LISTEN: Carley Arrowood, “Moondancer”

Artist: Carley Arrowood
Hometown: Newton, North Carolina
Song: “Moondancer”
Release Date: October 27, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Moondancer’ tells the story of a Cherokee girl who sneaks out at night and is obsessed with capturing a wild white horse. I started writing it one evening several years ago after looking for arrowheads in my Mamaw’s garden, ironically around this time of year. As that chilly breeze blew, the line, ‘Her longing echoes on the breeze, but it never finds relief,’ just took root in my mind, and the girl’s repetitious, hopeless calling is what shaped the chorus and the rest of the tune. Eventually she learns to just love the horse she names from afar, but the deep longing in her heart still lingers as she realizes Moondancer can never be hers. I’m so grateful to Daniel, Nick, Tabitha, Jeff, and Tony for lending their talents, and to Jim and Clay for producing and mixing what has become one of my favorite tunes on my upcoming record.” – Carley Arrowood

Track Credits:

Carley Arrowood – fiddle, vocal
Daniel Thrailkill – acoustic guitar
Jeff Partin – acoustic bass, Dobro
Nick Dumas – mandolin
Tony Creasman – drums
Tabitha Benedict – banjo


Photo Credit: Laci Mack Photography

LISTEN: An American Forrest, “Dark to Dark”

Artist: An American Forrest
Hometown: Powatke, Oregon
Song: “Dark to Dark”
Album: O Bronder, Donder Yonder?
Release Date: May 10, 2019
Label: OK Records

In Their Words: “When I apprenticed to the study of horsemanship, my wages were bed and board; my hours were dark to dark. This song comes from being just as ‘green,’ or uneducated, as the horse you’re riding, and a song about growing from that, maturing in ways you don’t expect, learning patience and discipline and sensitivity from the horse while teaching those things to the horse. What is a ‘horse as light as morning?’ Well, that horse could be light in color, or it could be finely trained and ‘light’ on the reins. A Barb-y Mustang would be a horse descended from feral North American horses showing characteristics of the old Spanish Barb breed.” — Forrest Van Tuyl, An American Forrest


Photo credit: Nicole Freshley