Canadian country singer Colter Wall has been slowly diffusing his rich, deep voice throughout the Americana world. In 2020, the singer from Saskatchewan announced his third album, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs, with the release of a cover of the Stan Jones classic, “Cowpoke.” The album is a gold mine of soothing classic country sounds. Recorded in Texas, Wall performed the music with the band he travels with, fashioning a familiarity with outside material that dovetails nicely with the Western sound that’s heard in Wall’s songwriting, too.
For a long while, Wall only sang “Cowpoke” live, and to the praise of his fans, he has finally committed the cover to record. He possesses a keen sensibility for Western culture — the music he creates is fresh, but bears great resemblance to deeply ingrained musical traditions. Buy it, download it, stream it; do whatever you have to do to hear Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs. You can watch Colter Wall sing “Cowpoke” in Bar Nunn, Wyoming, for Western AF below.
Langhorne Slim didn’t intend to make his new record, Strawberry Mansion, but he found a musical path through a crooked piece of time. He isn’t escaping the chaos of the era. Instead, we find him traversing it, soaking it in, and sharing a real-time creative reaction.
In “Sing My Song” he writes, “I’ll sing my song when my song appears.” By facing his own addiction and the many hardships the world has been dealt this past year, he cleared the path for the 22-song record to appear. With the support and musical collaboration of friends like Paul DeFiglia and Mat Davidson — as well as his family, label, and management — Strawberry Mansion stands as a fruitful monument to Slim’s hard work as a person and as an artist.
BGS: Will you talk a little bit about what you were experiencing leading into making this record?
LS: Well, I wasn’t writing music to write a record. I had been working for a long time trying to finish another project (the unreleased Lost at Last Vol. 2). I quit drinking and drugs about seven and half years ago and I relapsed with prescription medication that was prescribed to me and one thing led fairly quickly to the other, where I became dependent on that medication. That led me to about a year out West and a decision to come back to Nashville where I’ve lived for almost a decade. It is where I got sober the first time.
So the conversation in my head was, I’m going to go back home and get healthy. Right now, I’m actually in the apartment of my friend who came and drove me from Los Angeles back to Nashville and it was a brutal trip. And he’s a brother to me. He didn’t know that I was in bad shape and weaning myself off of these prescription pills. Prescription medication is a motherf***er and I have all kinds of thoughts and feelings about that. He found me in a place that he had not ever seen me in. I could see through his eyes that he did not recognize me and I don’t mean that poetically or metaphorically. My boy was clearly disturbed, frightened, annoyed, sad, and confused. When I dropped him off, he looked at me and I looked at him and I knew it was bad. He was just a mirror and I could see where I was at.
I called around some places and people and found some help. Shortly after I got home, the tornado hit. And then of course the pandemic. So energetically and physically, it was such a crazy wild time for everybody. On a deeply personal level, I think in retrospect, the slowing down and forced confrontation of things that needed immediate dealing with, there’s just so much that has been revealed in this. For me, who am I when I’m not a touring musician? Who am I when I’m facing my anxiety, my fear, whatever it might be? Some might say life on life’s terms.
For this record, I read that you had a friend that suggested that you write every day, which you had not done prior to that. Is that right?
It is right that you read that but it’s not the entire story… One of my friends, who I’ve known for many, many years sort of jokingly said, “If you just write a song every day, come over and we’ll record it.” As soon as the quarantine started, some songs started to come and at that point, it almost seemed like they were quarantine jingles. They were kind of on the nose for the situation but it felt good to have these new little songs. I would finish a song. I would not overthink the song. I would take it to my friend’s house in its rawest form. We would record it and I would post it and then I wouldn’t think about the song again. It was a cathartic thing. Catch, release, and on to the next one. And that wound up going on for a couple of months.
Were you interacting with fans over social media about the songs? And if so, did it wind up affecting the output?
Let me put it this way, I think what it was allowing me to do was to scratch an itch. I don’t know what would have happened if I wasn’t having some interaction, some connection in that way without being on tour. In this raw and intimate way, I was writing the song that day, making a little video, and putting it out to people who care or like what I do. It means a lot to me that other people not only relate but are feeling uplifted if only for the two minutes that they are listening to it. I’m sure that was a fuel and energetic force that allowed me to continue to do it.
When did you know that Strawberry Mansion was a record?
I’m superstitious and one time I told my good friend Jonny Fritz that there had been a black cat that was stalking my lawn and he laughed and rolled his eyes and said, “You know what is bad luck? Being so superstitious.” He’s a smart boy. When these songs were flowing, I didn’t want to call my manager or the record label because I thought it was taking it out of the spirit world and putting it into the more tangible physical one. After about 20-25 songs I had the idea for it to be a record, but wanted to keep writing and they finally called me and said, “We think that you should just record a stripped-down record,” which is what I wanted. A stripped-down, raw, immediate, and true to how the songs came about kind of record.
One of my favorite lines from the record is from “Panic Attack,” when you say, “I’m feeling things exponentially.” And that line can be for the good and the bad. What are you feeling exponentially right now in this moment?
I’m excited about the record. I’m proud of the record. I am looking forward to continuing to write songs and getting busy with whatever comes next. The feeling feelings exponentially can be positive. It can be negative. That was in terms of, obviously, a panic attack. I have been a sensitive boy my whole life so what I’m trying to do is to not let every feeling take me over or guide my next step, because if I’m not looking out for it, a certain kind of thought can manifest into an intense feeling very quickly.
There is going to be a lot of talk on this record about sobriety. This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten sober and I’m not trying to market or promote my sobriety. I’m trying to take that very seriously. It is part of the real shit that is in my life and it had to stop before more songs came. It seems dishonest for me not to discuss it. I still feel feelings very exponentially and would be lying to say that by getting sober or by writing a record that that cures any of it. It is a daily practice.
What are you most looking forward to musically after the pandemic has passed, and what are some things that you might do differently from having had this quiet time?
I think I am going to realize how much I miss the live experience. I think because I have been so fortunate to be able to write a bunch of music during this time, it has really fed that need. If I hadn’t been able to do it, I think I’d probably be really missing touring and being on the road. It feels weird to say but I don’t have that craving to be back out on the road. I miss performing for people.
For me personally, I could absolutely see touring a lot less and continuing to practice some semblance of stillness, whatever that means for me. More home time, I think would be healthy for me. Perhaps because I haven’t been under the delusion that touring is coming back any time soon since the beginning of this, I haven’t been constantly disappointed. I’m just trying to keep my shit together and have a healthy attitude about it and not have any expectations for what might be waiting for me down the street.
At BGS, we firmly believe that Black history is American roots music history. Full stop.
Last year, following the extrajudicial murder of George Floyd and the civil unrest, protests, and rebellions against racial injustice and systemic inequality in this country, we realized that that belief wasn’t present enough in our daily content and editorial. We knew that it needed to be overt, expressed within every aspect of what we do.
Which is why this month, we’ve invited you to celebrate Black History Month as we always do, by denoting that celebrating Black contributions in bluegrass, country, and old-time — and roots music as a whole — requires centering Black creators, artists, musicians, and perspectives in our community daily, not just in February. (Though, for the entire month we’ve been sharing music, stories, and songs featuring Black artists every day, too!)
In the past year we’ve recommitted ourselves to fully incorporating Black Voices into everything we do and we hope that our readers and listeners, our followers and fans, and our family of artists constantly celebrate, acknowledge, and pay credit to Blackness and Black folks, who we have to thank for everything we love about American roots music. To bid adieu to Black History Month 2021, we’re spotlighting Black artists who have graced our pages in the last year in a two-part roundup.
Fresh off of an appearance at President Biden’s inauguration, Grammy nominees Black Pumas are our current Artist of the Month honorees, but they aren’t the only ones to hold down our most prestigious monthly series and editorial spotlight. Drawing on folk songwriting as much as soul groove, both men agree that the term “American Roots” fits their sound well. The Americana Music Association seconds that notion, as the duo picked up that organization’s Emerging Act of the Year award in late 2020.
Modern blues legend Shemekia Copeland was our Artist of the Month in November, when we celebrated her latest release, Uncivil War from Alligator Records. The song sequence offers quite a few topical numbers ranging from gun rights (“Apple Pie and a .45”) to LGBT affirmation (“She Don’t Wear Pink”). But a standout is certainly the title track, Copeland’s most bluegrassy foray yet, which features Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas
Song-interpreter extraordinaire Bettye LaVette held down the AOTM post in August, reminding us of the value of persistence, perseverance, and perspective – especially by Black women. Her interpretation of the ubiquitous “Blackbird” recalls the fact that Paul McCartney wrote the song about a Black woman (as British slang refers to a girl as a “bird”). In LaVette’s rendition, though, she is the one who’s been waiting… and waiting… and waiting for this moment to arrive. And, in a specific allusion to this moment in history, to be free.
On the Cover
Both country & western crooner Charley Crockett and old-time banjoist, fiddler, and ethnomusicologist Jake Blount graced our digital covers in the past year, demonstrating the width, depth, and breadth of Black contributions to American roots music across the country and drawing from various regions and traditions.
In our interview and on his most recent release, Crockett doesn’t just reckon with the current historical moment. With Welcome to Hard Times, which is comprised of 13 tracks of searing anguish set to slick, ’60s-style, country-western production, he’s also examining his own place in this moment, and how his music has a different impact with different audiences. Even as he — a man living somewhere between Black and white, privileged and not — feels that his message is obvious.
Queer old-time musician and scholar Jake Blount is intimately familiar with the history of Black artists in the twentieth century who spoke out against white supremacy and often paid for it with their lives. He sees his music — and his most recent album, Spider Tales — within that subversive, radical lineage, and rightly so. A critically acclaimed project that landed on seemingly dozens of year-end lists in 2020, Blount’s carefully curated tunes convey that racial inequality in this country is a long, self-feeding cycle and this current iteration of the civil rights movement was neither surprising nor unpredictable. In a year defined by music created in response to current events or simply passively shaped by them, Blount’s Spider Tales stands out, an example of action rather than reaction.
Last week, we celebrated the grand opening of the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville with a feature that explores the ways Music City has always been a major player in the African American music world — from the days of the Fisk Jubilee Singers to radio station WLAC breaking R&B, soul, and blues hits, and the Jefferson Street nightclub scene providing both valuable training for emerging artists and a vital showcase for established ones. The 56,000-square-foot museum, something of a musical equivalent to the the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. (definitely with the same level of visual splendor and attractiveness) is a testament to the Black, African American, and Afro contributions that have touched, impacted, and influenced every sphere of American pop culture and art.The striking marquee of the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, TN
The BGS Podcast Network
Over the course of the past year, the BGS Podcast Network has been proud to feature many Black artists over our shows about bluegrass, Americana, touring, wellness, and of course, music. On Harmonics season one, three Black women joined host Beth Behrs to talk about living through so much stress and tumult and how self-care, wellness, and music are all woven so tightly together.
Country singer and 2020 breakout star Mickey Guyton (who, for the record, has been a recording artist for more than a decade despite her recent meteoric rise) appeared on Episode 3, talking about writing “Black Like Me” — a song about her pain and struggles growing up as a Black woman in America — amidst the protests against police brutality across the nation. They also discuss country artists speaking out against racism and injustice, the power and importance of “three chords and the truth” in the midst of Music Row fluff, lifting other women up as a form of therapy, and, of course, Dolly Parton.
Two of Behrs’ closest friends, sisters Tichina & Zenay Arnold also appeared on the show. Tichina, Behr’s co-star on CBS’s The Neighborhood, and her sister are something like spiritual coaches for Beth. The three discuss the spirituality of music and the musicality of comedy, the timeliness of The Neighborhood as well as the pure spirit on the set, the absolutely necessity of open conversation in active anti-racism, balancing professional and familial relationships, and much more.
Finally, Birds of Chicago frontwoman and multi-instrumentalist Allison Russell decided to dig deep into her childhood traumas, the healing power of music and artistic community, the history of the banjo, and the intersectionality of the honest conversations in our culture on her episode of Harmonics. In addition to her career with Birds of Chicago, Russell is one quarter of the supergroup Our Native Daughters, with Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Leyla McCalla, and is preparing to release her first solo album.
On The Show On The Road, host Z. Lupetin curated a special episode last summer featuring clips and snippets from past editions of the show featuring Sunny War, Bobby Rush, Dom Flemons, and more. As he put it, “I’ve been lucky to talk with truly amazing Black artists, songwriters, and performers in the two years I’ve been creating The Show on the Road. I ask you to go back into our archives and listen to these voices.”
Later in the season, SOTR episodes featured Leyla McCalla — a talented, multilingual cellist, banjoist, and singer-songwriter and member of Our Native Daughters — and a special podcast swap with Under The Radar featuring truly fantastic Oakland-based artist, Fantastic Negrito. And just a couple of weeks ago, the show dropped an episode honoring Black History Month, featuring an interview with Jimmy Carter and Ricky McKinnie of the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama.
Plus, on the String, Craig Havighurst interviewed new lead singer for the Time Jumpers, Wendy Moten, and southern Gothic poet, songwriter, and Americana-blues wizard Adia Victoria.
And, not to be left out, the BGS Radio Hour always includes music, premieres, and features of Black artists every week, as we round-up the best stories from our pages to include on the airwaves. Like this week, Allison Russell’s Sade cover and Valerie June’s cosmic new single, “Call Me a Fool” — which features Stax soul legend Carla Thomas — both appear on the show. And, on Episode 194, Chris Pierce, our Whiskey Sour Happy Hour friend Ben Harper, and Charley Crockett all make the playlist as well.
Shout & Shine
Our annual IBMA showcase celebrating representation and diversity in 2020 focused entirely on Black performers, building upon our collaboration with PineCone, who co-presents the event each year. Brandi Pace of Decolonizing the Music Room curated the lineup, showing our audience how seamlessly our missions intersect and build off of each other. The showcase lineup included Rissi Palmer, Tray Wellington, Stephanie Anne Johnson, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, and more, drawing a direct line between Black musicians and bluegrass while highlighting the important role Black folks played in the genre’s creation as well as influencing all of its contemporary forms.
To build on this intention, we retooled our monthly column version of Shout & Shine as well, turning the interview series into a regular livestream event. Sponsored by Preston Thompson Guitars, each episode includes thirty-plus minutes of exclusive performances by Lizzie No, Sunny War, Julian Taylor, and Jackie Venson with more to come. Each set of music — and each interview as well — reinforces just how vibrant and varied roots music created by Black musicians and songwriters can be and just how valuable the perspectives and lived experiences of all kinds of people are to our communities.
Photo credit (L to R): Shemekia Copeland by Mike White; Rissi Palmer courtesy of the artist; Bettye LaVette by Joseph A. Rosen; and Mickey Guyton by Chelsea Thompson.
Artist:Nate Fredrick Hometown: Springfield, Missouri Song: “Paducah” Album:Different Shade of Blue Release Date: February 26, 2021 Label: Wanda Recordings/Queue Records
In Their Words: “Since moving to Nashville in 2015, Paducah, Kentucky, has been a point of reference on trips home to Springfield, Missouri. I knew if I could make it to Paducah, I was going to make it home. At times I wasn’t sure where home was for me and had an odd feeling of leaving home from both directions. It felt like a highway purgatory and I began to question where home really was.” — Nate Fredrick
Artists:Leslie Jordan featuring Brandi Carlile Hometown: Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Ravensdale, Washington Song: “Angel Band” Album:Company’s Comin’ Release Date: April 2, 2021 Label: Platoon
In Their Words: “Brandi Carlile deserves to be accompanied by more than a single band of angels, not only for being a singular artist of our time, but also for living an exemplary life full of love and devotion to everyone she meets. … Singing these songs, it felt like I was recapturing the joy of what this music meant to me as a kid but without all the baggage. When I was growing up, I wanted so badly to be a good Christian, but I knew that the church would never accept me for who I was. It’s liberating now to come back to these hymns, completely at peace with myself, and sing without any hint of the guilt or shame I felt in my youth.
“My dear friend Travis Howard and I would get together on Sundays to sing these old hymns just because we loved them. Somewhere along the way, my business partner, Mike Lotus, took a real interest in what we were doing and started looking up and learning about every old Baptist hymn he could find. I think he realized, like we did, that the songs held something brilliant about the human condition and were a deep comfort to anyone who heard them, religious or not. He started posting our performances online, and the response was just incredible.” — Leslie Jordan
Artist:The Wild West* Hometown: Los Angeles, California Song: “Better Way” Release Date: February 26, 2021 Label: Blackbird Record Label
In Their Words: “When the idea of ‘Better Way’ formed, society was and still is struggling with the differences that divide us. If one does not take the time and compassion to honor differences and look at the commonality that unites us, it’s blinding and tears us apart. Lyrically the idea of being born with love and born without hate is at the root of ‘Better Way.’ Finding the way back to that innocence, compassion and understanding brings a hopeful lens for the future if we can hold onto it and lift each other up. This group of women does exactly that for each other.” — Manda Mosher
*The Wild West: Tawny Ellis (vocals, lap steel, omnichord); Amilia K Spicer (vocals, guitar, mandolin, keys); Pi Jacobs (vocals, guitar); Manda Mosher (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Heather Anne Lomax (vocals, guitar); Deb Morrison (vocals, bass guitar)
Artist:Amythyst Kiah Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee Single: “Black Myself” Release Date: February 19, 2021 Label: Rounder Records
In Their Words: “‘Black Myself’ is the first song I’ve written that was confrontational. I’d always made it a point to sing songs that anybody could relate to, but this was something that had been welling up inside me for a long time. The reception of the song so far has given me hope that there are people out there who are ready to confront the shared trauma of racism, to look within ourselves and see how we might be perpetuating racist beliefs, and to do what is needed to create equality for all people.” — Amythyst Kiah
If you want to make an LP in NC, there’s a brand new vinyl destination: Citizen Vinyl, North Carolina’s first record press. Here’s some history about this landmark from North Carolina’s music campaign, Come Hear NC:
“Asheville, N.C., has long been viewed as a special place, funneling new sounds from the mountains to the world. In its heyday, the Asheville-based WWNC was one of the most popular radio stations in the country, and from its studios new bluegrass sound was presented for the first time to broad audiences across the country. It’s possible that Jimmie Rodgers (who lived in Asheville for a while) played ‘Carolina Sunshine Girl’ there, and the fiddles and banjos that have for so long rung out from the hollers and valleys of Western North Carolina found a way to the airwaves from the station’s studios.
“The building’s halls are full of history. Jim Lauderdale said of playing in places where great music has been made, ‘You get the feel about great music, it’s still livin’.’ No longer a radio station, it now houses Citizen Vinyl, North Carolina’s first record press. Mandolin Orange, based out of Chapel Hill, will be first off the press with a new double LP. Their music, full of guitar, fiddle, harmony, and a little twang, would have been right at home in one of WWNC’s old recording sessions.”
Check out the exclusive tour of the Asheville-based facility below:
Discover more about Citizen Vinyl and Come Hear NC here.
In normal times, you might find Kentucky-hearted duet the Local Honeys touring the UK or out on the road with folks like Colter Wall and Tyler Childers. But, like so many, the past year has been a paused their movement, allowing space and time to experience life in a way that most busy artists rarely get to.
Many caught wind of the group after a viral New York Times article in late 2020 about our nation’s cultural depression. But like other defendants of Appalachian people and culture, Montana Hobbs and Linda Jean Stokley, who make up the pair, have been outspoken via their music for a long time. Their new double-sided single continues a demand of accountability from big industry. “It’s a modern anthem of the American working class,” said Stokley.
BGS caught up with the Local Honeys to talk about these two songs — “Dying To Make a Living” and “Octavia Triangle” — as well as the message in their music.
BGS: In the before times, you’ve led pretty busy schedules, including multiple international tours. What have you been up to since the pandemic began?
Montana Hobbs: Well, I can tell you what we’ve be into. We’ve been in our jammies a lot! But you know, we’ve experienced probably a similar story to anybody else that has been in the gig industry. We’ll all remember it as a point in our lives and a point in our careers that was kind of sedentary, if you will. I think our story is not much different, we’ve had more time at home to focus on things that we don’t get to do on the road – like exercise, cook at home, read. At the new year we both decided that we weren’t gonna think so much about what this past year has been, but think more about what this new year is going to be for us.
Linda Jean Stokley: In 2019 we went on about five separate concert tours. So the beginning of 2020 was our last tour, we were all over the UK as well as greater Europe, on our own headlining tour but also supporting Tyler Childers. That was a huge tour, and it really took a lot out of us, so it was kind of welcoming to have a little bit of a break after that. But over this past year, we have done a few cool things. We went on the Tyler tour, we got signed to La Honda Records — that’s a pretty big deal for us. We love everything that they do, and have been constantly inspired by them. Our management and being with a label have proven so helpful, even during this time, to have someone like our manager that is so good about keeping our spirits up. Another thing that we’ve done this past year is put out a Western AFvideo, and that was a highlight. We didn’t get to do much, but what we did was really welcomed.
In a time of so much uncertainty, what inspired this new release?
LJS: We recorded those in October of 2019, and we’d been working on trying to change up our sound a bit, to make our sound bigger but not non-traditional, kind of neo-traditional. So we were thinking in 2020, how are we gonna release these songs? Then in October 2020, our friend Jimmy McCowan, who’s on one of those tracks, suddenly passed away from a heart attack. So, we talked to La Honda and asked if we could finally get these out. That’s kind of what spawned the release of this A-side/B-side single.
These songs show two perspectives on life in the coal mines: working like hell to provide for your family, while enduring personal struggles both medical and mental. What are you trying to tell the rest of the world about these Appalachian issues?
LJS: In July of 2019, there was a blockade in Harlan County, [Kentucky], and over a thousand miners in central Appalachia were out of work, because of the Blackjewel mining company. They went bankrupt, and they didn’t tell anybody. They didn’t tell any of their workers until the day of. In the middle of the day, they said, “this is your last day.” That is completely illegal. It was strange that it had to happen in Harlan County, which is so synonymous with all these bloody labor wars. To have something like this happen with one of the largest coal companies in the nation just shows that they can get away with all kinds of unlawful behavior. These people, their checks bounced. Of course that’s going towards their mortgage or rent, but it’s also going towards their medical costs, because there are so many disabled miners. We started thinking about this song more and more. We sang it a little bit, but didn’t have a need to sing it necessarily because we didn’t have anything to say. When we were on tour a lot, we would tell the story of what was going on, and put song and emotion into what’s happening, to get people to listen.
MH: To add on that, the song became more relevant to us in this time frame. It was a song that we were familiar with, via the band Foddershock, but also Rick & the Po’ Folk, Rich Kirby and his traditional band, and Pierceton Hobbs [who released his own version in 2020]. Basically, we felt like when you’re given the stage to speak on things like this, you might as well take advantage of the time and the attention that you’ve been given. Make that time worth it, and get a message that you feel is important across. When we would go over to England, which is also a very post-coal society that we didn’t know much about, we had firsthand connections where they told us stories of tragedy, how their grandfathers were miners, and so on. It made the whole history of traditional music come full circle for us, to where we had the opportunity to sing a song, but we also had the opportunity to tell a story of where we’re from and what’s happening where we are. Which is what traditional music was in its first iteration.
I know that you both, along with other musicians, visited the miner’s blockade. What was that like?
MH: We went and visited the miner’s blockade in August. We just went down there and hung out with these people, they had their entire families on the train tracks. They had little encampments set up. People like Brett Ratliff, Rich Kirby, Tanya Turner at the time worked for Appalshop, went down there with us. Son, it was so hot. It was very much like third world conditions in what’s supposed to be the greatest country.
The week before, we were at Cowan Creek Mountain Music School in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Jim McCowan has been a member of the faculty there probably as long as the school has been around. This guy in my class asked, “Have you heard the song that Jimmy’s mother wrote?” We were both very close to Jim, he was a very bright light. So I sat on a picnic table with him and said, “I heard that you do a song your mother wrote.” And I’m one of those people that’s a real sneaky recorder with my phone, and I have about a 10 or 15 minute clip of him playing this song called the “Octavia Triangle.” He had such a beautiful delivery of the song.
We were thinking of something that would pair well with “Dying To Make a Living,” which is economic hardship, being pushed under the rug. Even though this work is essential, they’re being treated less than they’re worth. So then I thought that “Octavia Triangle” completely highlighted what it is to actually live, and work, and die, and love, in the coalfields. This was a true story that happened in Pike County, Kentucky. Who’s to blame other than these harmful practices which we still practice today?
As a fellow musician from Central Appalachia, I feel like Foddershock (who wrote “Dying”) rarely get the attention or recognition they deserve. Do you have a favorite album, or a starter pack for those who have never heard the band?
LJS: I absolutely love Foddershock, I’m always trying to find their CDs. I’m waiting on WV [Hill] to send me some recordings. Obviously, I think “Dying to Make a Living” is one of the best places to start. I would also say “Eat Possum & Prosper” is one of my favorite tracks of theirs. And I really love “When Coal Was King.” There’s one that’s called “Live in a Trailer.” “Cahoots,” as well.
Do you have any new goals or ideas to try for when things turn around and we can all get back on the road?
MH: Hmm… we are ready and willin’! Open for suggestions, open for bookings… But like I said before, this is a time that we will all remember as a pause in our lives and a pause in history, even though it’s been a hell of a lot of history put into one year. We’ve been granted this time to kind of work on things, we’ve been writing a lot. It’s always been something we’ve done and tried to practice, but now it seems like it’s at the forefront of our minds. We want to be seen as not just traditional musicians, not just old-time musicians, but we wanna be known as songwriters as well. Carrying on that storytelling, and showing how I feel about what’s going in the time and place I’m from. That’s one of the biggest connectors in music in general, it’s saying you’re not alone. Like when we went to Wales, even our song “Cigarette Trees,” which is about strip mining, people would come up to us and say, “They do that here too, and we don’t like it either.”
LJS: We’re finding so many relatable things to talk about when we tour in the UK specifically. Touring has really given us a way and a platform to connect with all these people around the world that are dealing with similar situations. Every time we go anywhere, we talk to people about the whole idea of ‘saving Appalachia,’ and trying to tell people that no, we have to pay attention to the causes of poverty and suppression that are happening within our state and within the entire southeast region. We don’t need saving, and we don’t need developing — we need somebody to actually understand what is going on in our area. We’re looking forward to reconnecting with people.
BGS and the Philadelphia Folksong Society, who are presenters of the oldest continuously run music festival in North America, are proud to join together to virtually present Cabin Fever Fest on February 20 & 21. This fully digital, interactive musical experience will include multiple streaming stages, performances by international stars and local favorites, music workshops and lessons, and more. (See the full lineup below.)
Tickets to Cabin Fever Fest are available now, full weekend passes are available for just $45 for PFS Members and $50 for Not-Yet-Members. Your ticket gives you full access to the event from February 20 until February 28, to watch at your leisure and convenience.
To get excited for the launch of the festival this Saturday, we wanted to introduce our BGS audience to some of the amazing folks on the lineup. Hopefully you’ll find a few favorite artists and performers — new and old — to catch this weekend on Cabin Fever Fest, presented by BGS and the Philadelphia Folksong Society!
Avi Kaplan
We first turned our attention to former Pentatonix low-end Avi Kaplan when he released his first rootsy foray, I’ll Get By, last February. In our interview last year, he spoke about his time with the internationally-renowned a capella group, growing up on bluegrass, and how is journey back to folk took shape. We were excited to have Avi on Whiskey Sour Happy Hour episode 3 last spring and we’re so excited to have him on Cabin Fever Fest, as well!
By now a longtime friend of BGS as well as a stalwart of the Americana-blues scene, Keb’ Mo’ has been our Artist of the Month, has been on our podcasts, our live lineups, and our year-end and holiday playlists, and now will join us and our Philly Folksong Society friends for Cabin Fever Fest! Whether he’s sharing a stage with Taj Mahal or swapping licks with Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, Keb’ Mo’ is an extraordinary picker and collaborator.
Bluegrass family band turned modern blues-rock shredders Larkin Poe are a constantfavoriteon the pages and social media channels of BGS — and we totally see why! They combine fiery, impassioned energy with bluegrass technique and virtuosity for a brand of southern rock and blues that appeals to all kinds of roots music fans. They’ve kept up a constant “touring” calendar despite COVID-19, and we’re so grateful to have them join our virtual festival.
A cosmic, mystical force on banjo, with her songwriting pen, or within the pages of her poetry notebook, Valerie June is another Whiskey Sour Happy Hour alumnus joining us on the Cabin Fever Fest lineup. Her upcoming Jack Splash-produced album, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers, is generating quite a bit of buzz in folk circles — the single, “Call Me a Fool” features Stax legend Carla Thomas! — so of course we’re looking forward to her Cabin Fever performance!
What would a folk festival be without sibling harmonies!? The way The Secret Sisters — Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle — blend their songwriting styles, their production and arrangements, and their voices is so effortless — while laser-precise, deliberate, and painstaking.
Lockdown shows from Nashville’s self-professed banjo house (and basement) have kept all of us going through the past year or so — or at least, all of us at BGS and Philly Folksong Society! We’re tickled they’ll be bringing more of their humorous, engaging, double-banjo content to Cabin Fever Fest.
Perhaps the world’s foremost ukulele virtuoso, Jake Shimabukuro represents quite a few American roots music traditions often left to the wayside in folk circles. Shimabukuro has performed with many bluegrass, old-time, and Americana greats including Sierra Hull, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Alison Brown, Béla Fleck, and more. His prodigious approach to the ukulele — an instrument with skyrocketing popularity at the moment, especially among Gen Z — will surely wow new and old fans alike, no matter your entry point to roots music.
Speaking of Sierra Hull! One of our all-time favorite mandolin maestros, this thoughtful composer/songwriter will headline one day of our BGS stage. Every chance we get to work together, we take it! We can’t wait to see what new, astounding cover songs — like her Whiskey Sour Happy Hour rendition of “King of Anything” — fantastic musical acrobatics, and bluegrass nuggets she’ll pepper throughout her performance.
Our Philly Folk Fest friends turned us onto local favorites, Mwenso & the Shakes, and we’re awfully glad they did. Led by Michael Mwenso, the troupe of global artists present music that’s entrancing, entertaining, and as they put it, “A formidable timeline of jazz and blues expression through African and Afro American music.” Their debut album, Emergence [The Process of Coming Into Being], is available wherever you get music now. We can’t wait to hear from Mwenso & the Shakes!
Based in Santa Cruz, California these fixtures in the Northern California bluegrass scene are making a splash on a national scale, despite the pandemic throwing a wrench in their ascension. Blue Summit’s music is modern, crisp, and precise with a songwriting heart that feels fully realized and mature, despite their relative youth as a group. Lee’s vocals and originals spearhead the ensemble, reminding of Alison Krauss and her former bandmate Molly Tuttle, too. BGS has been waiting for the opportunity to get Blue Summit on a lineup and Cabin Fever Fest was the perfect opportunity!
Check out the full lineup and schedules for Cabin Fever Fest below and don’t forget to head to the CFF website for more information — discover workshops, get your Philly Folksong Society membership, find FAQs, and more!
Saturday, February 20, 2021
(all times EST)
CAMP STAGE presented by the Philadelphia Music Co-op
11:00AM Katherine Rondeau 11:30AM Jason Ager 12:00PM Hot Club of Philadelphia 12:30PM Rebecca Lang Fiorentino 1:00PM Ami Yares 1:30PM Bethlehem & Sad Patrick
CAMP STAGE presented by the Bluegrass Situation
2:30PM The Wandering Hearts 3:15PM AJ Lee & Blue Summit 4:30PM Jontavious Willis 5:45PM Jon Stickley Trio 7:00PM Sierra Hull
MARTIN STAGE / MAIN STAGE
3:30PM Emily Drinker 4:15PM OKAN 5:30PM James McMurtry 6:45PM Mwenso & the Shakes 8:00PM The Secret Sisters 9:15PM Keb’ Mo’ 10:15PM Avi Kaplan
Sunday, February 21, 2021
CAMP STAGE presented by the Philadelphia Music Co-op
11:00AM Ken Ulansey 11:30AM Huston West 12:00PM Rachel Eve 12:30PM Todd Fausnacht 1:00PM Ants On a Log Presents the World Premier of CURIOUS: The Movie 1:50PM Valentina Sounds
CAMP STAGE presented by Eisteddfod Amgen
2:30PM Tŷ Gwerin o bell featuring Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog, Tant, VRi, Pedair
Photo credit (L to R): Larkin Poe by Josh Kranich; Valerie June by Renata Raksha; Avi Kaplan by Bree Marie Fish.
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