart Will Always Be
Release Date: November 6, 2026
Label: Blue Case Tunes / Symphonic

In Their Words: “I grew up in a house full of open-back banjos. My dad is known as the Pete Seeger of Calgary, and is credited with giving many players their start with the banjo. This includes Grammy winner and frailing master Cathy Fink, who used to stay with my folks whenever she was on tour in Alberta. Fast forward to May 2025, I was playing a theatre show with my co-writer and sideman Clayton Parsons in Grand Forks, a small Doukhobor* town (*a communal Russian religious sect) in Southern BC when an old-timer came up and offered me a free tenor banjo as a thank you for the concert. I don’t play tenor so suggested he give it to Clay. Turns out it was the second tenor banjo offered to him within the span of a month!

“As we were making our way home after the gig, we thought wouldn’t it be fun to write a song about the kind of banjo that we actually play (5-string open-back), with the secret hope that someone might actually gift us a banjo we would love? 🙂 We found inspiration from an old John Hartford song. The track features seven banjos (we even made the drummer play the banjo…. Ha ha!), with very special guest and Grammy-winning banjo queen Alison Brown. I’ve gotten to Alison over the years and she was so gracious when I asked if she’d like to guest on the track. Such a gift having her play!

“For this video I wanted to celebrate the myriad friendships and connections that have been made through a mutual love for the banjo. I made a list of banjo-playing friends with my chosen brother and co-writer Clayton Parsons, and asked each person to send me a photo of themselves holding their banjo, along with the make, model and year (if known). It was so interesting and fun to read up on each banjo as the photos started coming in. Something really beautiful happened as I began compiling them: everyone was connected in some unique and special way. It was one giant Venn diagram 🙂 There were banjo teachers & their students & then their students. Take my dad for example: he taught Cathy Fink, Cathy taught Daniel Koulack, and Daniel taught me. So many instances of this! There were banjo builders & players of said banjos. Friends of friends, friends like family, musical companions and bandmates…. And heck, the Winnipeg contingent alone is incredible! Watching this photo collection makes my heart very happy, I can’t help but smile and feel immense joy. The banjo is indeed a gift!” – Cara Luft

Zach Seabaugh, “I Need a Light”

Artist: Zach Seabaugh
Hometown: Marietta, Georgia
Song: “I Need a Light
Release Date: November 13, 2026
Label: Cloverdale Records

In Their Words: “This song came to be when I was thinking about how life can be lonely and unpredictable at times — it’s hard to see a way forward. We don’t always need someone to fix things, but having someone to walk beside you and in your corner offers the bit of hope you need. A little kindness, friendship, connection can make all the difference for someone. Hope can come from the most unexpected places and people and that’s what this song represents for me!” — Zach Seabaugh

Photo Credits: Kevin Westenberg (Jake Bugg), Kendall Rock (Humbird)