Basic Folk: Kris Delmhorst

Kris Delmhorst is not a good sleeper. The Western Massachusetts songwriter is usually awake from 2 or 3 a.m. to about 4 or 5 a.m. Sometimes it feels nice and floaty, but other times she is wide awake worrying about anything her brain can get a hold of. This is similar to a feeling with which she ended her tenth record, Ghosts in the Garden, with the song “Something to Show.” Thankfully, she set us straight and explained that, indeed, the track is a hopeful prayer that she will have something to show for all the questioning, trying, pushing through, and general work that she and fellow humans are doing. Too bad it can’t happen in the daylight hours. In our conversation for Basic Folk, we talk about this and the other themes and songs on the new album, like the unbearable emotional density of summer ending, ambient restlessness during destruction, carrying unresolved loves, and, of course, death.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • AMAZON • MP3

Kris experienced a great loss in 2021 with the death of her dear friend and collaborator Billy Conway. Her husband, Jeffrey Foucault, memorialized Billy in his 2024 album, The Universal Fire, which he called “a working wake” for their friend. He appeared on Basic Folk and spoke at length about Billy and what he meant to the Boston music community. I encourage you to listen to that conversation and Jeff’s record. Kris had known Billy for many decades; he produced a couple of her early albums and had been a huge presence in her life. The title track, “Ghosts in the Garden,” addresses Billy’s death, which sounds like it was a beautiful one, something that not very many people experience. He was surrounded by a houseful of friends and family celebrating and keeping him company up until the moment he passed.

There are many types of ghosts on the album: lost loves and past mistakes, roads not taken, and our possible futures, too. It was recorded in rural Maine at Great Northern Sound, which is inside an 1800s farmhouse that must keep its own ghosts. Kris, a great lover of collaboration, brings in many guest vocalists like Rose Cousins, Anaïs Mitchell, Ana Egge, Taylor Ashton, Rachel Baiman, Anna Tivel, and her husband, Jeffrey. I was surprised to learn that she had not actually planned for any guest vocalists. She made the decision, recorded some reference mixes in Maine, and listened on the drive home. She was startled to discover that she heard each guest vocalist on the track with her in the car, which prompted her to write some emails and get them all on the record. The songs want what the songs want, so you better give it to them or else… more ghosts?


Photo Credit: Sasha Pedro

LISTEN: Jon Dee Graham, “there’s a ghost on the train”

Artist: Jon Dee Graham
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “there’s a ghost on the train”
Album: only dead for a little while
Release Date: November 10, 2023
Label: Strolling Bones Records (a subsidiary of New West)

In Their Words: “So, my old friend Charlie Hunter, who started Roots on The Rails – Train adventures with live music. We’ve been to see polar bears in Churchill, [Manitoba] on the Hudson! – had made friends with the guy who found and restored The City of New Orleans train of Steve Goodman fame. Charlie asked if I’d play the [train’s] first run from Chicago to NOLA. I was in.

“It’s such an old and iconic train, I got to talking with one of the porters and I said, ‘I bet this train’s got a few ghosts.’ He got all serious and said, ‘Oh, this train is haunted as hell!’ No matter how I wheedled him he wouldn’t say anymore than that.

“So I’m playing on and off late into the night. At one point during a break I’m heading back to the baggage car to have a smoke and as I’m approaching one of the doors between cars, I see a hazy figure on the other side, I get all gooseflesh, and it keeps coming and I think, ‘Sweet Jesus! I’m seeing a ghost on the City of New Orleans!’ When I reached the door, I realized that I was seeing my own reflection in the door’s window. Relieved, but disappointed, I pushed on through to the baggage car. When I entered the dark baggage car, I caught a brief glimpse of 3 or 4 guys sitting in the back and then it was gone… another trick of the light.” – Jon Dee Graham

Track Credits:

Produced by Jon Dee Graham, Michael Hardwick, and Stuart Sullivan.
Recorded by Stuart Sullivan at Wire Studio in Austin, Texas.
Engineered by Stuart Sullivan.
Mastered by Carter Greeves.


Photo Credit: Darrin Back

LISTEN: CJ Garton, “I’m Talking to Ghosts”

Artist: CJ Garton
Hometown: Bristow, Oklahoma
Song: “I’m Talking to Ghosts”
Album: Tales of the Ole West and Other Libations to Please the Palate
Label: G-Bar Records/Cowboy Carnival Publishing
Release Date: September 16, 2021 (vinyl); January 14, 2022 (digital album)

In Their Words: “‘I’m Talking To Ghosts’ is one of those kind of songs you hear and you just feel it. It leans on that edge of life and death and the unknowing of what lies beyond. It’s fascinating how much we still don’t know or understand, it peaks our curiosity and invites our imagination to play in that realm even for just a few minutes as it carries us deep into the catacombs of our subconscious.” — CJ Garton


Photo credit: Ty King/G-Bar Films

The BGS Life Weekly Roundup: Haunted Honky Tonks, Southern Shopping, Smoking Supplies and More

We're not just into music here at the BGS. We want to paint an entire picture for you, knitting together the lifestyles, talents, and culture of this Americana quilt we love so dearly. That's why we've taken the time to scour the web and collect the best food, style, travel, and lifestyle pieces that are affecting hearts and minds in a positive way. Here are some of our favorite stories of the week below. Do you have any recommendations? Let us know in the comments!

Culture

Photo c/o Bitter Southerner

• A haunted honky tonk? The Bitter Southerner explores the ghostly origins of one Kentucky beer joint. 

Food

Photo c/o Oxford American

The Oxford American looks closely at the South's culinary renaissance. 

Style

Photo c/o T Magazine

• The South's best shops, according to Garden & Gun

• SMOKING IS BAD FOR YOU. But if you're gonna kill yourself and/or break the law, do it in style

Travel

Photo c/o National Geographic

National Geographic chronicles the endless charm of the general store. 

• A badass grandma ran the entire perimeter of the United States.