LISTEN: The Mother Hips, “Leaving the Valley”

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Artist: The Mother Hips
Hometown: Marin County, California
Song: “Leaving the Valley”
Album: When We Disappear
Release Date: January 27, 2023
Label: Blue Rose Music

In Their Words: “In one of our last writing sessions before we started the recording process, I had brought a demo of a soulful, guitar groove to Tim. I kept repeating the phrase while Tim worked towards the main melody on guitar. We decided that it was quite effective when he sang along with the guitar line. The lyrics are about the departure from the womb and the desire to return. We really loved how this track came out sonically and in the performance. Song 1, Side B is an important spot on a record so we gave it to ‘Leaving The Valley.'” — Greg Loiacono, The Mother Hips

Photo Credit: Andrew Quist

MIXTAPE: Mile Twelve’s Favorite Short Story Songs

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Songs can be truly short short stories. There is so little time, so little space to convey a complete narrative. That challenge has always thrilled us when crafting our music. When we were asked to create a themed playlist for The Bluegrass Situation, I thought through our own songs that formed the new album Close Enough to Hear (out February 3) and wondered what common thread tied them together. Many of them really are conveying a story, something with a beginning, middle and end. We all went back to our favorite short story songs and marveled at the writers’ ability to forge a genuine drama, with a plot and characters, inciting events and climaxes, in just a few short minutes. It’s a high wire act, where every single word counts and nothing can be wasted. Here’s a list of our favorite short story songs. — Evan Murphy (acoustic guitar), Mile Twelve

Bruce Molsky (Molsky’s Mountain Drifters) – “Between the Wars”

This song makes me emotional every time I hear it. Bruce delivers this Billy Bragg song so powerfully and honestly, giving it a distinctly American flavor. – Nate Sabat (upright bass)

Bobbie Gentry – “Papa, Won’t You Let Me Go to Town With You”

I was recently turned on to Bobbie Gentry through the Cocaine and Rhinestones podcast by Tyler Mahan Coe (highly recommended) and stumbled on this song while checking out her catalog. She’s done such an incredible job painting a musical representation of that longing, wishing feeling of wanting to be included. And on a dorkier note, listen to how the phrasing of the hook is different on line one of the chorus than it is on line four. So, so good. — Nate

Cy Winstanley – “Little Richard Is Alive and Well in Nashville, TN”

Our good friends of the duo Tattletale Saints are excellent songwriters from New Zealand, now based in Nashville. This song about Little Richard has beautiful, clear imagery that pulls you right into the song. It’s a mellow performance, not trying too hard and resulting in a memorable story about a unique Nashville music legend. – BB Bowness (banjo)

Jean Ritchie – “West Virginia Mine Disaster”

This haunting a cappella song written by Jean Ritchie is sung from the wife’s point of view as she awaits news of her husband’s fate down in the mine. The song captures the anxiety and uncertainty she feels while she imagines a possible future without her husband. — BB

Jason Isbell – “Speed Trap Town”

A dozen cheap roses in a shopping cart, veins through the skin like a faded tattoo. Isbell’s tight, sparse images bloom into vignettes which form a complete story by the end of this song. A man has reached the limits of his patience with a stagnant life. His father lays dying in the ICU, he has no prospects, nothing to stay for. After long years, he finally decides to pack it up and break free. When I am in a period of writing I actually can’t listen to songs this good. They torment me with their lean, sinewy perfection. To use Isbell’s own language, there is no fat on these lyrics. Everybody knows you in a speed trap town. — Evan

Bruce Springsteen – “Highway Patrolman”

“My name’s Joe Roberts, I work for the state” might as well be “Call me Ishmael.” For me, this is the quintessential short story song. There are major motion pictures with plots less deep. It’s the struggle between two brothers, Joe and Frankie, one a state trooper and the other a struggling veteran who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. “I got a brother named Frankie, and Frankie ain’t no good,” sings Joe. Maybe it’s the fact that I have two older brothers, but when Joe watches Frankie’s taillights disappear across the border I cry, even after hundreds of listens. “I musta done a 110 through Michigan County that night.” How desperate was Joe to catch Frankie, to save him from himself? This song has taught me so much about musical storytelling. Springsteen is larger than life, for me and so many others. I wish I could open the back of his head and see how he does it. Thank God we have his music, it’s sacred. — Evan

Gillian Welch – “Caleb Meyer”

“Caleb Meyer, he lived alone in them hollerin’ pines” opens this exquisitely brutal ghost story. Gillian Welch has reshaped the very structure of modern folk songwriting. She and David Rawlings prove that when the song, the vocals and the playing are flawless you really don’t need anything more. “Caleb Meyer” is a haunting murder ballad. A woman fights for her life, finding a broken bottle to slash the throat of her would-be rapist. I am in that room with her when I listen to this, the hair standing up straight on the back of my neck. It’s a full-fledged Western, and she does it in three damn minutes. She is a force of nature. — Evan

John Prine – “Hello in There”

The lives of Prine’s characters are smaller and simpler than the legends of epic folk ballads. There’s no steam drill, no six shooters, no gallows at dawn. It’s just Loretta, Davie and Rudy, a back porch, a TV that plays the same old news. This is Prine’s genius, making the mundane transcendent in its beauty and its tragedy. It’s like watching modern human life itself dancing on top of his gorgeous finger-picked eighth notes. He was one of our great American prophets, observing, critiquing, reflecting, teaching. He is missed so dearly. — Evan

Josh Ritter – “The Temptation of Adam”

“‘If this was the Cold War, we could keep each other warm,’ I said on the first occasion that I met Marie.” Ritter is a favorite of novelist Stephen King. It’s not surprising, given the literary grandeur of his songwriting. The strange, post-apocalyptic tale of Marie and the missile silo transfixed me when I first heard it. It’s more mesmerizing with each repeat listen. How does someone create a world so fully realized, so convincing, with such simple tools at their disposal? What a gorgeously weird tale. — Evan

Cindy Walker, recorded by Bob Wills – “Dusty Skies”

When I was younger, I had four or five Bob Wills CDs that were pretty much on repeat for my whole childhood. This Cindy Walker song was on a couple of them, and every time I heard that fiddle intro, it would stop me in my tracks. I’d sit there completely absorbed in the stark, dusty imagery. This song is lyrically and musically as simple as it gets, but it packs a heavy emotional punch. When this song was recorded by Bob in 1941, the Dust Bowl was barely history, and I can feel the pain it caused in every beat. You don’t always need fancy chords and poetry to make a statement—sometimes you just need a semi-natural disaster. — Ella Jordan (fiddle)

Joni Mitchell – “The Last Time I Saw Richard”

How can you have a playlist without a Joni Mitchell song? The oppressively ordinary yet starkly evocative imagery in the second half (only Joni can put a dishwasher in a song) somehow reminds me a little of some of Lucia Berlin’s writing. This is one of those songs that if you had never heard anybody sing it and you just read the lyrics, it would still be a beautiful poem. One that takes you on a journey, and makes you feel things. One that makes you question your life choices. We all hope it’s only a phase, these dark café days…. – Ella

Randy Newman – “Dixie Flyer”

This is one of my favorite songs from Randy Newman. He sings about traveling around the United States as a child of a Jewish immigrant family in an attempt to find a home and live the American Dream. He deals with themes such as privilege and the issue of losing one’s culture while assimilating. This is the story of many families during the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th and continues to be a relatable topic today. – Korey Brodsky (mandolin)

Songwriter Unknown, Recorded by Hazel & Alice – “Two Soldiers”

The story of two Union soldiers during the Civil War who promise each other they will bring news back to their families if one of them does not make it through the battle. The imagery of war is vivid and the storytelling is masterful. Hazel & Alice bring this one to life in their incredible version. — Korey

Photo Credit: Dave Green Photography

LISTEN: Mary Elizabeth Remington, “Dresser Hill”

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Artist: Mary Elizabeth Remington
Hometown: Moose Brook, Hardwick, Massachusetts
Song: “Dresser Hill”
Album: In Embudo
Release Date: February 10, 2023
Label: Loose Music

Editor’s Note: Mary Elizabeth Remington recorded her new album in a small house in Embudo, New Mexico, with her friends Adrianne Lenker and James Krivchenia of Big Thief and Mat Davidson of Twain.

In Their Words: “A song can take me a few days to write and other times a song will emerge gradually over years. Starting with a melody, lyrics take form as circumstances unfold, sometimes changing over time. It is so cool to start a song in the beginning of a difficult situation, and over a few months of growth and change, find the last words. The song becomes a jewel mined from struggle, where the pain is dissipated within the sacredness of the lesson. This is very much how ‘Dresser Hill’ was written. Mat, James, Adrianne and I each have a unique journey as musicians and all of us making the time for this album, I am forever grateful for.” — Mary Elizabeth Remington

Photo Credit: Lindsay Leslie

LISTEN: Fruit Bats, “Rushin’ River Valley”

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Artist: Fruit Bats
Hometown: Chicago; Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles
Album: A River Running to Your Heart
Release Date: April 14, 2023
Label: Merge Records

In Their Words: “When I first met my wife, she kept referring to a ‘Rushin’ River Valley’ that was near where she grew up in West Sonoma County, California. I really thought she was leaning into a folksy colloquialism, dropping the ‘g’ on ‘rushing’ and all. It took me a while to learn that she was actually talking about the Russian River Valley – a beautiful area known for redwoods and chardonnay and biblical-level flooding. This song is about true love, and the question of whether we are fated to be together or if it’s all just universal chaos tossing us around. It’s also about ghosts and bad dreams and trying to move forward and climbing over a mountain and hoping to glimpse the other side.

“Over the years there’s been a lot of geography in my music, a lot of landscapes. Sometimes the places are real, sometimes they’re emotional. I’ve always liked the idea of songs and albums that exist in a continuum with one another. I’m not talking about some kind of deep series of concept albums, mind you. More like the idea that my songs are all pretty much tributaries of the same river. Which makes a lot of metaphorical sense because my path has been long and winding and often slow and muddy. But always moving towards the sea. I guess you could say this album is the one where I took all that emotional geography and kind of mapped it out.” — Eric D. Johnson, Fruit Bats

Photo Credit: Chantal Anderson

Writing for ‘The Woman King,’ Jessy Wilson Earns Her First Grammy Nod

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Such words as eclectic, diverse or versatile are hardly adequate to describe the scope and mastery of singer-songwriter Jessy Wilson’s talents. Her career background ranges from singing in Off-Broadway productions and being a backup vocalist for John Legend and Alicia Keys, to receiving her first-ever Grammy nomination in late 2022 for co-writing “Keep Rising (The Woman King),” which she recorded for the closing credits of the film The Woman King.

That versatility as a performer is also reflected in the creative fire and energy that’s led to Wilson getting involved with sculpture and visual art, doing some acting, and in general displaying such a broad and wide-ranging approach that she’s sometimes encountered difficulty in an industry most comfortable with categorization.

“Well, no one knows for sure what might or might not hamper or restrict them starting out, or in terms of their career evolution,” Wilson tells the Bluegrass Situation. “I recognize that in terms of marketing, yes, there’s a tendency towards wanting artists who do fit into whatever category they feel might be commercially strongest. But for myself, what drives me as an artist is the creative process, and the thrill that I get from different songs, from different experiences, from different kinds of music. I can’t let myself worry about the whole issue of categorization, and it’s not really something that’s ever concerned me.”

Wilson grew up in Brooklyn hearing the sounds of classic soul and early hip-hop. After moving to Nashville in 2013, she became enchanted with the sounds of the South: more soul, as well as gospel, blues, and country. Wilson soon began attracting national attention while part of the duo Muddy Magnolias. A standout performance at the 2014 CMA Music Festival got widespread praise and coverage from Rolling Stone. The group was later signed by Third Generation Records and released the album Broken People in 2016, but what looked like a promising path didn’t materialize as the duo subsequently disbanded. After a period that included living in East Nashville and working in the industry via a publishing deal, Wilson’s now enjoying a breakout period as a recording artist.

A key indicator of that success is the Grammy nomination, shared with featured guest Angélique Kidjo, in the category of Best Song Written for Visual Media. Wilson wrote “Keep Rising” after the miscarriage of her son. The unreleased track found its way to the filmmakers behind The Woman King, the outstanding historical drama starring Viola Davis and directed by Gina-Prince Bythewood. “The producers had heard a demo of the song and really loved it,” Wilson explained. “Gina Prince-Bythewood personally asked me about getting the song in the film. We made some changes and additions, finished it, gave it to them, and I guess you can say the rest is history.”

In addition to the Grammy nomination, Wilson is still riding the wave of critical adulation from her 2019 LP Phase, which was recorded with and produced by ace Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney. “That experience working with Patrick is by far the best I’ve ever had in terms of songwriting, putting together a record and really putting my voice forward in the best way,” Wilson continued. “At first we just would kind of go over things and try out a couple of items, but towards the end we were working on the album every day. It was concentrated, intense and very productive. I’m really happy with how it turned out and I think it’s the best and most complete release I’ve done to date.”

Phase‘s lead single was “Love & Sophistication,” a lyrically intriguing tune that was released along with a lyric video spiced with French captions. While the simplistic way to assess it was as a straightforward love song, it was indeed a smarter work. Combining a vintage R&B track with a shimmering and expressive lead vocal, it provided a strong introduction for the overall LP.

Conceptually, much of the material leans heavily toward autobiographical reflection, though certainly Wilson demonstrates on such tunes as “Cold in the South” a fiery, defiant and blistering sensibility in discussing exactly what type of experiences a Black woman might encounter on any particular occasion or evening in that region. Still, the lyrical tone is mostly upbeat, with such numbers as “LZ Night” or “waiting on…” narrating the ongoing quest fueled by her multiple creative inspirations. There is also a sensual side to her sound, which is brilliantly displayed with the sizzling number “Oh Baby.”

Jessy Wilson’s had a number of amazing collaborative experiences, many of which she credits to her time with John Legend. “He was such an important person in my life and in my artistic development,” Wilson added. “I learned so much from watching him on stage, watching him in the studio, writing with him. He allowed me maximum freedom and gave the chance to really find my way and find my voice. He was not only a mentor but a great friend and influence.”

She directly links two other memorable stints to that period. These were writing songs with a pair of distinctly different performers: Faith Hill and Kanye West. “Both of those times it was because John Legend was kind enough to invite me into the session with him. With Faith, we bonded over our mutual love of Aretha Franklin. After the day was over she took me to her home and in her music room showed me these portraits she’d taken with Aretha. The three of us also sat around and sang Aretha tunes. With Kanye, he was remarkably creative and supportive. He didn’t focus on anything except the music. He would go around the room and ask everyone what did they think about this and that. My time spent with him was very enjoyable.”

In addition, Wilson credits working with Alicia Keys, which came shortly after her graduation from high school, as a vital ingredient in shaping her career. “I was really green when I started with Alicia,” Wilson said. “I had done some musical theater and I had once gone to Japan, but I had never really been on that kind of a world tour, been exposed to what it’s like being on a tour of that magnitude, and how a featured artist and performer handles the stage. I learned so much from my time with her.”

While the biggest upcoming date for Wilson is certainly the Grammys next month, she is eagerly looking forward to the remainder of the year. “My biggest plans are to do as many collaborations as I can this year with the people whose music has meant the most to me,” Wilson concluded. “I’ve got songs that I want to share, and I also plan to do some writing for film and television. In addition, we’re looking to move back to East Nashville this spring, so that’s another thing on the horizon. I’m really excited about this year, excited about the possibilities, and of course excited, happy and grateful about the nomination, no matter how it turns out.”

Photo Credit: Mary Caroline Russell

The Show On The Road – Melissa Carper

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

This week, to kick-start our fifth season we call into an organic vegetable farm in Texas to chat with an upright bassist who also happens to be a former New Orleans ace street performer, and singer and songwriter, who sounds like she might have stepped out of a saloon in 1955 filled with the warm echoes of her heroes Hank Williams and Patsy Cline: Melissa Carper.

LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS • SPOTIFY • STITCHER

Is there such thing as a “new nostalgia” movement happening under our noses in the Americana scene? I’m going to say there is, thanks to folks like Melissa. She’s lived several lives as a working music maker in groups like Sad Daddy (“Daddy” being her beloved nickname), Buffalo Gals, and the Carper Family (her folks in Nebraska growing up had a roving band), before collecting her favorite vintage-tinted songs and breaking out with her whip-smart solo debut Daddy’s Country Gold and then 2022’s Ramblin’ Soul, which she penned while working on that vegetable farm with her fiddle player/partner during the height of the pandemic.

The latter record is a celebration of the small victories and tiny glories of taking your hard earned art onto the road, while also pausing to reflect on the important folks she lost recently, like her beloved pup.

While Melissa gets a good chuckle about being called the “Hillbilly Holiday” with her high lilting voice and silky delivery, it’s the impossible pleasure of hearing the lost music of pre-modern country, jazz and blues fronted by a proudly queer bassist lead-singer that almost seems like science fiction when you look at it deeply. Make “new nostalgia” a new genre! Or throw genre right out the window and just turn modern classics like “Makin’ Memories” (one of my top songs of 2022) up nice and loud, however you listen these days.

Photo Credit: Aisha Golliher

Basic Folk – Tom Wilson

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

By the mid-2010’s, Canadian rock legend Tom Wilson’s life was already pretty epic: he had perfected his blue collar roots rock sound in his bands Blackie and The Rodeo Kings and his seminal 90’s outfit Junkhouse. He was a home-grown rock and roller with humble Hamilton, Ontario roots. In addition to his musical output, he had overcome addiction, he was a father, grandfather and painter. However, his life completely changed when, by chance, he discovered he had been adopted and that he was actually of full blood Mohawk descent and not Irish like he was raised to believe. His birth-mother was actually a “cousin” of his, who had been forced into Canada’s cruel residential schools. The people he thought were his parents, had actually been his great aunt and uncle. At 53 years old, his world was about to get 100% more wild.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • STITCHER • AMAZON • MP3

Ever since then, Tom has been on a path to identity. He’s written a memoir, made a documentary, an album as his musical alter-ego Lee Harvey Osmond and his latest project, collaborating with fellow Canadian, the Cree-Métis musician iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ. Tom’s new mission at this point in his life is to tell his story. “Our greatest job as storytellers is to open up the door to the next person and let them know they can tell their stories, too.”

Photo Credit: Heather Pollock

BGS 5+5: Jill Barber

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Artist: Jill Barber
Hometown: Vancouver, BC
Latest Album: Homemaker (February 10 via Outside Music)
Personal Nicknames: Jilly, Shecky, Barbs

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

My older brother Matthew Barber was my first musical influence. When we were teenagers he inspired me to pick up the guitar and start writing songs. He also introduced me to all my earliest musical heroes — he gave me Joni Mitchell’s Blue as a Christmas gift when I was 14, he taught me how to play Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold,” and to this day his songwriting continues to slay me … and makes me want to be a better songwriter. We call it sibling revelry, rather than rivalry ; )

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

One of the highlights of my career was being backed by an entire symphony orchestra (Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax, NS.) … the sheer power of those instruments playing in concert, playing songs that I wrote! I felt on top of the world, and I could barely physically contain it. I felt like I was floating above the crowd. I’ll never really get over it.

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

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I have a pair of lucky Spanx (same pair I’ve had for years and worn at every show). If you don’t know Spanx… it’s ladies’ “shapewear,” aka the least sexy undergarment imaginable… I often do a little warm-up dressing-room dance in my Spanx pre-show.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

To find the full expression of myself in my music, and to seek others who might recognize themselves in my songs.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

To fearlessly write about all the stuff that nobody wants to touch in popular music: songs about long-term commitment, songs about the challenges of being a parent, songs about approaching middle age… because other people want and need to feel seen as much as I do.

Photo Credit: Jessica Jacobson

LISTEN: Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, “The Price of Falling”

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Artist: Chris Jones & The Night Drivers
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Price of Falling”
Release Date: January 20, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “The addition of Grace van’t Hof and Marshall Wilborn to The Night Drivers started a new era of creativity for the band and for me personally, and our first album together showed the positive results of that. Still, most of it was recorded during the pandemic while we weren’t touring. This is our first single from our not-yet-released second album, which was our first opportunity to record as a band that has grown together, instrumentally and vocally. Everything felt more comfortable and intuitive. ‘The Price of Falling’ is an uptempo song I wrote about the up and down sides of falling in love. The arrangement is designed to highlight the instrumental give and take that feels very easy and natural to us now.” — Chris Jones

Crossroads Label Group · The Price Of Falling – Chris Jones & The Night Drivers

Photo Credit: Sandlin Gaither

WATCH: Doug Paisley, “Sometimes It’s So Easy”

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Artist: Doug Paisley
Hometown: Toronto
Song: “Sometimes It’s So Easy”
Album: Say What You Like
Release Date: March 17, 2023
Label: Outside Music

In Their Words: “Sometimes emotional survival and self-preservation require that we find the ruthless and the blithe within ourselves. I risked my body and my 1950 Gibson guitar for the stunt and in hindsight, I guess it lines up with some of the recklessness in the song itself.” — Doug Paisley

“Doug told me that when he was a teenager he once biked from Mount Pleasant Cemetery all the way to the waterfront with no hands. I’m not sure I fully believed him, but when we showed up on the Toronto Islands to film this video, not only could he still effortlessly bike without touching his handlebars, he could do so while singing and playing guitar for take after take. It was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen.” — Colin Medley, director

Photo Credit: Dave Gillespie