Artist:Countercurrent (Brian Lindsay and Alex Sturbaum) Hometown: Olympia, Washington Latest Album:Flow (released March 3, 2025)
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
It’s a three-way tie for me between Great Big Sea (gateway drug into trad music, consummate performers, wonderful harmonies), early Solas (dazzling musicianship, tight arrangements, and an unmistakable guitar style) and the Grateful Dead (fearless improvisation, and pushing the boundaries of what is possible while keeping one foot firmly in folk). – Alex Sturbaum
Chicago fiddler Liz Carroll has probably had the most comprehensive influence on me – she is a master of creative interpretations of traditional fiddle tunes and composing new tunes in a trad idiom. Much of how I think about melodic improvisation and variation around a melody is influenced by her playing. Her recordings over the years showcase some incredible arrangements and beautiful production, ranging from very minimal, traditional-sounding, to lush and modern tracks. – Brian Lindsay
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
“Play ’em happy, sing ’em angry.” We want our music to inspire joy and resilience and to generally make folks feel good. However, we also want to call out the injustice we see in the world every day and use our music to aid the fight against fascism in whatever way we can. – AS
“Every tradition is a living tradition, if we participate.” Musical traditions don’t thrive when we only admire them inside a glass case, they benefit from curating the archives of the past, honoring the figures who have shaped it today, and welcoming new contributions that reflect today’s influences (cultural, political, technological, etc.). Most importantly, music communities thrive when we make music that we really love to listen and move to. – BL
Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?
We draw from a lot of different folk traditions – Celtic, old-time, maritime, jam-band music, and more – but fundamentally, Countercurrent is a dance band. We cut our teeth playing for contra dancing, that’s still the main thing we do, and everything we play is built around groove and drive. One of our favorite things in the world is bringing our music to venues outside of folk communities and getting an audience to unironically throw ass to fiddle tunes. – AS
In a nutshell, “modern fiddle tune dance jams.” Our focus is to create music that moves people, both physically and emotionally, and our vocabulary comes from the genres of Irish, American old-time, and adjacent fiddle and song traditions. We add our own compositions using that vocabulary, but incorporating our musical influences from genres like jam bands, funk, electronic, and rock that we love. – BL
What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?
We both really enjoy the offbeat songwriter Dan Reeder. We had the pleasure of getting to see him and his daughter Peggy in Seattle recently – one of their rare tours from Germany – and we have been enjoying singing his songs together in green rooms and tour vehicles. I also have a sizable soft spot for Owl City. – AS
I’m very fond of the music of blues singer and instrumentalist Taj Mahal. I got some of his recordings when I was quite young and got to see him live near my home when I was in high school. I also love Moon Hooch, who essentially make saxophone-based EDM with live drums (I have an unabashed love for the saxophone, and brass instruments in general, though I don’t play any). – BL
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
I once had a Thai meal with roasted coconut and pork belly right before seeing Gillian Welch perform The Harrow and the Harvest in its entirety, and to be honest I have been thinking about both ever since. – AS
A meal consisting entirely of East Asian dumplings of every variety, with Kishi Bashi, whose music I adore and also appears to be an incredibly interesting and kind person. – BL
Here’s a flock of brand new songs and videos you gotta hear! This week, our premiere round-up includes Americana, fiddle tunes, percussive dance, good country, string band excellence, and more.
Don’t miss new tracks like “Second Best,” from Americana singer-songwriter and Steep Canyon Rangers vocalist Aaron Burdett, and “China Camp,” a fiddle tune written by Paul Shelasky and performed by Amy Kassir with Jake Eddy and more. Also, Wisconsin’s own Them Coulee Boys drop “I Am Not Sad,” a song that grapples with mental health from their upcoming 2025 album, No Fun In The Chrysalis.
We’ve got some superlative videos this week, as well! Percussive dancer and folk musician Nic Gareiss dances us through a gorgeous, queer rendition of a Gillian Welch song, “Back Turn and Swing,” and alt-folk trio Palmyra have brought a live field recording of “Fried,” a song from their brand new EP, Surprise #1. Meanwhile, Eilen Jewell pays tribute to Loretta Lynn and spotlights the progress and regression of the last 50 years of reproductive rights activism with a cover of “The Pill.”
To wrap us up, we don’t want you to miss the latest AEA Session, premiered in partnership with AEA Ribbon Mics on BGS earlier this week. This edition of the series features Brit Taylor & Adam Chaffins, performing live at Americanafest last month.
It’s all right here on BGS and, certainly, You Gotta Hear This!
Aaron Burdett, “Second Best”
Artist:Aaron Burdett Hometown: Saluda, North Carolina Song: “Second Best” Release Date: October 25, 2024 Label: Organic Records
In Their Words: “You might say ‘Second Best’ was a song 30 years in the making. I’ve had this line from an old David Wilcox song rattling around in my head since the ’90s. It always struck me as a phrase that could be interpreted in many different ways. So I eventually started playing with that idea and bouncing it off various scenes and situations. A year or so ago I landed on the one (or two) that ended up in the recording, along with the original Wilcox line that inspired the chorus. Some songs arrive quickly, and some arrive much more slowly!” – Aaron Burdett
Artist:Nic Gareiss Hometown: Lansing, Michigan Song: “Back Turn and Swing” Release Date: October 25, 2024
In Their Words: “When I heard Gillian Welch’s song ‘Back Turn and Swing,’ I was immediately drawn to the way it brings the listener into the scene of a dance event: musicians tuning up, someone cooking potluck food to pass around, the excitement in the air, folks eager to get up onto the floor. The lyrics evoke the feeling of the square and contra dances I grew up attending in the rural Midwest. At the same time, as a non-binary queer person, I feel bodily unease around how the song sets up the dualistic gender of the attendees.
“Many folk dances these days have adopted expansive and inclusive dance calls, like using ‘larks and robins,’ ‘lefts and rights,’ etc. (shoutout to Michigan’s Looking Glass and Ten Pound Fiddle contra dances, Detroit’s queer square dance, Asheville’s Old Farmer’s Ball, and Brooklyn’s Gayli). Yet I’m still compelled to check beforehand that the caller – the authoritarian voice at the front of the hall telling people what to do with their bodies – is onboard with same-sex couples dancing together or trans and genderqueer people expanding these roles. This past summer a partner and I were at a dance when someone in their 20s asked us mid-set, ‘Who is the man?’ This reminded me that there’s still work to do; inclusivity still requires advocacy and allyship to help all feel welcome in the dynamism of the dance floor.
“Speaking of dynamic, as a child I saw John Hartford and was both astonished and inspired by the soundscapes he could create; dance, music, and song all embodied in one person. I aspire towards that dance-as-music in this video, where I added a few lyrics to the last verse.” – Nic Gareiss
Video Credits: Filmed by Blake Hannahson. Audio mixed by Jaron Freeman-Fox.
Eilen Jewell, “The Pill”
Artist:Eilen Jewell Hometown: Boise, Idaho Song: “The Pill” Album:Butcher Holler: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn Release Date: October 22, 2024 (single); November 15, 2024 (album) Label: Signature Sounds
In Their Words: “The amazing thing about ‘The Pill’ is that it still feels edgy today, nearly 50 years after its original release. Loretta infused it with so much sassy defiance that, even now, when I sing it live and reach the phrase ‘now I’ve got the pill,’ some fans pump their fists while others clutch their pearls. It still strikes a nerve, a testament both to how effective this song is and how little progress we’ve made in this country in terms of reproductive rights.
“Loretta still holds the prestigious record for the singer of more banned radio hits than all other male country artists in the twentieth century combined. And ‘The Pill’ was the most banned of all of her songs, which is saying a lot. By recording and performing it live, I hope to do my part to spread the word about the importance of public access to family planning as an integral part of a woman’s right to the pursuit of happiness. It’s hard to believe this fight is still going on, but until it’s over I’ll be here for it.” – Eilen Jewell
A note from the artist: A percentage of sales from “The Pill” will be donated to Planned Parenthood.
Video Credits: Bill Hurley at The Fallout Shelter in Norwood, Massachusetts
Amy Kassir, “China Camp”
Artist:Amy Kassir Hometown: Durham, North Carolina. Currently lives in San Rafael, California. Song: “China Camp” Album:Bread and Butter Release Date: October 25, 2024
In Their Words: “‘China Camp’ is a great tune by the legendary California fiddler Paul Shelasky. I first heard it on the 1983 Good Ol’ Persons record, I Can’t Stand to Ramble, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. While so many tunes on my album are ‘bread and butter’ fiddle tunes I grew up playing in North Carolina, I wanted to include a tune that represents the rich musical legacy of California, which has been my home for the last 10 years. I’m so thankful Paul gave me his blessing to record this tune.
“This recording features Jake Eddy on guitar and banjo, Korey Kassir on mandolin, and Carter Eddy on bass. It’s such an exciting tune to play, and we had a lot of fun bringing it to life.” – Amy Kassir
Palmyra, “Fried”
Artist:Palmyra Hometown: Richmond, Virginia Song: “Fried” Album:Surprise #1 (EP) Release Date: October 24, 2024 Label: Oh Boy Records
In Their Words: “As we have ventured into playing bigger stages and festivals, our sound has expanded significantly. While the core of Palmyra remains the three of us, we’ve been experimenting with a larger four-piece sound, as heard on the recorded version of ‘Fried’ on our new EP, Surprise #1, with Oh Boy Records. ‘Fried’ is our most ambitious acoustic experiment, starting with a drum set and a hypnotic repetitive guitar lick. Recording the song acoustically with one microphone in a field was a fun way for us to find the core of the tune. It was a challenge to see how many elements we could strip away and still keep the groove. We like to call ‘Fried’ our ‘jam band’ song, and we hope even this field recording gets you on your feet.” – Palmyra
Track Credits: Written by Sasha Landon, Mānoa Lewis Bell, and Teddy Chipouras. Sasha Landon – Mandocello, voice Teddy Chipouras – Guitar, voice Mānoa Bell – Upright bass, voice Jake Cochran – Drums
Video Credit: Elliott Crotteau
Them Coulee Boys, “I Am Not Sad”
Artist:Them Coulee Boys Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin Song: “I Am Not Sad” Album:No Fun In The Chrysalis Release Date: October 29, 2024 (single); February 28, 2025 (album) Label: Some Fun Records
In Their Words: “‘I Am Not Sad‘ is the last song on the record and captures the theme of accepting change this record focuses on. I’ve struggled with my mental health my whole life, dealing with depression, anxiety, and issues with self worth. I’ve embraced those issues in my songwriting, hoping to shine a light on things that we all go through from time to time. We have plenty of songs that talk about these issues, but this one is the first that accepts them.
“The song is built around the phrase ‘I am not sad anymore, at least not today.’ It’s a celebration of the happiness in the moment, while acknowledging that there’s times when it’s harder. It’s about being thankful for the good times, and letting them stack up on one another for when the bad times come. It’s a declaration, a moment of catharsis, while knowing that it won’t always be like that.
“Sonically it starts sparsely, with elements of the band being added with each verse, like confidence growing in one’s self as you begin to believe. It’s self-assured, with strummed mandolin and piano a backdrop for growth. When the bridge lyrically introduces the idea that these positive feelings might not last, the musical interlude represents the choice to embrace that realization. An ethereal, almost dream-like backdrop sets up the catharsis of the last verse. When the last verse hits, it invites all the good feelings back for a triumphant jam. It’s loud and snarls in the face of the hard times. It’s meant to soar and it does.” – Soren Staff
AEA Sessions: Brit Taylor & Adam Chaffins, Live at AmericanaFest 2024
Artist: Brit Taylor & Adam Chaffins Hometown: Hindman, Kentucky (Brit), Louisa, Kentucky (Adam); now, both call Nashville home. Songs: “Little Bit at a Time,” “Holding On Holding Out,” “Trailer Trash,” “The Best We Can Do Is Love,” and “Saint Anthony”
In Their Words: “It was fun playing and talking about new songs on some incredible sounding AEA gear with Brit Taylor on the Bell tone sessions!” – Adam Chaffins
“Brit and Adam’s songs are personal, yet universal. They are warm in person and it’s clear they spend a lot of time together singing, playing, and writing. Their vocals weave and intertwine so effortlessly.” – Julie Tan, AEA Ribbon Mics
Artist:Laurel Premo Hometown: Traverse City, Michigan Latest Album:Golden Loam
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
For me dance is such a huge influence. I’ve spent quite a few years as a dance musician for square dances, being a traditional fiddler. That role of being more the motor for the good time, as opposed to being the focal point, has always resonated deeply with me. But beyond that, I know that just my experience as a participant in social dance in both American old-time and Nordic traditions has given my body a vocabulary that comes out in my music. I’ve found a through line in my voice that, no matter the tempo of the music, I always am wanting to make these larger slower pulses, make longer groups of beats, tap my foot at a slower frequency. I’m certain that that longer embodiment of phrases, and the pull, and balance, from dance have played into my nature there.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I have a really early memory, I’m not sure what age, but before I was big enough to hold any instruments. I was in my bedroom, standing next to the door, and I could hear my folks playing music on the other side of the wall in the living room, my mom really tearing it up on some fiddle tune. In that moment, alone, I remember that I started air-fiddling and kind of marching around or dancing in the little corner. I just wanted to be part of whatever was going on there.
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
I took a while composing this lap steel track, “Father Made of River Mud,” from the new record. For a bit, it was separate pieces, in different tunings, that I didn’t know if I’d be able to fold together as one. It’s a really beautiful moment for the maker of a piece, when some kind of grace math helps everything line up in your head, and then you get to hear the thing for the first time in its full form. That tune is like a circle, it doesn’t really have to end at any one point.
What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?
I try and spend some time ruminating with memory that reflects back at me the elements of my personal experience that I want to embed in the performance, to make more vibrant what I’m laying down there for listeners. It’s almost a way of remembering myself to myself, because there are a lot of possible distractions when you’re recording or performing. Every little step of the setup could be something that takes you away from your body and the meaning you’re trying to imbue in the work. So, I just real quickly try to go into the wilds to try and counteract all of the civilization that I’m traversing through.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
In the last two to three years, my wild haunts have been woods, dunes, and rivers. I grew up in the woods, so shadows and green, what reverb the places with a great amount of life growing have, and the scents of being real close to the ground — those are all deep in me, and as an adult I go back to similar places to find quiet, and to kind of listen beyond that quiet. Walking rivers for the past few years, learning fly fishing, has brought about a whole other set of turns, including just a beautiful sideways weight from the gravity of the river flowing against you. I definitely take gestural impulses from my time spent in the wild, and work to keep all my senses open to what rhythms lay in front of me.
Artist:The Brother Brothers (Adam and David Moss) Hometown: Peoria, Illinois Latest Album:Calla Lily (out April 16, 2021, on Compass Records)
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
If I have to pick one, which is quite difficult, I’d have to pick John Hartford. I constantly admire, rediscover, and celebrate the effortlessness with which music and words flow out of him. When he writes, he writes about what he knows, and we are convinced to join him in his love of steamboats, old time Nashville, and so many other things that I’d normally walk on by. His musicality is so honest and of himself, and damn, it just sounds so good. He doesn’t subscribe to any “rules” and yet he’s so completely inside a style. — Adam
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
I have done a fair share of composition for dance, which has opened a whole new universe of creativity to me — the idea that movement, once catalogued, becomes an intentional means of expression has such a real and vibrant quality that no other art form can ever hope to encapsulate. Working with ballet dancers is amazing because the rigid tradition and pure athleticism of the art form creates an amazing palette that can really get inside different kinds of music, and the creativity flowing from choreographers of modern dance in NYC and around the world is just something so otherworldly but yet incredibly accessible. For some reference, I would recommend Batsheva Dance Company and the surrounding tradition of Gaga, and Nederlands Dance Theater. And of course the ever famous and incredible stewards of George Balanchine, the New York City Ballet. — David
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
This last year we’ve both been displaced by the pandemic and as a result have continuously traveled. Now, David is living with his fiancée and their dog in a scamp trailer, spending every day entirely surrounded by nature. I’m currently living in California and surfing every day. When you make your life in nature, you can’t help but let the waves and your wetsuit influence your rhythm and rhyme. The sunset is an impossible thing to describe, but we can keep trying. — Adam
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
There isn’t really such a thing as “a tough time writing a song,” in my experience. Songs, for me, are things found and worked out. If the process feels difficult, it usually requires waiting and trying different avenues. If you asked, “What is the longest it’s taken to write a song?” The answer would be a very very long time. — David
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
Honestly, I can’t imagine a better pairing than Russ & Daughters’ smoked fish spread and dancing to one of the hottest klezmer bands in NYC. Second only to that would be another trip to Lafayette, Louisiana, to spend another weekend at Blackpot Festival, hanging with our Cajun friends down there, playing music and eating the contest-winning gumbo, jambalaya, and gravies of the year. — Adam
Artist name:The Bones of J.R. Jones Hometown: Manlius, New York Latest Album:A Celebration Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): J.R./ Jonny, Jon Jon.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
My favorite memories are the unexpected ones and I mean that in the most literal sense. Most nights on tour I take the stage exhausted and it takes a song or two for me to fall in rhythm. I remember one night in while on tour in England I took the stage after a 8-hour drive, traveling across three different countries, going through customs and after getting a speeding ticket… my mood was sour, to say the least. The first song I played knocked me over. The crowd knew every word and sang as loud as my guitar was ringing. It turned out to be one of the best shows on that tour. That’s the magic of the stage, for that hour or so… reality disappears.
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
I think I am most moved and inspired by dancing. I am always in awe of the control and discipline dancers have… something I like to strive for in my music, but feel I never truly achieve because I let my emotions take the song away from me, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but not always where I want to go with my music. The beautiful thing about art is that one discipline often informs and adds to others. I often think about this while watching a dancer and how the music chosen or written for the piece is just as important as the choreography. The same goes for film and the visual arts.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I don’t think I knew it at the time, but I remember listening to Springsteen’s Born in the USA when I was young and feeling so completely invested and overwhelmed by the songs. It struck me deep and resonates with me till this day. The heartbreak, the hurt, the feeling like you are being left behind and the drive for recognition… all the while you are just doing the best you can with the hand you are dealt. Every time I step into a studio that album subconsciously shows up in the strangest ways in my production.
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
Every song is tough. I mean it, every damn song. I have never been fortunate enough to have a song just flow through me. And truthfully the only reason a song is ever done is because I have to record it, ha ha. I try to tell myself that a recording is a song at that one moment. That a song is a living thing and tomorrow it will change on me again and we will have to find a new balance between each other.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
Every time. I mean you have to. How else can you make anything feel relatable? You need to live it to a degree. It doesn’t need to be autobiographical, but it does need to be true.
Artist:Andy Leftwich Hometown: Carthage, Tennessee Song: “Through the East Gate” Release Date: March 19, 2021 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “‘Through the East Gate’ is a tune I wrote with the thought in mind of combining old-style fiddling with the new style of fiddlers that we hear today. I’ve always loved old traditional fiddling, and I wanted to somehow capture both the feel of the old style and combine it with the exciting licks and melodies that the newer style brings. This song reminds me of friends and family coming together to play music and to have a great time! I was so honored to have the legendary Mark Schatz join me on bass and clawhammer banjo. After we cut the track, we couldn’t resist recording a track of him dancing to this one!” — Andy Leftwich
Artist name:Lydia Luce Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Latest Album:Dark River
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
When I was in high school I was chosen to be in the Honor Orchestra of America… yes I was an orchestra nerd through and through. We got to perform with Christopher O’Reilly and had Benjamin Zander as a conductor. I was really into Radiohead and Christopher O’Reilly had just released his album of Radiohead covers for solo piano. He performed a few of the songs during our break and I was floored. I had a glimpse of these two worlds coming together, classical and popular music, and that really intrigued me. This was one of the moments I knew I wanted to continue to pursue music. Either that or when my mom took me to see Hilary Hahn play the Barber Violin Concerto in New York.
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
Dance is a big influence. I grew up dancing and it is still a big part of my life. Since moving to Nashville I have taken contemporary ballet, West African dance, and salsa dancing classes. I think about the movement of the songs when I write and ask myself how I would move to this song. For the music video of “Maybe in Time” I got to try out choreographing for the first time.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
I grew up by the ocean, but I am now landlocked in Nashville. I spend most of my time in nature on hikes or kayaking here in Nashville. We have so many beautiful waterfalls about an hour outside of the city. One of my favorite things to do is go on solo camping and hiking trips. I find this time is helpful for going in deep with myself. Dark River is the spawn of some beautiful solo adventures.
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
Oh I like this question… “Pink Moon” by Nick Drake and pad thai. “I Was an Eagle” by Laura Marling and butternut squash soup with a big ole hunk of sourdough bread.
What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?
My rituals pre-show have become driven by vocal health. I started getting very serious about my vocal health in 2019 before going on a two month long European tour with shows almost every night. Before each show I do a warm up for about 8-10 minutes and use a portable steam inhaler. I started working with a vocal coach who taught me so much about keeping my mind and body healthy on tour. My little ritual has become so meditative for me because I seek out the most quiet place and have this moment of stillness all to myself.
Artist:The Bright Siders (Kari Groff, MD, and Kristin Andreassen) Hometown: Brooklyn & Nashville! Latest album:A Mind of Your Own Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): How about a rejected song title? “Everybody Goes to Therapy” We actually recorded a demo of that one… but we might have to save it for these kids when they grow up!
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
There’s one album that influenced both of us deeply as children. The record is Free to Be…You and Me created in 1972 by author and actor Marlo Thomas, Carole Hart of Sesame Street and Letty Cottin Pogrebin of Ms. magazine. Free to Be… was a collection of songs and skits about gender issues, performed by Thomas and a cast of the era’s most prolific stars. The messages were clear to us as children (Girls can be anything! Boys can play with dolls too! Parents are people! Good stuff like that…). But the reason we listened again and again was because the music just sounded amazing. When we started to work together on the project of making kids’ music with a mental health message, this album gave us a gold standard to work toward. So here we are as adults feeling grateful for this music once again. — Kristin
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I don’t think I had a choice. I grew up in a very musical family. My parents were both music teachers as well as my grandfather. It was just a given that you would play music along with whatever else you decided to do. In my case, that was medicine and psychiatry. — Kari
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
Good question for a psychiatrist. Not that often. I usually try to own my own emotions! — Kari
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
My first true musical passion was actually traditional percussive dance, and I toured as a clogger before I started playing stringed instruments. Often, when I start working on a song, the melody and rhythm come most easily, and I always figured that was somehow related to the time I spent in the dance world. — Kristin
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
I tried to write a few songs in the early days of the pandemic but I couldn’t capture the intensity of the experience here in NYC so I chose to write a short children’s story instead (releasing soon!). — Kari
Dolly Parton kept her promise to bring good into the world in 2020 and beyond. For so many reasons, this is absolutely the Year of Dolly Parton.
Marking her 50th anniversary as an Opry member in October 2019, she told reporters, “This world is just so dark, ugly and awful. I just can’t believe how we just can’t have a little more light and a little more love. So, I’m going to make it my business to try to do songs that are more uplifting — not just all Christian-based songs but songs that are just about better things. Do better and just have a little more love, a little more light and just don’t be so dark and dirty!”
Although it seems like a million years ago now, Dolly launched a viral craze on January 21 with a meme that went around the world. Gotta love the acoustic guitar for Instagram!
Also in January, she notched a Top 10 track on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart with “Faith,” which basically transformed the John Hiatt classic into an international EDM hit. Co-starring in the video with her musical collaborators, Galantis, Parton camps things up as the world’s best-dressed bus driver.
Later in the month, Parton collected her ninth career Grammy Award, this time in the category of Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song, sharing the honor with For King and Country with “God Only Knows.” Although Parton wasn’t in attendance, the duo’s Joel Smallbone remarked from the podium, “To dear Dolly Parton, who is an incredible human being. It’s one of the great moments of our career to collaborate with her and her team.”
He continued, “I taught two of her managers in Sunday school growing up, so they were kind enough to reach out and play her the song. But she said something on a call. She said, ‘I love this song because it’s reaching to the marginalized, to the depressed, to the suicidal,’ which is all of us at some point. And then she said this, in her Dolly accent: ‘I’m going to take this song from Dollywood to Bollywood to Hollywood.’ And we did it, Dolly, we took it all the way.”
A few months into the pandemic, Parton told Instagram followers, “I think God is in this, I really do. I think he’s trying to hold us up to the light so we can see ourselves and see each other through the eyes of love. I think that when this passes, we’re all gonna be better people.”
She also revealed on social media that she’d donated a million dollars to Vanderbilt University help find a cure for the coronavirus. She wrote, “My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure. I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”
Incredibly, when news of the Moderna vaccine emerged in November, Parton’s contribution was duly noted. “Without a doubt in my mind, her funding made the research toward the vaccine go 10 times faster than it would be without it,” Abumrad told the Washington Post.
In April, she kicked off a series of bedtime stories, told online, in order to bring comfort to children who were scared about sheltering in place. “This is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while, but the timing never felt quite right,” she said. “I think it is pretty clear that now is the time to share a story and to share some love. It is an honor for me to share the incredible talent of these authors and illustrators. They make us smile, they make us laugh and they make us think.” Two of the chosen books she wrote herself: Coat of Many Colors and I Am a Rainbow.
In addition, a new line of uplifting greeting cards inspired by Parton appeared in Walmart stores over the summer. Meanwhile, musically, she responded to the pandemic with a beacon of optimism, titled “When Life Is Good Again.” She shared the song in tandem with an interview (while sitting on her porch in her first-ever Zoom call) with the series Time100 Talks: Finding Hope.
Bluegrass fans rejoiced in August as she made a surprise announcement that six of her albums from the early 2000s were finally available on streaming services, so how about adding title tracks of Little Sparrow and Halos & Horns to your Dolly playlists? Overall, 93 once-missing tracks are now available to stream.
Although she’s rarely controversial, Parton’s commentary about Black Lives Matter caused a commotion among its supporters and detractors — and even inspired a mural in East Nashville. She told Billboard in August, “I think that everybody needs to express themselves however they feel they have to. I’m not out here to tell you what to do. I don’t want you to tell me what to do. But I just do what my heart tells me to do, I ask God to direct me and lead me, and if I’ve got his direction, I don’t have to worry too much about anything else. But I do understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen. And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No! Everybody matters.”
In November, she commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Imagination Library – an incredible program she launched in 1995 in order to provide free books every month to preschool children — with a new documentary titled The Library That Dolly Built. Parton stated, “I am so excited that we can finally tell the whole story of the Imagination Library. It is certainly not just about me. Our story is the story of children, of families and communities who all share the dream to inspire kids to love to read and to love to learn. My hope is this documentary will encourage more towns, more states and even more countries to jump onboard. One thing is for sure, I think this is the best investment I have ever made.”
Those who have been fans of Dolly Parton for their whole lives were treated to two magnificent overviews in 2020. The first is a Time Life box set of her career on camera, available in two different configurations. One option for Dolly: The Ultimate Collection clocks in at 11 DVDs, and the other at 19 DVDs. Some of the most interesting footage comes from her variety shows, such as this clip of the superstar singing “Amazing Grace” with Glen Campbell (who, for some reason, has brought along his bagpipes).
The other retrospective is Songteller, a book of lyrics that doubles as a memoir. Compiled by Parton and noted journalist Robert K. Oermann, it portrays Parton as a composer whose catalog goes way deeper (and darker) than “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” and “I Will Always Love You.” Dorian Lynskey, a contributor to the L.A. Times, wrote, “Her shows are carnivals of good-natured inclusivity that unite everyone from LGBTQ millennials to MAGA-hat boomers under one roof. There is room for heartbreak but not deep cuts about suicide and arson. Still, she would not have included so many of these dramas of cruelty and suffering in Songteller if she did not believe that this harsher strain in her life and work was worth remembering. Her optimism stands on the shoulders of pain.”
And if all that isn’t enough, she gifted us with a holiday album and a network special (both titled A Holly Dolly Christmas), a Netflix movie (Christmas on the Square), and even a baking kit at Williams-Sonoma. It may be the only time in history that she’s been affiliated with the words “cookie cutter.”
Right before Thanksgiving, the iconic musician logged her 50th Grammy nomination, this time for “There Was Jesus,” a collaboration with Zach Williams in the Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song category. A week later, former President Barack Obama lamented that he hadn’t given Parton the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Perhaps that will happen in 2021?
Not that she’s short on awards. She picked up the new Hitmaker award from Billboard in December, and told viewers, “Of course, I’m proud of all the wonderful women in show business that write all these wonderful songs. I’d like to acknowledge a few — some of them older, kind of back in my day. Cindy Walker, who wrote some of the greatest songs ever, and of course Loretta Lynn, a wonderful, wonderful songwriter. And this day in time, of course, Taylor Swift, she’s just right up there, probably number one. And of course, Brandi Carlile, there’s just so many that write so many good songs. I think it’s so important that we acknowledge the women that write and sing in country music. And I think it’s also very important that they take control of their own business. I know I’ve had my own publishing company for years. Same with a lot of these women that I mentioned. But anyhow, I’ve just wanted to always say, ‘You go, girls!’ We can do it!” (Like hundreds of others, the trophy will be housed in her museum in Dollywood.)
This year, and in all years, we commend Dolly Parton for her work ethic and for making herself available to her fans. Yes, she knows how to market herself through visibility and personality, but in 2020, when so many of us have stayed in, she’s gone the extra mile to put herself out there, safely.
On November 30, she wound up in New York Times‘ Style magazine in its “Diva” series, alongside Patti LaBelle and Barbra Streisand. One of the most accurate depictions of what it’s like to be around Dolly (and to always wish you had more time to spend together), the article’s author Emily Lordi quotes Dolly talking about her ambition: “I just wanted to do really good work, and I wanted it to make a really big difference in the world … to uplift mankind and glorify God.”
Artist:Scythian Hometown: Front Royal, Virginia Song: “Galway City” Album:Roots & Stones Release Date: October 13, 2020 Label: Konenko Records
In Their Words: “We take a yearly trip to Ireland with our fans and have taken over 600 of them over the last seven years. There is one place we never miss — Galway City — and it never disappoints. So many magical nights. We wrote a song in tribute: a bunch Americans pulling up to the jewel of Ireland and falling in love with its cobblestone streets, cozy pubs, nooks and crannies, and coastal air. We hope ‘Galway City’ brings people back to happy days drinking and laughing with friends.” — Alex Fedoryka, Scythian
Photo credit: Brendan McLean
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