LISTEN: William Prince, “When You Miss Someone”

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Artist: William Prince
Hometown: Peguis First Nation – Manitoba
Song: “When You Miss Someone”
Album: Stand in the Joy (produced by Dave Cobb)
Release Date: April 21, 2023
Label: Six Shooter Records

In Their Words: “Time has been on the forefront of my mind. This record is making up for the time I lost to grief and pain… This record dares to remain positive amidst the seemingly endless reasons to feel negative or sad, while still holding space for just how crucial those things are to feeling joyful and happy. This record acknowledges pain but does not give it power. What I hope comes through are feelings of love, peace, and strength. The strength to stand in the goodness of what you have, rather than sit in what you have lost. This record showcases what provides me my greatest joy. The love in my life.” — William Prince

Photo Credit: Jsenftphotography

Fiddles in February: Punch Brothers, Watchhouse, and More BGS Videos

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At the Bluegrass Situation, we are fond of the fiddle! Sometimes its nuance will get overshadowed by the acoustic guitar or the banjo, but in our hearts, the fiddle always holds its own. Can it rouse a crowd of country fans in a dancehall in Texas? Yes. Can it make you weep when you hear it on an Alison Krauss record? Every time. Will we ever get tired of hearing “Orange Blossom Special”? Can’t even imagine that.

Throughout the month of February, we’re shining a light on some of our favorite fiddle content, like this excerpt from Mark O’Connor’s upcoming memoir, this Mixtape from Turnpike Troubadours’ Kyle Nix, or this interview with Becky Buller. It also seems like the right time for a (double) stop by our BGS archive. Here are five of our favorite clips along with a brand new BGS playlist at the end.

Jason Carter, “King of the Hill”

One of our newest videos finds Jason Carter and friends jamming in the Station Inn dressing room, just before an album release party at Americanafest. Joining him on this Bruce Hornsby song are Cody Kilby (guitar), Ashby Frank (mandolin), Cory Walker (banjo), and Alan Bartram (bass). Carter told BGS, “This song is for anyone who’s ever had a dead-end job or had a boss like a prison warden.”

Che Apalache, “Red Rocking Chair”

Joe Troop of Che Apalache brings an international flair to the fiddle, balancing his North Carolina upbringing with a South American history lesson. How does he bridge the gap? Find out in our BGS interview from 2018.

Watchhouse, “Hey Adam”

On their very first trip to Los Angeles in 2014, Watchhouse (then Mandolin Orange) shared a special performance of “Hey Adam.” The poignant narrative of the song, written by Andrew Marlin, is beautifully underscored by the elegant harmony and gentle fiddle of Emily Frantz. In 2019, we caught up with the duo for this BGS Cover Story.

Punch Brothers, “My Oh My / Boll Weevil”

You can count on Punch Brothers to consistently deliver something cool, even if you can never predict what they’re going to do next. Back in 2015, BGS filmed the guys outside of the Fonda Theater in Hollywood, California. A few years later, in 2018, we interviewed all five members individually for our Artist of the Month series. During our visit, fiddle player Gabe Witcher shared his childhood memories of meeting a very young Chris Thile at Follows Camp Bluegrass Festival and even playing with Bill Monroe at Strawberry Bluegrass Festival.

Sara and Sean Watkins, “You and Me”

The Bluegrass Situation emerged from the West Coast acoustic scene, so we have to give props here to California natives Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins. They’ve been friends of BGS from the beginning and we’re always delighted to follow along on their creative journeys. That includes the time we ushered them into a tiny gondola in Colorado, resulting in this wonderful 2014 live video of “You and Me.” We’re thrilled about the new Nickel Creek record coming in April, which follows Watkins Family Hour’s terrific collection (and conversation) last fall.

WATCH: The Shootouts Feat. Ray Benson & Asleep at the Wheel, “One Step Forward”

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Artist: The Shootouts
Hometown: Akron, Ohio
Song: “One Step Forward” (Feat. Ray Benson & Asleep at the Wheel)
Album: Stampede
Release Date: February 24, 2023

In Their Words: “‘One Step Forward’ was written by our good friend Al Moss, a longtime Shootouts collaborator. While it’s definitely an uptempo love song, I couldn’t help but see it as a perfect analogy for the music business, too: one step forward, two steps back. Someone who knows a thing or two about surviving the ups-and-downs of the music business is Stampede co-producer Ray Benson. You don’t survive 50+ years in the music business without being able to weather the occasional storm. That’s just one of the many lessons we learned from working with Ray. He is a wealth of country music knowledge, and working with him and (Stampede co-producer) Sam Seifert was a true learning experience. We’re really grateful to them for their belief in The Shootouts and our music.

“For this song, and the video, we were also thrilled to be joined by Ray and members of Asleep at the Wheel. We wanted the video to give a little taste of what you might experience at a Shootouts concert, while also documenting some of the fun shows and tour dates we’ve had recently. We shot the portion with Ray and the Wheel on the road at the Blue Gate Theatre in Shipshewana, Indiana.” — Ryan Humbert, The Shootouts (vocals, guitar)

Photo Credit: Jamie Escola

The Show On The Road – Rayland Baxter Returns

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

This week, we place a call to a Tennessee front porch to talk to rock-n’-soul trickster and acclaimed singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter.

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He’s our first returning artist on the show for a good reason. Besides being a personal favorite of host Z. Lupetin since his gorgeous, folky debut Feathers and Fishhooks a decade ago, Z. was able to catch up with Rayland in a Vegas hotel room (where he played through a cigarette pack mini amp) to discuss his deliciously catchy and soulful 2018 record Wide Awake and how growing up around his sideman legend dad Bucky Baxter (pedal steel and guitars for Bob Dylan’s touring band, and countless others) inspired him to make his own playful visions real and to always follow his ear.

But while Wide Awake felt accessible as a funky aural high five, his 2022 offering If I Were A Butterfly is a more challenging, experimental work — think Jackson Pollock filmed through a Super 8 camera after a mushroom trip. He uses archival audio going back to his childhood, sings about goats, demons and his forever yearning to find a love that loves him back in a way that doesn’t seem transactional. The result is a fractured but intimately moving portrait.

I’ll admit, it took a few listens to warm to Butterfly, but after our latest talk, we can see how the ever-upbeat Baxter was processing some pretty heavy adult stuff on this record — most notably losing his dad and two of his most trusted recording partners to sudden ends. He hence did much of the producing himself, laying down the record in an abandoned rubber band factory. “Graffiti Street” shows Baxter at the height of his unique game writing signature effortless rootsy-rock hooks with a new sense of gravity that never holds the butterfly within him down.

Photo courtesy of Red Light Management

Basic Folk – Mark Erelli

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Mark Erelli is slowly going blind. In August 2020, he noticed he couldn’t see his fingers during a show. After that, as he was driving in a tunnel, everything went black. Mark went to the doctor and was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, or RP. Since then, his life has changed in ways he could never have imagined. He doesn’t drive at night, he carries a flashlight everywhere he goes, his relationship with his family, his writing and career have been pushed to the brink. All the processing he’s done over the last three years has led him to his latest album, Lay Your Darkness Down.

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In our conversation, we talk about Mark’s new challenges he’s faced while living with RP. He shares what it was like for him to tell friends and how he constantly has to advocate for himself. One aspect he did not expect was being able to use his white male privilege to speak up about his disability in hopes to help the community of people with disabilities. Once he realized that, he recognized that it was his responsibility to speak up for the greater good.

One hilarious note: my 6 month old puppy decided she wanted to interrupt and tear apart a book during the interview. I tried to get her out of the room, but in the end, she insisted that she remain. I apologize for the occasional rustling and background noise. If you listen hard enough at one point, you can hear Dottie the cat growling at her. Yay puppies.

Photo Credit: Joe Navas

International Folk Music Awards 2023: Molly Tuttle, Janis Ian Among Winners

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Four of the most accomplished women in roots music were announced as winners at the International Folk Music Awards in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday, February 1. The ceremony served as an opening night celebration for Folk Alliance International, the annual conference that runs through Sunday, February 5.

Janis Ian, a longtime folk favorite, earned Artist of the Year honors, while Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s Crooked Tree was named Album of the Year. There was a tie in the Song of the Year category, with Aoife O’Donovan’s “B61” and Anaïs Mitchell’s “Bright Star” sharing the award.

In addition, the Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to honor the cultural impact of legendary folk music figures: one Living, one Legacy, and one Business/Academic. As previously reported, this year’s honorees are Janis Ian; the late folk and blues singer Josh White; and Oh Boy Records, the independent record label co-founded by John Prine in 1981.

For more about Folk Alliance, check out our BGS preview about the 2023 event.

Read our BGS interview with Janis Ian.

Read our BGS interview with Molly Tuttle.

Read our BGS interview with Aoife O’Donovan and our BGS interview with Anaïs Mitchell.

Photo of Molly Tuttle: Samantha Muljat

WATCH: Nefesh Mountain, “Revival”

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Artist: Nefesh Mountain
Hometown: New York City
Song: “Revival”
Album: Revival: The East Nashville Sessions (Spring 2023)
Label: Eden Sky Music

In Their Words: “We’ve gone through so much these past few years, both as a band and as a family! We released two albums, welcomed our baby girl Willow into the world, and toured all while slowly turning the sonic dial of our sound and live shows, adding more extended solos, compositions, and jams. I kept hearing drums and electric guitars in our music, and maybe it’s having this beautiful baby in our lives but I keep going back to the music that I grew up on — bluegrass, yes, and also Hendrix, The Beatles, Zeppelin, Dylan, and The Allman Brothers! I always say there are no rules to our music, no boxes we need to be stuck in, and ‘Revival’ is the first of many new songs and sounds for us in 2023 and beyond.” — Eric Lindberg, Nefesh Mountain

“We live in a world with so much blatant antisemitism and racism, but despite this hate we wanted to pick up thematically where our last album left off — singing nonetheless from a place of love, forward motion, and hope. ‘Revival’ is a classic Allman Brothers tune that we’ve always loved and responded to … about radical LOVE and how music can bring us together. The line that spoke to us the most was ‘We’re in a revolution, don’t you know we’re right. When everyone is singing, there will be no one left to fight.'” — Doni Zasloff, Nefesh Mountain

Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

WATCH: ZG Smith, “Nighttime Animal”

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Artist: ZG Smith
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Nighttime Animal”
Album: Nighttime Animal
Release Date: February 23, 2023
Label: Tone Tree Music

In Their Words: “When Kyshona and I were writing ‘Nighttime Animal,’ in my mind the term was sort of a proxy for people who go against the grain. I think most of us have this pull in our lives to fit in, acquiesce to our surroundings, and be, for lack of a better term, ‘day people.’ In some ways that can be positive; we’re communal beings by nature, and we should definitely be able to function cooperatively, but a lot of folks end up quashing their own individuality and creativity in order to follow someone else’s idea of convention. Even worse is when some larger outside entity like the government tries to minimize individual autonomy, as is the case with reproductive rights legislation in Tennessee and other states right now. I think the defining energy of your life should be centered within you and no one should have power over someone else in that way. You can kinda see this in the way we crafted the arc of the music video when the main character, the ‘Nighttime Animal,’ has this sort of ‘hell yeah!’ moment when he finds the motorbike and lets himself go.” — ZG Smith

Photo Credit: Natia Cinco

BGS 5+5: Irene Kelley

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Artist: Irene Kelley
Hometown: Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Latest Album: Snow White Memories
Personal Nicknames: Renie

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I’d have to say the artist who influenced and inspired me the most has been and continues to be Dolly Parton. It all started in 1980, when I was the lead singer in a rock ‘n’ roll band, and I heard Dolly singing on TV from another room. I basically stopped in my tracks and ran to the TV to see who that voice was coming from. I started watching Dolly’s show regularly and got really interested in her original songs. She was responsible for converting me into a country music fan, and then later, a songwriter. The first song that I learned to play guitar on (just to be able to sing to it) was “To Daddy.” The simplicity of the chords, the beautiful melody, and the storyline compelled me to want to perform the song at my shows in the early ’80s.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

Gosh, that comes and goes so often that I can’t really narrow it down to just one song. Sometimes songwriting is a breeze, and a song will just make itself known in 30 minutes. Other times, it’s like milking a cow. It doesn’t give milk, you’ve got to go in there and pull it out. When I started to record my own records in 2000, I found myself recording songs I’d written, and then second-guessing the lyrics, sometimes going back and rewriting them several times before mixing. That can be a good thing though because it really makes me focus on the songs and truly want to make them the best that I can make them. Especially since I am the one who will be singing them night after night.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

That would probably be the first time I played the Grand Ole Opry in April 2001. My mom and sister came to town from my hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and both of my daughters, Justyna and Sara Jean were there — it was truly a special night. They all sat on the stage as I performed. My mom watched me go from singing rock as a teenager in her basement, to country and bluegrass (her favorite music genres) on that hallowed stage that night.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I love to hike in the parks around Nashville and the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Those are my favorites. I keep flower and vegetable gardens at home, and getting my hands in the dirt is always good therapy, too. These are the times I can truly talk to God, and lo and behold, sometimes He’ll send me a song idea.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

I had some classical training as a teenager and I still use some of those techniques if time and environment allow. Just to remind myself on proper breathing for singing, I learned to touch my toes and breathe in deeply. The air goes where it’s supposed to and that’s a good reminder, especially if I’ve got some jitters before a show and can’t get centered. Also, standing facing a wall and singing the song “Satan’s Jeweled Crown” that I learned from an early Emmylou Harris record is a great way for me to warm up my voice before a show and a recording session. That song in the key of D has all of the notes I need to stretch my voice, hold a vibrato, and get on pitch. I have been doing that for over forty years I’d say, but I don’t ever sing that song in my shows. Go figure!

Photo Credit: Anne Goetze

WATCH: Amanda Fields, “Moving Mountains” (Feat. Megan McCormick)

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Artist: Amanda Fields
Hometown: Madison, Tennessee (originally from Southwest Virginia)
Song: “Moving Mountains” (feat. Megan McCormick)
Album: What, When and Without
Release Date: February 28, 2023
Label: Are and Be Recordings

In Their Words: “I’m so happy and grateful to share this song with you all! It’s about finding the strength to do things that feel too big to handle and it serendipitously came out just one day after my grandmother Betty’s funeral, and I had lost my other grandmother Justine only a few short weeks before. As songs often do, it has taken on a whole new meaning to me and has really become a source of healing for me when I sing it. The song was originally inspired by Hazel Dickens’ caring for her brother (who died from Black Lung) and Mother Maybelle Carter’s work as a nurse tending to elderly patients. Hazel and Maybelle moved mountains, not just with their music, but through their work serving others and that’s the example that I’m following, but of course, I’m on my own path. I wrote the song with Megan McCormick, who also produced, sang and played lead guitar on the track.” — Amanda Fields

Photo: John Brown