(Editor’s Note: 50 years ago this month, Rufus released what would become a seminal album in American roots music, soul, and funk, Rags To Rufus, which featured Chaka Khan. To mark the 50th anniversary of this iconic recording, singer-songwriter Kyshona ponders the personal meanings of the project and how it relates to her own brand new album, Legacy.)
My mother is battling dementia, so car rides with her are the perfect time to play music from her younger years, when she was carefree, childless, and she and my Dad hosted an abundance of house parties for their friends and family. I have a playlist of songs from the late ‘60s and ‘70s I’ll put on when we’re shuttling her between doctors’ appointments.
On one of these car rides, I turned on Rags To Rufus. My mom was in the passenger seat, playing “brain games” on her phone to, in her words, “Exercise her mind and hold on to what she’s got.” I noticed she was singing, under her breath, the melodies and choruses of the first three tracks on the album. She turned to me and said, “I’ve never heard this before, who is this? I like it!” This got me thinking beyond personal family legacy and more about musical legacy.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Rags To Rufus, the album that transformed the trajectory of funk band Rufus and propelled Chaka Khan into the spotlight. Chaka Khan’s music is a soundtrack that has woven itself into the fabric of not only my work as an artist, but also into my personal life.
There is an expectation to conform, to try to categorize and compartmentalize music; I can’t imagine enduring the pressure from the industry, and even society as a whole, as it was nearly a half a century ago, artists and bands trying to squeeze themselves into arbitrary molds. To my ears, Rags To Rufus is the sound of a group of friends hanging out and having a good time – there is a sense of celebration, camaraderie, a sonic journey of Black joy. It feels like an album made for the thrill of being creative, for the sake of unbridled artistic freedom. I have always wanted my music to feel like this, telling stories, playing around with sounds and ideas. When I’m creating, that’s my goal. I write in the style that serves the story that I’m telling, without regard to genre constraints or others’ expectations.
The record begins with empowered swagger and affirmation – “You Got The Love,” which I interpret as, “You belong here.” The sentiment is carried through in “Walkin’ In The Sun,” a song that brings a comforting sense of nostalgia. I can hear my “aunties” in the hook: “Even a blind man can tell when he’s walking in the sun.”
The title track is a funked-out jam session, and then the band brings out old-time fervor in “Swing Down Chariot.”
Think about it – Rufus takes an old gospel song, adds Chaka Khan’s powerhouse vocals, blends it with blues, jazz, funk, soul, and takes it to an entirely new dimension! Forget genre, industry rules, or album cycles. Back in the day, it was just music that made you feel good, it was about that vibe.
As a music therapist, I recognize the profound impact music has on those grappling with conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia – it encourages lucidity and presence of self. As a daughter, I see how music bonds me to my mother.
In the past, when I’ve done music therapy in nursing home settings, I’ve used songs from the early 20th century – like “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” “Heart And Soul,” and “Sentimental Journey.” But now, the memory care songs I reach for are songs I grew up listening to in our house, at family reunions, on road trips. How fantastic is it that Chaka Khan’s work throughout her 50-year career can provide a generation-spanning conduit for a mother and a daughter to connect? We can experience that freedom in her sound as we listen together, regardless of the chaos happening around us.
I can’t begin to put into words how much I admire Chaka Khan; with my new album, Legacy, I tell the stories of my ancestors and my family. Chaka Khan’s legacy is intertwined with generations of music-makers.
Over the last 50 years, Khan has been a major influence on pop artists like Whitney Houston, R&B artists like Erykah Badu and Mary J. Blige, and on myself – and so many of my peers in the roots and folk scenes. I learned of her musical magic as a child, listening to my parents’ favorite radio stations, so being able to sing backing vocals for her at Newport Folk Festival a few years ago was absolutely surreal. I can’t imagine the journey she’s been on, but I hope she knows that her existence alone encourages artists like me to keep on being true to ourselves and our art.
Rags To Rufus is a part of my journey. For me, it’s the sound of “blackness.” I hope that 50 years from now, someone will listen to the music of myself and my peers and hear that same resonance of joy, love, and celebration of culture.
We all dream to leave a lasting musical legacy as deep and profound as Chaka Khan and Rufus.
I love going for bike rides. It helps me reconnect and recenter myself. I’m almost always listening to music when I go out for a ride. Sometimes it’s heavier/angrier stuff to help me process and burn some things off, sometimes it’s completely instrumental to help me think, but most of the time it’s laid-back music – because if there’s one thing I am not, it’s laid-back. I’m almost always anxious and neurotic. Biking around and listening to a playlist like this helps me remember to take it easy, to breathe.
Sometimes I get messages from people who say my music helps them to do that, but I don’t sit around listening to my own music. Even though that’s a lovely thing to hear, I can’t engage with it in the same way. I can’t, for example, go and listen to my new album, Evergold (released April 26 on Nettwerk Records), to help me calm down, so I’m stuck making playlists like this for myself. Oh well. I hope this playlist helps you to relax and enjoy the ride, even just a little bit. – Joshua Hyslop
“Small Town Talk” – Bobby Charles
I love this song. I think it’s hard to listen to it and not imagine being on a bike ride, just meandering around some neighborhood on a lazy sunny afternoon. To me, this is the perfect place to start. Great artist. Great album.
“AUATC” – Bon Iver
Sometimes, you listen to a song at just the right time. Something about the lyrics or the melody just clicks with you in the moment. I’m not even 100% sure what this song is about, but my god, what a melody. The slightly sped-up vocals, the communal feeling to it all, it just has something that pulls you in.
“Lay down Martha, lay all that alabaster down, there’s no master, help will surely come around.” Who’s Martha? Why is she carrying alabaster? I don’t know, but I sure find myself nodding along.
“Box #10” – Jim Croce
I debated choosing another Jim Croce song, maybe something a little happier for this “chill bike ride” playlist. But to me, this song sounds like when the sun first comes out after the rain. It’s a little bittersweet, but most of the good stuff is.
“One of These Days” – Bedouine
I found this song when the album I was listening to ended and Spotify just started playing something else. I ended up pulling over and adding it to my own riding tunes playlist. I don’t know Bedouine outside of this, but I’m excited to spend more time with her music.
“Nantucket Island” – Willie Wright
I got the idea for the theme of this playlist, because one of my all-time favorite shows is/was High Maintenance on HBO. The Guy is always biking around, smoking a joint, delivering his wares, and getting a small snapshot into the lives of his many varied customers. It’s so good, and so human, and so lovely, and the music was always incredible. This track was in one of the episodes and I made special note of it, as well. When you’re done listening and reading all this, go watch some High Maintenance.
“Wish I Had Not Said That” – J.J. Cale
This song came out in 1981. The number one song in the USA at the time was “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes. Thank god for J.J. Cale.
“Scumways” – Michael Nau
I found this artist by watching Amoeba’s wonderful YouTube show, “What’s In My Bag?” I can’t remember who mentioned him, but his music’s in regular rotation for me, now. This whole album could’ve easily been the entire playlist. It’s a great riding or driving album.
“Down the Line” – Joshua Hyslop
Yes, okay, I know. It’s one of my songs. I think it fits the overall feel here, but we both know there is NO way I would put one of my own songs on my own bike ride playlist. Alright, moving on.
“Fata Morgana” – Kikagaku Moyo
Easily one of my Top 5 desert island albums. This record could also easily have been the entire playlist. It may seem a little out of place on the first listen through, but when I was younger and I’d make a mixtape for a girl I liked, I’d use an instrumental song as a bit of a palate cleanser, especially if there’d been a few super laid back songs in a row. Anyway, here I am all these years later, giving away my secrets and trying to romance you all.
“Gimme Some More” – Labi Siffre
It’s upbeat, it’s happy, it’s a perfect sunny day bike ride song. Plus, singing along and getting to say “Sock it to me” at the break makes me feel about 10 times cooler than I’ll ever actually be.
“None of Us” – Fruit Bats
This song embraces a certain kind of humility and self-awareness that really appeals to me. I could sing along to, “None of us have seen it all” on repeat forever. The entire last minute of this song kind of perfectly captures the emotional landscape I was thinking of when I came up with the idea for a chill bike ride playlist.
“Caterpillar” – Cassandra Jenkins
Just a lovely way to close things out. Say you’re out riding, and you’re on your way home, but you know the playlist is going to end before you get there; this is the perfect song to have playing on repeat until you get there.
What a week in music! Not only has our Artist of the Month, Kaia Kater, released her new album Strange Medicine today, but we’ve also got an absolutely incredible premiere round-up filled to bursting with brand new videos, songs, and tracks.
First, there’s transcendent sister duo Rising Appalachia with a James Blake/Bon Iver cover, “I Need a Forest Fire,” and Tim O’Brien pays tribute to iconic folk songwriter Tom Paxton with a song they co-wrote, “You Took Me In.” Plus, don’t miss new songs from Ellorie McKnight, Natalie Spears, and Nick Taylor.
We round out our list with two premieres that debuted on BGS earlier in the week, a new one from Alisa Amador’s just announced album that features Madison Cunningham and Meadow Mountain continue their SkyTheory Sessions series with “Waiting for Tomorrow.”
It’s all right here on BGS and to be perfectly honest, You Gotta Hear This!
Rising Appalachia, “I Need a Forest Fire”
Artist:Rising Appalachia Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina Song: “I Need a Forest Fire” Album:Folk and Anchor Release Date: May 17, 2024
In Their Words: “‘I Need A Forest Fire,’ is our interpretation of a rich and righteous James Blake track. We have been big fans of his artistry and aural weavings for many years and wanted to do a folk rendition of this striking song. The texture of its sounds stretch far and wide in atmospheric rhythms as well as the lyrics and it took some deep digging to conceptualize what Blake was perhaps trying to say… Our interpretation is this:
“We live in a time of rapidly destructive (and so often man-made) wildfires in many parts of this planet. Singing a song that says ‘we need a wildfire’ felt cautionary, but enticing, as we explored the many metaphors that ‘forest fire’ could represent. We came to believe it is about the burning of the ego, the take down of destructive habits and destructive relationships, even destructive sides of self. In a time where everyone is on one side of the coin or the other, in a highly polarized nation, a burning symbolizes a great reset. A death and rebirth cycle. We hope you enjoy our take on this track as much as we have enjoyed stretching into its different sounds.” – Rising Appalachia
Tim O’Brien, “You Took Me In” (from Bluegrass Sings Tom Paxton)
Artist:Tim O’Brien Song: “You Took Me In” Album:Bluegrass Sings Paxton Release Date: May 17, 2024 (single) Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “Jan and I came of age listening to and then singing Paxton songs before we ever knew his name. We both learned ‘Last Thing on My Mind’ and sang it around campfires before we met each other. So like a lot of folks, we kinda have Paxton in our musical DNA.
“Tom has been friendly and supportive over the years and in recent years often expressed his desire to write together. With this project, push came to shove and Jan and I wrote ‘You Took Me In’ with Tom on our second session. I had the lyric idea and imagined some Earl Scruggs-style gospel guitar as backing. We had the song in about an hour. When we were done I asked Tom how many songs he’d written that week and he said, ‘I’ve written four songs today!’
“Paxton’s early songs were the kind that sorta begged audiences to sing along. This one reaches in that direction. I love how simple and direct it is. Since that day, the three of us have written another 15 songs, all of which are daring Jan and I to record them, so stay tuned. Songs are like little puzzles that a certain strata of musicians have fun solving. We’re just honored to sit beside Tom, even if only virtually, as he does his masterful thing. He knows to let the song happen. He can pull a lyric from an instrumental riff, he improvises easily, and you can just trust him. When he says to go higher with the melody or go to the four chord, we’re never afraid to follow.” – Tim O’Brien
Track Credits: Tim O’Brien – Guitar, lead vocal Jan Fabricius – Mandolin, harmony vocal Shad Cobb – Fiddle, harmony vocal Mike Bub – Upright bass
In Their Words: “White Pass is a magical, remote mountainous area connecting Yukon’s southwest with Alaska. If you’re driving from Whitehorse, YT to Skagway, AK, you pass through mountains and boreal forest until you reach the Canadian border crossing, after which the road winds through 25km of treeless, rugged alpine terrain before dropping down towards the ocean, where you then drive through the US border and then into the coastal ecosystem of Skagway. There is no reception on this stretch of road and no sign of humans except for the road and the border patrol buildings.
“This part of the world is like a dream in summer: the sound of creeks is loud and the wild blueberries are everywhere. In the winter, the area is mystical no matter the weather, with meters of snow blanketing the valleys and mountains. I was making the trip from Whitehorse to Skagway in the middle of winter one year, late at night, to visit a friend. There was a raging blizzard and snow drifts forming on the road, it was hard to see more than a few feet ahead and the going was slow. I pulled over to catch my breath and stepped outside. The wind was steady and the sharp snowflakes bit into my cheeks. I looked up and was surprised when I saw a waxing moon in a clear night sky just above the fog of the ground blizzard. It was a moment of awe, of wonder, of feeling so intertwined with the earth and yet also so small. The song ‘Whitepass’ tries to capture the many similar moments I’ve felt spending time in this stunning part of the world.” – Ellorie McKnight
Track Credits: Ellorie McKnight – Guitar and vocals Brigitte Desjardins – Drums Jeff Dineley – Upright bass Ryan McNally – Pedal steel and harmonies Kieran Poile – Fiddle
Video Credit: Midnight Light Media
Natalie Spears, “Hymn Of Wild Things”
Artist:Natalie Spears Hometown: Carbondale, Colorado Song: “Hymn Of Wild Things” Album:Hymn Of Wild Things Release Date: May 17, 2024 (single); June 28, 2024 (album) Label: SleeLee
In Their Words: “Early one chilly autumn morning, I awoke to the chortling cries of Sandhill Cranes echoing through our town. Their sound is one like no other, awkward, beautiful, and haunting. It is a sound that we only hear a few times a year as they journey along their migratory path towards warmer shores. Whenever I hear them, I drop everything I’m doing and try to find them. On that particular morning, I got up with my sweet pup and followed their cries to a local nature park near my home. The clouds were sunk low in the valley and although we could hear them close by, we still couldn’t see them. We sat quietly waiting and eventually the sun’s heat lifted the clouds revealing the ghostly shapes of two beautiful Sandhill Cranes. The words to this song began to take shape in my mind and it was then that Hymn Of Wild Things was born.” – Natalie Spears
Track Credits: Written by Natalie Spears (BMI) Produced by Jayme Stone
Natalie Spears – Voice Christine Bougie – Guitars, lap steel Pat Keen – Bass Jayme Stone – Synth, drum programming
Nick Taylor, “Dogs”
Artist:Nick Taylor Hometown: Austin, Texas Song: “Dogs” Album:Not Alone Release Date: June 21, 2024
In Their Words: “As one of the earliest compositions I laid down for the album, it’s personal and cathartic, a reflection of the anxiety that’s been an ongoing part of my persona. Sometimes it gets particularly overwhelming and that’s how this song was born. It speaks to uncertainty — how it manifests, how it’s perceived by others, and how it affects those around us. When we went into the studio to record it, it just came alive. It was important to me to get it out into the world. It’s the song that inspired the album title, Not Alone, but more importantly, it explores topics that society tends to dismiss — especially when it comes to matters having to do with mental health, insecurity and stability. It calls for understanding and in that regard, my hope is that it will help anyone dealing with a similar situation feel less alone.
“‘Dogs’ is such an emotional song, almost a confessional, that we wanted to make sure the video felt personal. Shooting just one scene created a space where the lyrics were being recited directly to the audience and I think that format really works well with the song. Huge thanks to Will and the team for their vision and direction.” – Nick Taylor
Track Credits: Written by Nicholas Taylor Wimberg
Nick Taylor – Lead vocals Wayne Killius – Drums Dave Francis – Bass David Flint – Electric and acoustic guitars Chris Nole – Piano/keys
Video Credits: Produced by Charlotte Avenue Entertainment Directed by William Gawley Shot by Austin Boylen and Dominick Sotis
Meadow Mountain, “Waiting for Tomorrow” (SkyTheory Sessions)
Artist:Meadow Mountain Hometown: Denver, Colorado Song: “Waiting for Tomorrow” Album: June Nights Release Date: May 13, 2024 (single)
In Their Words: “This song attempts to answer the question, ‘What if, instead of starting the band Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl had picked up a mandolin and spent a year exclusively listening to Alison Krauss & Union Station?’ I guess I was doing a lot of thinking and writing about time – the great healer, but also that which brings an end to all things. And then a new beginning. This is a song about time, and hope.” – Jack Dunlevie
Alisa Amador, “Heartless Author” (feat. Madison Cunningham)
Artist:Alisa Amador Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts Song: “Heartless Author” (featuring Madison Cunningham) Album:Multitudes Release Date: June 7, 2024 Label: Thirty Tigers
In Their Words: “I love this song. I love it because it acknowledges all of the uncertainties and pain of life and it shines compassion on all of it. ‘It’s okay not to know.’ It was such a joy to sing this one with Madison Cunningham. She learned it right then and there in the studio, and her voice says so much.” – Alisa Amador
A deep reflection born from a time of the extreme silence and noise of the pandemic, Kaïa Kater’s new album, Strange Medicine (out today, May 17), digs into the feelings society tells us not to feel, imagines healing and revenge from abuses, and reckons with themes of racism and sexism of the past and today. While the undercurrents are heavy, the arrangements are gentle and flowing, juxtaposing our expectations of what we think it means to process the darkness in life with the truth that many emotions can exist simultaneously.
Written from home in Montreal, Strange Medicine takes us on a cathartic journey imagining characters interwoven with parts of Kater and parts of the world she observes. Drawing on inspiration from artists like Steve Reich, Brian Blade, and Johnny Greenwood and partnering with Montreal-based producer Joe Grass (The Barr Brothers and Elisapie), she took a different musical path than in the past.
Leaning into her primary instrument, banjo, Grass and Kater built the framework for each of the tracks slowly, starting with bedroom tracks and expanding to include arrangers like Franky Rousseau (Andrew Bird, Chris Thile) and Dominic Mekky (Caroline Shaw, Sara Bareilles) and musicians Rob Moose (Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers, Paul Simon), Robbie Kuster (Patrick Watson), and Phil Melanson (Andy Shauf, Sam Gendel). Kater spoke to BGS via Zoom.
Hi! How are you?
Kaia Kater: I’m okay! A couple of days ago I dropped my phone directly onto my laptop screen and it cracked. I had to go to Apple. So I am without a laptop, but thankfully have my 10-year-old iPad, bless her!
Apple is coming in clutch. Also, Apple product destroying Apple product is kind of funny.
Yeah, it’s an Apple-on-Apple hate crime. It’s terrible. I feel so weird about it. But I have AppleCare, which is good.
With the couple of sentences that you just said it’s no wonder the Department of Justice is looking into Apple as a monopoly. Vertical integration. Well, how are things going other than Apple problems?
The record is out in a week, so I’m excited. Thank you for doing this piece. I never take any press for granted, especially after the pandemic, when things were so terrible and hard.
What a weird time. Is that when you started writing this record?
Yeah, pretty much. I wrote my first song in April of 2020. We finished the record in 2023. So I would say like 2020 to 2022, was the writing window.
This album is a pandemic baby!
It is. Yeah, I’m proud of my little pandemic baby. Born out of a lot of feelings of stasis and confusion, but also just so fun to record. I think that there’s a lot of grief in the lyrics. But you can still vibe to sad songs, especially when they feel groovy. So that was the intent.
So when did you start recording it?
Let’s see, we went in to record in October of 2022 but the official recording days were preceded by a ton of demo days. So throughout 2021 and into 2022, I would go to my co-producer Joe’s studio in Montreal. We would just track stuff and either bring people in or ship the songs out to people and pay them a demo fee and have them kind of like splash around and see what their interpretation of the song was. That was kind of like how we selected personnel. I think we had a pretty strong idea of what we wanted to do by the time we got into the studio, which is so different from other projects I’ve been part of and other records I’ve done.
How was it different?
I guess, with the pandemic, I had the blessing of time, which I never had before really. With Nine Pin, I recorded on my winter break from college in my senior year, and then Grenades was done from start to finish in two weeks. And so with Strange Medicine, it was about two years. There are advantages and drawbacks to that. It is very easy to start second guessing some choices that you’d made in the previous calendar year, but I think it was to me such a novelty to be able to write and then listen back, and send the arrangement to someone and have them send their work back. It was so much more thoughtful because we had the time to do that.
That makes total sense. So you started writing it during the pandemic. What was your writing process like? Did you have ideas that you came into the lockdown with, or were you processing things in real time?
Well, originally I was like, “I’m never gonna play banjo again.” I don’t know what I was thinking. I think I was trying, to a certain extent, to escape my roots, transform, or do this phoenix thing. Where people are like, “Whoa! She was a banjo player and now she’s an electronic pop musician.” That was maybe a facet of my mid-20s to late 20s, having that crackling feeling that all the different paths your life can take feel like they’re narrowing. And so you’re kind of like fighting against that and going, “No, I still can transform again, musically.”
Really what led me to write more songs on the banjo, especially for Strange Medicine, was that it was really comforting to me. I think I went back to it after wanting to spread my wings. Once I was alone in a room I was like, “What do I want to do right now? I just wanna play banjo.” And for a long time that’s all I did. I didn’t really write. The songs trickled in bit by bit. But you know I definitely gave up that idea of trying to metamorphosize in the way that I thought I was going to. I think I did it in a different way.
Can you talk a little bit about what it meant to be in Montreal writing this record and just in general? What influence did the town have on this particular record? And how does the music community there influence you?
Well, it’s very experimental there. And there’s a kind of freedom and risk-taking. People are not afraid to have things fail or to have things not quite work. Even now, I’m sort of deconstructing the idea that I grew up with, this idea of what a songwriter is, which is that you work really hard at your craft, you play the song down. And the way that you improve every night is how you perfect and tighten the song as much as possible. I’ve been getting into this idea of improvisation.
I don’t know if it’s because the rent is cheaper there, so you don’t have to hustle as much. I just felt so much more space to play around.
While we’re on the subject of Montreal, you collaborated with Allison Russell on “In Montreal” about your shared hometown. I was curious since Aoife O’Donovan is from Massachusetts and you’re talking about witches on “The Witch” – was that a purposeful choice?
No, but that occurred to me about a week ago. I was making dinner, and I was like, “Wait. Aoife’s from Massachusetts!” It must have been in some way subconscious. I kind of see people as the roots that they’ve grown from. And definitely, when thinking about the features I wanted, I wanted it to make sense with who that person is. For example, with Taj Mahal, he’s who I learned about the black roots of the banjo from first. He was doing that in the ‘60s, and he has a lot of Calypso and Caribbean influences and heritage. Bringing him into a song about a Caribbean revolutionary felt like, “Well, of course.” I even wrote him a little letter explaining the song, because he’s 80. He doesn’t need to be on anybody’s record. And so I was like, “Let me tell you what the song is about, and maybe you’ll want to sing on it.”
That’s so cool. And how did the collaboration on “The Witch” come about?
Aoife has always been really supportive of me as a person and as an artist, going back to 2017. She’s kept me in mind for a lot of things and she’s suggested me for opportunities. She’s also really community-oriented. She’s very cognizant of supporting women musicians and young musicians. I’m a mega fan of hers.
I had written “The Witch” and I thought she would sound great on it. Fast forward to the end of the process, when all we had left to do was harmony vocals and I was really nervous to ask her because I think I was scared to get a no. But I’ve been practicing. You have to ask, because if you don’t ask you don’t receive anything. I texted her, and she immediately responded yes without even hearing the song. Then she laid down all these like really intricate harmony parts. She’s a genius.
Your voices are beautiful together. It works really well. And the Massachusetts thing — it’s perfect. While we’re on the subject of that song, what connects you to the stories of these women who were accused of witchcraft or adultery and were punished for it?
To me, it is the juxtaposition of having this perceived power in the minds of men as being capable of influence, capable of seduction and luring, and superseding a man’s high intelligence and thoughts of himself and overtaking will power. But then, when women were accused of being witches, their already limited power just absolutely disintegrated and they were executed by mobs. I was thinking a lot about these kind of polar ideas of women having so much power over men, but then we’re struggling to be taken seriously in a workplace or struggling to feel like we are on equal footing.
I think sexism and racism today are much more insidious – as are homophobia and transphobia. It’s so palpable. Being able to give voice to someone in history who may meet a different fate; maybe they try to kill her, and she’s like,”Ha! I survived. And now, aren’t you scared of me?”
The influence came from a lot of different places; the witches from Macbeth, and the Roald Dahl witches. They are all in our popular consciousness to a certain extent, and I think we have a fascination with them.
Absolutely. Let’s talk about the song “Floodlights.” It reminded me of Joni Mitchell for two reasons. One is the sonic palette and the orchestration reminded me of her. Second, I saw a video of her recently and she was talking about how a good song should make a listener think of themselves rather than of her. That’s obviously an objective idea, but this song, though focused on a romantic relationship, reminded me of some of my own, but also friendships and working relationships and how the dynamic of one person’s power over another can be so incredibly detrimental. But there is hope and life on the other side of that. It is a special way you tell the story in a cafe where the protagonist is feeling herself rise over a past love for the first time. I was wondering if you find that you have clarity around power dynamics yourself as you grow older as the protagonist does?
I’ve recently turned 30. And to me, that seems to be the absolute blessing of your 30s, that you have this kind of clarity and understanding of who you are and what you are willing and not willing to tolerate. That song itself is about an age-gap relationship that I was in. We had an 11-year age difference. I was super young. I was 18 or 19 when we got together, and this whole conception that I had was, “I’m mature and I’m actually better than the other women my age, because I have someone who is super mature and who thinks that I’m interesting. I’m also better than the women his age. There’s something special about me,” like I felt chosen.
That was such a powerful feeling at that time when so much of my self-esteem was dependent on what other people thought of me. Slowly, through the course of this relationship, I realized that he chose me, but not for the reasons that I thought I had been chosen.
I mean he was a walking red flag and I just did not trust my intuition to understand that. This wasn’t a good scenario, and now, on the other side of it, at 30, I couldn’t imagine dating a 20-year-old. There’s an inherent power dynamic there. I wrote the beginning of the song two years before I finished it, because in the beginning, I couldn’t think of an ending. I couldn’t have seen him at a bar (which really happened) and just been scared and left. I wanted to give the protagonist a better ending than that.
It sounds like you did a lot of processing on this record through your writing, like maybe you released some frozen anger. I think most women can relate to that in general, because we are so often encouraged or told to suppress that emotion. I was wondering how your relationship with anger and revenge evolved and shifted through the creation of this album?
I think therapy seems to be a theme in a lot of artists’ albums these days. I didn’t realize how much anger I carried until I went to therapy. I had always grown up thinking that any kind of anger is debasing yourself. You’re losing power and you’re not being your highest, most evolved self.
Every time I got angry, I felt like I’d failed to access my more evolved emotions. It was through therapy that I learned that anger is, in many ways, necessary. We are refusing to be treated a certain way.
I think adventuring through these ideas of revenge where it’s like, “Well, what if I don’t choose forgiveness? What about that? Why do I have to be the peaceable one? Why do I have to be the one to absorb all of your violence, and then somehow process it out so that we’re good?” I have to say, it was really fun to write these lyrics and not shy away from some more violent imagery, especially in “The Witch.”
I heard someone say something like, “Anything that’s human is mentionable. And anything that’s mentionable is manageable.” I think singing it out is so nice because it’s mentionable. It’s manageable.
Speaking of, this is a great segue. How does it feel to perform these songs live?
It feels really good. It feels vulnerable too, having lived with them so long during the pandemic. It’s interesting to start sharing them with people. I have this ritual where the day before a single comes out, I listen to the song on a walk. And I’m like, “Okay, this is the last time this is gonna be only mine.” I think that ritual has really helped me. It’s a really personal album in a lot of ways for me.
I’m looking forward to trying it out in many different configurations, continuing the idea of play that we started out with this record, and seeing the different ways it can evolve and change.
Artist:Alisa Amador Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts Song: “Heartless Author” (featuring Madison Cunningham) Album:Multitudes Release Date: June 7, 2024 Label: Thirty Tigers
In Their Words: “Alisa has so much poise, playfulness, and honesty in her writing, with the most velvet voice. It checks so many boxes for me. I loved getting to sing and play guitar on this song.” – Madison Cunningham
“I love this song. I love it because it acknowledges all of the uncertainties and pain of life and it shines compassion on all of it. ‘It’s okay not to know.’ It was such a joy to sing this one with Madison Cunningham. She learned it right then and there in the studio, and her voice says so much.” – Alisa Amador
Track Credits: Written by Alisa Amador and Zia Amador Produced by Tyler Chester, Daniel Radin, and Alisa Amador Recorded by David Goucher, Tyler Chester, Daniel Radin, and Dave Brophy at Paperchaser Studio in North Hollywood, Brighton Hills West Studio in Watertown, and Studio Solitaire in Somerville
Artist:Malachi Graham Hometown: Portland, Oregon Latest Album:Caretaker
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
The Portland release show for my new album Caretaker in January was both surreal and sublime, in the best way. It was a month and two days after I had emergency brain surgery, necessitated by a rare blood infection called Lemierre Syndrome. I had only just regained use of my left side in rehab, I wasn’t allowed to lift more than 10 pounds or bend over and there was a historic ice storm in Portland just starting to thaw. Honestly, it was a little absurd to play the show and keep the date, but it didn’t feel reckless, because I had a community to catch me. Bandmates who insisted on lifting my gear, physical therapists who taught me how to play guitar again, a loving partner to change the bandages on my head, incredible parents who housed me and my band through the ice storm so we could all practice together, and so many supportive faces in the audience.
Caretaker is about trying to hold it all together, on behalf of other people, whether they ask you to or not. It’s about how that gets messy, about when that’s generous, and when that’s self-serving. My health crisis turned the meaning of the record on its head for me and taught me to receive care myself, to fall apart and trust I’ll be held. I tumbled into the web of care we weave for each other, that catches us when we least expect to need it. My friends, my family, my partner, and my bandmates were all there for me in every way that night. It was hard to make it through the songs without weeping with gratitude for being alive. I’ll never forget it.
What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?
I read once that the four qualities of excellent songwriting are texture, detail, wit, and truth. My very favorite songwriters are masters of all four — artists like Aimee Mann, Loretta Lynn, Eef Barzelay, Anna Tivel, and Jolie Holland.
Another art form that’s a study in the same principals? Miniature making! Lately I’ve been enthralled by dollhouse building and the creation of tiny worlds. Miniature artists pay attention to the smallest details that make something feel realistic and truthful, even if a scene is an imaginary place. The very act of building something tiny in meticulous detail is inherently whimsical and a bit absurd. It requires sharpness and ingenuity, and a scale of thinking that’s totally different than the day-to-day.
All of that feels akin to songwriting for me. I got to dabble in miniature making myself in the new music video for my song “We Made a Home,” which I built and filmed in a little yellow dollhouse at 1:12 scale. My favorite part was hand-building the tiny lifelike details of a cohabitating relationship in decline, from mini Rainier Beer cans, to mini self-help books, to mini dirty dishes. I also made a tiny Ear Trumpet Labs microphone case. (When I’m not making music, I’m the business manager at Portland microphone workshop, Ear Trumpet Labs.)
N.B., miniature making takes a lot longer than songwriting.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me?”
This has been an evolution for me. My early forays into songwriting felt more driven by an observational, sometimes academic curiosity, influenced by poetry, history, and family stories about my matriarchal ancestors. My first EP, Selfish, includes songs inspired by the 1934 Hays Code, Marconi’s theories of radio transmission, and my grandmother cleaning out the eaves of her house. I wrote and learned a lot from other people’s perspectives before I’d experienced much life myself. I still enjoy writing from other people’s perspectives as a practice in empathy and curiosity, but I find that my most emotionally resonant songs have more to do with my own experiences. It takes a different kind of bravery and vulnerability to write in the first person, and that has felt scary to do sometimes. On songs like “Montreal” and “Before Pictures,” even if the exact thing that’s happened to the narrator hasn’t happened to me, there’s a deeper truth or feeling I’ve experienced that I can get at best through a fictionalized story.
What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?
Don’t be afraid to get weirder! My friend Jamie Stillway, a masterful guitarist and fearless sonic explorer, told me this about six years ago and it really stuck with me. I was feeling a bit trapped in particular instrumental and songwriting styles, because I assumed it was what people wanted to hear from me. I used to keep my musical selves neatly divided; I play and write in a synth pop band called Small Million and as a solo songwriter under my own name, and when I was younger I was more afraid to blend those worlds or explore the space between them. My musical start was all in folk and Americana music. The tradition and depth of songwriting in those genres is still a huge inspiration to me, but I’ve tried to give myself permission to be more faithful to a song and a feeling than to any genre in particular in my arrangements. The track “As Is” was written as a straight-ahead country song, but we recorded it played on an electric guitar looped backwards, played by two people at the same time with a screwdriver as a slide. A team of magical friends and collaborators helped me rip my songs apart and put them back together again to make them so much better, stranger, wilder than I ever could have imagined.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
Truth be told, I’m a bit of an indoor kid, so I guess… the air. But really, sincerely, I do spend a lot of time thinking about the air around me and inside of me, and how I interact with it through my breath. In singing, in practicing mindfulness, in both movement and stillness, breath is the element that calls me home into my own body. That helps me to remember that the body itself is an element of nature, and our breath is the place where the wild elements of the air and the self meet.
I often find myself exploring themes of both the body and the breath in my lyrics, as a window to intuition and self-trust, on songs like “Wonderful Life” on Caretaker, or “Be Wrong” and “Lightswitch” on my last Small Million record, Passenger. This really came full circle in my recent health crisis when I found myself on heavy oxygen in the ICU, and breath became something even more precious and sacred to me. My lung capacity as a singer really ended up saving my life— I’m still unpacking my gratitude and awe of that.
As humans, we have a history of turning to story for comfort, direction, and preservation – a way to keep the present alive in the future. Story can be found in books, poetry, song, and our minds and mouths.
This playlist starts with our song, “Once Upon a Time,” which was born of our turning to story in the deep uncertainty of early 2020, and is the opening track of our recently released, eponymous album. In this Mixtape, we feature songs that incorporate or allude to books, authors, poetry, or story, written by artists that inspire us to write our truest stories. – Ordinary Elephant
“Once Upon a Time” – Ordinary Elephant
When the world shut down in March of 2020, we found ourselves one show into a two-week Australian tour. After scrambling to get home, the quiet hit and the processing of a new world began from our Louisiana porch, deeply feeling the human instinct to turn to a sense of story when faced with intense uncertainty.
“Always a Little Less Time” – Justin Farren
“So I guess that’s always been the story of you and I.” Justin paints pictures with the specifics that draw you in and let you see yourself in his songs, then cuts straight to the truth. The impermanence and the importance of our time here. This song guts us, in the best way, every time.
“Nothing at All” – Clay Parker & Jodi James
“I’ve got books stacked on the bedside table, that are gonna make me well and able, but the light in my room is still burned out,” Jodi sings, as one of our favorite duos spins an ethereal tune of rejection and resolve.
“Walking Each Other Home” – Mary Gauthier
One of our favorite songs of Mary’s. Achingly beautiful, it details the uncertainty of a relationship ending, but also speaks to the broader idea of the unknown. “I don’t know how this story’s supposed to go,” she sings in the chorus, as it’s hard to know when we’re living it. But there is clarity and acceptance that “we’re all just walking each other home,” helping each other find our own stories.
“Under My Fingers” – Wes Collins
Wes is one of those writers who takes you places you didn’t know you needed to go. Both with his words and with his music. This song follows a writer’s thoughts, even alluding to the scarcity mindset that can sometimes take hold of creatives. The fear that it won’t last and the solution of surrendering to the pen.
“Paperback Writer” – The Beatles
The Beatles were Pete’s first musical love, showing up in his life around sixth grade and giving a wealth of melodies and harmonies to soak in. He studied guitar through their songs, which span so many genres, it was easy to get lost in their catalog for years.
“Windmills” – Mutual Admiration Society
The story of Don Quixote twisted into a song by one of Pete’s favorite songwriters, Glen Phillips. This song first appeared on Toad the Wet Sprocket’s 1994 album, Dulcinea. This version is from an incredibly underrated collaboration between Glen and Nickel Creek. Both of these artists changed Pete’s musical world, Glen being one of the first songwriters that he really dug into and in this collaboration, Nickel Creek introducing him to the world of acoustic music.
“Hemingway’s Whiskey” – Guy Clark
Guy Clark’s use of simple language to tell deep truths is unparalleled in the modern songbook. Here he salutes his admiration for another legendary writer, toasting with a drink, and reveling in the difficult work it takes to be a writer of that stature. Guy’s songs are revelations.
“I Ain’t Playing Pretty Polly Anymore” – Dirk Powell
We have the choice to perpetuate stories or let them die off. Some traditions continue to enrich our lives, but it’s important to realize when we’ve moved past them and when it’s time to draw the line between cautionary tale and normalizing certain types of violence. As someone steeped in tradition, Dirk makes an important statement about what songs are able validate, and that we can choose not to continue singing certain ones.
“The Other Morning Over Coffee” – Peter Mulvey
In remembering a conversation with a friend, Peter recalls talking about having lived lives “so full of poetry and adventure that if we died right then and there it would have been fine.” It’s a goal we can hope that some part of us is always aiming for. As the song unfolds, it becomes a perfect reminder that we’re all moving through the same world, the same bigger story, despite the difference in our details.
“Velvet Curtain” – Anna Tivel
Anna’s songs are movies, thick with imagery and emotion. She’s one of those writers who you’re thankful is walking this earth at the same time as you. This song shows us that sometimes there are words that need to be heard, and sometimes you’re unknowingly the one singing them.
“Billy Burroughs” – Jeffrey Martin
Jeffrey’s work tends to knock your socks off, right out of the gate. His rich voice and insightful command of language immediately demands your full attention. His background of teaching literature melds with his own writing here.
“Tailor” – Anaïs Mitchell
“When he said that my face he’d soon forget, I became a poet.” One of our favorite songwriters, Anaïs has a way of weaving a story that hits you in the softest spots. Here she spins a gorgeous warning of how easy it is to let others define our story, and that we can learn to tell our own if we remember to listen to ourselves.
“The Prophet” – Ordinary Elephant
Crystal came across a copy of Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet, gifted to her by a dear friend 20-something years ago. The bones of this song were hiding between the dog-eared pages, a discovery of self-love through returning to reminders of a love gone.
“Everything Is Free” – Gillian Welch
“We’re gonna do it anyway.” In lyric, and in delivery, Gillian shows us the power of song and story to persevere. Her voice and style are singular, and are always a welcome reminder to find comfort in the unique and truest version of ourselves.
I met Andy Thorn during the winter of 2002/2003 when he was visiting Durango, Colorado on a ski trip. We played and traveled over two summers as members of The Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band, which broke up – or went on an 18 year hiatus – after the summer of 2005. Andy and I remain and always will be great friends, and sharing the stage with Andy and Jon Stickley when recording this episode was an honor. It captures three old friends rehashing old memories and jokes and making new ones. I know you’ll enjoy.
This episode was recorded live at 185 King Street in Brevard, NC on October 24, 2023.
Timestamps:
0:07 – Soundbyte 0:20 – Introduction 1:32 – “Carolina Song” 2:50 – We have legal marijuana 4:35 – “Blazing New Frontiers” 9:19 – “All That I Can Take” 15:50 – Interview 35:25 – “Aesop Mountain” 38:29 – “What Child Is This” 41:02 – On fox hunts 42:42 – “Red Fox Run” 49:20 – “Long Lonesome Day” 53:36 – Did you skip my interview? 54:30 – “Long Winding Road”
Editor’s Note: The Travis Book Happy Hour is hosted by Travis Book of the GRAMMY Award-winning band, The Infamous Stringdusters. The show’s focus is musical collaboration and conversation around matters of being. The podcast is the best of the interview and music from the live show recorded in Asheville and Brevard, North Carolina.
The Travis Book Happy Hour is brought to you by Thompson Guitars and is presented by Americana Vibes and The Bluegrass Situation as part of the BGS Podcast Network. You can find the Travis Book Happy Hour on Instagram and Facebook and online at thetravisbookhappyhour.com.
More than 1,500 people from 26 different states made their way to the fifth annual Baltimore Old Time Music Festival, bringing pickers, fiddlers, and players of all stringed instruments to rejoice along the waters of the Charm City’s Inner Harbor last month, on April 19 and 20.
A convincing demonstration of the city’s thriving old-time and roots music scene, the Old Time Festival saw attendance more than triple from 2023 as it packed the Baltimore Museum of Industry (BMI) in the first year at its new location after four memorable years at Creative Alliance.
Presented by the Center for Cultural Vibrancy and hosted by father-son duo Ken & Brad Kolodner, this year’s event boasted a lineup of high-profile artists and groups both honoring the traditions of old time, and seeking to broaden them.
BMI and its astonishing collection of artifacts set a remarkable scene that grew to life with performances early Friday evening on the Harborview and Pavilion stages, each presenting splendid views of the Inner Harbor and famous landmarks, like the Domino Sugar sign glowing just to the southeast.
Old Time legend Bruce Molsky at the festival Kickoff Concert.
Saturday afternoon brought a loaded schedule of not only live music, but workshops, presentations, and open jam sessions in every nook and corner of the fascinating museum – and outside on its docks, too, where old pals reconnected and total strangers became friends as they played underneath the warm sun all day long.
“We’re clearly witnessing a huge period of growth for our old time community,” said Brad Kolodner, who’s a member of numerous Baltimore-based string bands and, as he does each spring, performed alongside his dad at this year’s festival.
Twin fiddling from festival co-founder Brad Kolodner and Rachel Eddy.
“This marks 10 years that my father and I have been organizing events, square dances, jams and concerts, and this is the culmination of those efforts and work done behind the scene as well. We know that this is already a landmark event for Baltimore, but we took it to another level this year thanks to so much support, the amazing venue and of course the artists, who were incredible.”
Ascending Seattle-based string band The Onlies headlined both nights and served up numerous delightful sets across Friday and Saturday, as did Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves, the Horsenecks, and Bruce Molsky, a widely respected fiddler, banjoist, guitarist, vocalist and educator.
The Onlies dazzling at the Kickoff Concert.
“This festival brought together all the most positive and wonderful aspects of roots and old-time music,” said Molsky, who has recorded and performed with a long list of legendary musicians.
“It really represented all the things I love about this music, including the community,” he continued. “The cross-section of music and kinds of musicians that Brad and Ken programmed was kind of perfect.”
From Africa to Appalachia (one of the weekend’s most anticipated acts) is the fascinating project featuring Grammy-nominated master Malian griot Cheick Hamala Diabate, old-time banjo player Riley Baugus and multi-instrumentalist Danny Knicely.
From Africa to Appalachia featuring Cheick Hamala Diabate, Riley Baugus and Danny Knicely.
Through its uncommon blend of sound and perspective, the dynamic group illustrates and educates on the historical connection between West African and Appalachian music, a theme crucial to the Baltimore Old Time Music Festival.
“This band — these people — is my heart,” said the spirited Diabate as he detailed his adventures in America, where he’s worked with star musicians and been cast in major motion pictures.
Diabate mesmerized with blazingly fast fingers on the ngoni and played his custom gourd banjo that was handcrafted by Baltimore’s own Pete Ross.
Dom Flemons, the American Songster, performs on the Pavilion Stage.
In each of his unforgettable appearances, Diabate riveted with stories and offered advice to concert goers. Presenting a session on Old Time Roots, he spoke alongside modern day old-time pioneer Dom Flemons — a co-founder of the award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops and himself a Grammy nominee, who delivered two unforgettable performances on Saturday.
Another spectacular presence at the event, Becky Hill is a percussive dancer, choreographer, square-dance caller and educator who has focused her research on Appalachian percussive dance, flat footing and clogging. She considers the old-time space one where dancers are an equal part of the conversation with instrumentalists.
As a performer on both Friday and Saturday at the festival, Hill displayed her interest in the intersections of clogging, flatfooting and tap dance. To do so, she invited tap dancer Roxy Hill to join her at BMI, where they used old-time sounds to examine the relationship between the different dance styles.
Tap dancing and flatfooting with Roxy King and Becky Hill.
“They’re all American roots percussive dance forms. Both tap and flatfooting originated here and are unique to this complicated melting pot of the U.S. … To have the space to present our dance dialogue on stage feels really significant,” Hill said.
“It opens up new audiences for both tap dancing and flatfooting and it shows that there’s connective tissue across music and dance genres in the U.S. … In particular, what the festival is doing with the Center for Cultural Vibrancy is to expose that connection between all different aspects of old-time music.”
Dance, as it is each year, was a primary feature of the latest Old Time Music Festival, and the two days were capped with a jubilant old fashioned Baltimore square dance that twirled and howled into the late hours on Saturday night.
Square dancing in the pavilion with over 300 participants.
The lively affair took over the pavilion as hundreds of attendees let loose with friends and family. Veteran caller Janine Smith, who’s stoked many Charm City celebrations, led the way with the help of the Horsenecks and other performers from the lineup before all the artists on site joined together to close out the special occasion.
For Molsky and others deep into their careers, the festival provided a refreshing post-pandemic chance to catch up with longtime friends forged on the old time touring circuit, but also to interact with festival goers themselves.
“This kind of music isn’t the thing where a big star is sequestered until they walk out on stage,” he said. “Part of it is walking out there and remembering people’s names and getting to know them. I don’t consider that to be work. I love that.”
Molsky lived in the D.C. area for years and spent time in Baltimore, but he was impressed by what he sees as an undeniable “vibrancy” in the Charm City’s music landscape and its people.
The all star square dance band featuring Bruce Molsky and the Horsenecks.
“I think Brad has a lot to do with that,” Molsky said. “When somebody walks up to me and says, ‘Hey man, I’ve been listening to your music for 20 years, it’s so nice to meet you in person,’ I’m moved by that. This festival was just a great festival for meeting people.”
Beyond introducing artists to listeners, the Kolodners intentionally designed the event to help cutting-edge musicians show what they’re doing to expand the traditional confines of the old-time genre.
“It’s going to grow into something beautiful and it already is,” Hill observed.
“It’s unique because it highlights all the different ways that this tradition is evolving by not only celebrating its roots but by having new conversations within it, too, like what Tatiana and Allison are doing or like Roxy and myself,” she continues. “We’re pushing the boundaries and we’re experimenting within the structures that old-time music provides. And I think that is part of how vernacular music traditions keep evolving.”
Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves perform at the Kickoff Concert.
With its 2024 version in the books, the Baltimore Old Time Music Festival has firmly established itself as one of the fastest growing and most influential gatherings of its kind anywhere in the country. Eyeing sustainable growth and a balance of honoring and augmenting old-time customs, the Kolodners are optimistic for what the future holds.
“We’re pleased to make so much progress, to create an enriching experience for everyone involved and we’re thrilled to be at BMI for years to come,” said Brad Kolodner.
“We’re proud of the intergenerational aspects we’ve built into it. We offer children’s programming and make it free for families, all with the hope that we can keep driving interest and participation in old time moving forward. Above all, we aim to celebrate diversity and the true roots of this music through the performers we invite to be here with us.”
Be sure to save the date for next year’s Baltimore Old Time Music Festival, which will return to BMI on April 18 and 19, 2025. More information here.
Becky Hill and Ben Nelson, in conversation with feet and banjo.
Photo Credit: All photos by Casey Vock and courtesy of the Baltimore Old Time Music Festival.
You’ve reached the end of another week so let’s celebrate like we always do, with a round up of exciting video and track premieres from our BGS family. Below, find a new video skewering NFTs and the commodification of art from folk string duo Adrian + Meredith, plus mandolinist Mark Stoffel covers a bluegrass gospel classic with an all star cast of pickers – and double mandolin!
Plus, earlier this week on BGS, Certified Guitar Player Tommy Emmanuel debuted a brand new performance video of “Bella Soave,” from his iconic album Endless Road in celebration of its 20th Anniversary edition releasing. And, progressive Colorado bluegrass outfit Meadow Mountain continue their SkyTheory Sessions with “Trail to Telluride.”
Here’s hoping your new music Friday is flush with excellent, exciting, engaging new songs. Like these few below, and to be honest – You Gotta Hear This!
Adrian + Meredith, “NFT”
Artist:Adrian + Meredith Hometown: East Nashville, Tennessee Song: “NFT” Release Date: May 17, 2024 (single) Label: Vertigo Productions
In Their Words: “Exploring the themes of NFTs in the song, we reflect on the history of patron-driven commissioned artwork and on the complexities of how, as a society, artwork is ‘valued.’ Who decides what art is worth? Who decides as a culture what art is worthy of preserving? How have barriers of artistic gatekeeping prevailed and adapted as society has progressed?
“All these questions made this music video engaging to create. It was shot at a location called The Forge Nashville, which is a co-working space for artists and makers that offers affordable access to the tools, space, and support artists and makers need to succeed. As AI and mass consumption of art threatens artists of every medium, we wanted to highlight the importance of art and artists as part of robust community ecosystems. As we navigate a changing world, our passion for original, independent artistry, the power of live music, and the strength of community that comes from both has deepened and that really comes out in the lyrics of this song.
“This track was particularly fun to write and record. The complementing verses highlight two different perspectives, one from Adrian and one from me, and were written separately using the same prompts. The vocals, drums, bass, violin, and guitar came together so well in the studio that they are one full live studio take. After initial mixing, we spent an afternoon with Chris Eldridge (Punch Brothers, Mighty Poplar) working out a harmony line for the fiddle pizzicato, which he recorded on guitar, had Henry Westmoreland (Squirrel Nut Zippers) add in trumpet flair, and had Paul Niehaus (Justin Townes Earle, Calexico) add in his magic on pedal steel.” – Meredith Krygowski
Track Credits: Adrian Krygowski – Vocals, acoustic guitar Meredith Krygowski – Vocals, fiddle, clogging John Kveen – Bass Bronson Tew – Drums, engineering Henry Westmoreland – Horns Chris “Critter” Eldridge – Electric & acoustic guitar Paul Niehaus – Pedal steel
Video Credits: Kaedi Maney Dishen and Ryan Dishen – Videographers and editing Shot at The Forge Nashville.
Mark Stoffel, “I’m Using My Bible for a Road Map”
Artist:Mark Stoffel Hometown: My birthplace and original hometown is Munich, Germany. My adopted hometown is Murphysboro, Illinois Song: “I’m Using My Bible for a Road Map” Release Date: May 10, 2024 (single) Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “Years ago, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers were booked to play a Sunday morning show at the Blueberry Music Festival in Stony Plain, Alberta. I suggested we add ‘I’m Using My Bible for a Road Map’ to the setlist because I just love the simple beauty of this Reno & Smiley classic. I was lucky enough to record my version with Chris Luquette on guitar, Ross Sermons on Bass, Tony Creasman on drums, Rob Ickes on Dobro, Niall Murphy on Fiddle, and Alan Bibey on mandolin. Alan contributed a super tasteful mandolin twin part on the last go-around of the tune. Check it out — I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording it!” – Mark Stoffel
Track Credits:
Mark Stoffel – Mandolin, guitar Rob Ickes – Dobro Alan Bibey – Twin mandolin Chris Luquette – Guitar Niall Murphy – Fiddle Ross Sermons – Bass Tony Creasman – Drums
In Their Words: “The song was written after my first visit in Soave, Italy in 1999. It was the first festival I ever played. I was so happy and overjoyed from the experience of the festival that I started writing when I got into the backseat of the car. We were driving from Soave down to Rome for a show and workshop, and I wrote this song on the way there. I got it finished and played it that night at the show. I tried to give it a sort of Spanish feel in the bridge, because I had met a lot of Spaniards that weekend at the festival. Bella Soave means ‘beautiful Soave.’ It’s a beautiful place and has been a big part of my musical life.” – Tommy Emmanuel
Artist:Meadow Mountain Hometown: Denver, Colorado Song: “Trail to Telluride” Release Date: May 6, 2024 (single)
In Their Words: “I have attended the Telluride Bluegrass festival every year for over 12 years now. It is where I fell in love with bluegrass music and it is where I felt my first calling to write the music of the Rocky Mountains. This song tells a fictional story of a miner in the late 1800s who traveled from Denver to Telluride in an attempt to strike it rich mining for silver. While I am no miner, I do feel that the story tracks with the life of a working musician. You go out there to try something new, and if it doesn’t stick, you reset and get back to work.” – Summers Baker, guitar and songwriter
Photo Credit: Adrian + Meredith by Kaedi Maney Dishen; Mark Stoffel courtesy of the artist.
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