Artist:Aisha Badru Hometown: Orlando, Florida Song: “The Way Back Home” Album:The Way Back Home EP Release Date: December 3, 2021 Label: Nettwerk Records
In Their Words: “During my early 20s, I left home, pursed my wildest dreams, traveled the world, and made decisions with my heart that allowed me to experience the fullness of life. This freedom allowed me to become the person I am today. ‘The Way Back Home’ is written from the perspective of someone who understands that in order for one to be whole, they have to go on a self-exploration journey alone. This song explores non-possessiveness in relationships. It embodies a confidence that allows our loved ones to grow without the fear of losing them.” — Aisha Badru
In July we put together a playlist of bluegrass songs for summer vacation and once the inspiration was flowing, it was difficult to stop! We thought we should return to the theme, but slightly zoomed out, to include songs from across the roots music landscape. With the summer still shining, enjoy these 17 folk, Americana, and country songs perfect for your road trip playlist.
“Ride Out in the Country” – Yola
Yola was a 2020 Best New Artist nominee at the Grammys and she’s just returned with a new, full-length album on Easy Eye Sound, Stand For Myself. The entire project is lush and resplendent, like the glory days of orchestral, big-sound country-pop in the ‘60s and ‘70s. For this playlist, though, we return to her prior release, Walk Through Fire, and the perfectly country track, “Ride Out in the Country.” Take the scenic byways and crank the volume!
“I Like It When You’re Home” – Della Mae
One of the nicest silver linings of vacation is missing home – and that delicious feeling of returning to your own space and your own bed after being away. And your loved one(s), too! Della Mae captures that sentiment in this jammy, rootsy track from their album, Headlight. Take the day off, drive north, sit by a lake.
“A Little Past Little Rock” – Lee Ann Womack
A truly quintessential driving song. A must-add even if your vacation route comes nowhere near Arkansas. The baritone guitar intro, the shout-along-with-the-lyrics chorus, the whimsically late ‘90s production. A banger. A bop.
“Sunny and Warm” – Keb’ Mo’
Keb’ Mo’ is a master of vibes. His single “Sunny and Warm” showcases the acoustic blues musician in a more traditional R&B light – and the impact and result are simply golden. This track will have you craving your happy place, wherever that warm and sunny locale may be.
“Heavy Traffic Ahead” – Bill Monroe
Look, we’re The Bluegrass Situation! We’ve gotta get our bluegrass kicks in somewhere – bluegrass is roots music, after all. Given that we left this classic by the Big Mon himself off our Bluegrass Songs for Summer Vacation we felt it was worth inclusion here. And worth a mention so that you’ll go check out the entirely bluegrass playlist, too!
“Country Radio” – Indigo Girls
Finally a country song about country radio – and cruising around aimlessly listening to it – that is enjoyable and free of the guilt associated with the false nostalgia, conservative politics, authenticity signalling, and post-2000s country. Especially the kind most often played on the radio! This Indigo Girls track is testament to all the folks out there who love country music, even if it doesn’t always love them back. Don’t worry, it will. Eventually! (Read the BGS interview.)
“White Noise, White Lines” – Kelsey Waldon
If you catch yourself daydreaming, in a dissociative or meditative trance as you keep it between the lines, Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Kelsey Waldon has the exact soundtrack for you. “Whie Noise, White Lines,” the title track of her most recent album, speaks to that near-trope-ish phenomenon of losing oneself amid the countless miles traveled while living the life of a traveling musician. Waldon, as in most of her music, accomplishes this motif without stereotypes or clichés, and the result is a song that will be a staple on vacation playlists for decades to come.
“Table For One” – Courtney Marie Andrews
A variation on the same theme, this time from Courtney Marie Andrews, “Table For One” is gauzy and lonesomely trippy. “You don’t wanna be like me / this life ain’t free,” the singer pleads, seeking a sense of reality in a life almost entirely abided within liminal spaces. Find peace in the redwoods, but try to hold on to it. You might lose it twenty miles later.
“Two Roads” – Valerie June
Cosmic and longing, Valerie June distills Kermit the Frog’s “the lovers, the dreamers, and me” into album form with her latest outing, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers. Whatever bug you’ve been bitten by – rambling, restlessness, cabin fever, listlessness – let this song and this album scratch that itch. And as you let the miles fade behind you, on whichever of the two roads you take, don’t forget to look up… at the moon and stars and beyond.
“Christine” – Lucy Dacus
Whether or not you’ve experienced the beautiful, transcendent, and heart-rending forbidden love of being queer — on the outside looking in on love that society has constructed to which you’ll never have access — Lucy Dacus’ fantastic, alt/indie roots pop universe will give you a crystalline window into this very particular iteration of unrequited love on “Christine.” The song feels almost as though you’ve woken from a warm, sunny, time-halting afternoon nap in the back seat of a car yourself.
“It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” – Darrell Scott
Darrell Scott goes two for two, landing on both our bluegrass summer vacation round-up and our rootsy list, too! “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” is THE song for the moment you realize you’re out of the office, away from your chores, without a care in the world — whether you have rice cooking in your microwave or not.
“Hometown” – Lula Wiles
For those summers when all you can muster is a trip home. Lula Wiles don’t just trade in nostalgia and hometown praise, though, they take on the subject with a genuine, measured perspective that picks up paradoxes, turns them over, and places them back down for listeners. It’s a subtly charming earworm, too.
“Heavenly Day” – Patty Griffin
“Oh heavenly day / All the clouds blew away / Got no trouble today…” The exact intention to be channeling during vacation! Don’t let your summer getaway be one of those vacations from which you end up needing a vacation. Leave your troubles behind, have a heavenly day.
“Midnight in Harlem” – Tedeschi Trucks Band
Your travels may not bring you even within the same state as Harlem, but this song had still better be on your road trip playlist. There’s almost no song better to put on at midnight, wherever you may be roaming, than Tedeschi Trucks’ “Midnight in Harlem.”
“Outbound Plane” – Suzy Bogguss
Every time I step into an airport my anxiety seems to sing, “I don’t want to be standing here with this ticket for an outbound plane.” It’s always true. This writer has not yet returned to the jetways post-COVID, so we’ll see how that goes. At least there will be the security and comfort of this jam (composed by Nanci Griffith and Tom Russell) from Suzy Bogguss’ heyday.
“455 Rocket” – Kathy Mattea
There are plenty of modern versions of muscle cars available and on the road today, but not a single one is an Oldsmobile 455 Rocket! Kathy Mattea represents the rockabilly/Americana tradition of paeans to automobiles and gearhead culture with this loping tribute to a 455 Rocket, an early cut for Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. If you happen to take your country drives in a muscle car, regardless of brand, this track is for you.
“Take the Journey” – Molly Tuttle
What better way to conclude our playlist than with this always-timely reminder from Molly Tuttle? It might be a cliché, though it really is true: It’s about the journey, not the destination. So take the journey! Enjoy its twists, turns, and be in the moment. And take some clawhammer guitar along with you.
Artist:Claire Hawkins Hometown: New York City Song: “Small Doses” Release Date: June 18, 2021
In Their Words: “‘Small Doses’ was the last song I wrote before the pandemic, when I was still performing in youth hostels across Europe on the Foreign Voices Travelers Tour. It was a weird, wonderful time that was brought to an abrupt end in March 2020. It wasn’t until several months later that I revisited the song. I reached out to some artist friends, and suddenly we had this fantastic collaborative project to work on together during lockdown. The track was produced by Katie Buchanan, who produced my first-ever single when I was 17; the music video, which will be out later this month, was shot and directed by Florence Bradish, who created the music video for my song ‘Dublin.’ After so many months of staying apart, the opportunity to make art with my friends has made this release all the more special.” — Claire Hawkins
Artist:Morningsiders Hometown: New York City Song: “This Could Be Good” Album:Easy Does It Release Date: July 23, 2021 Label: Nettwerk
In Their Words: “We started writing this project after lockdowns hit, and it was starting to sink in that this was a long-term situation. I wanted to write something about aimless nights out with friends (since there were none coming up anytime soon). We knew we wanted it to feel dance-y and delicate, but also hazy as if you’re kind of floating. The song is meant to capture this rare feeling when you just can’t put a foot wrong with the person you’re with. You’re both laughing at the same things, both on the same wavelength, both equally curious about the other. When that happens the rest of the world recedes away a little, almost like background noise.
“Instrumentally, the challenge was to build an arc out of the same musical pattern that repeats throughout. The entrances and exits of the strings and drums come and go around the steady heartbeat of the tune. We ended up giving the last couple choruses over completely to the instruments, and that’s probably my favorite part of the song. I don’t have to repeat ‘this could be good’ because that feeling is just hanging in the air at that point. For the video we knew that we wanted to bring the tune to life by working with Ilya Vidrin and Jessi Stegall, who are two incredible dancers based in Boston. They totally captured a certain lightheartedness, but also the vulnerability and obsession that come along with falling deeper and deeper into a relationship. Watching them move makes the song feel less like an internal monologue and more like a feeling that is shared and nurtured between two people.” — Magnus Ferguson, Morningsiders
In Their Words: “‘New Light’ was one of the first love songs I wrote. It’s about the early time in a relationship where you keep finding little things that change the way you see a person (hopefully good things)! This song is also a little existential — it deals with the wonder and mystery of the universe as well as that of love. When you meet someone that you feel so deeply connected to, it feels like there must be a reason you were brought together, and yet rationally, I don’t believe that there is. I’m not sure I’ll ever know exactly if there’s a greater meaning to life, but for me this song is about being okay with that, and always finding a new way to look at beautiful things.” — Ava Earl
Artist:Malena Cadiz Hometown: Los Angeles, California Song: “Motel Evangeline” Album:Chasing Smoke Release Date: July 16, 2021
In Their Words: “‘Motel Evangeline’ was inspired by a motel on the coast of Quebec, all about loss and memory, about returning alone to a place that was once meaningful to a relationship. The verses touch on that beautiful, arrogant feeling of youth, that maybe these moments can last forever. ‘Wandering stars in the parking lot / All you lose is all you got / Oh we got lots of time.’ The chorus reminisces about swimming way out past the breakers, wishing the other person was still there. For the video the director Audrey McGee and I were inspired by plant masks and the work of Phyllis Galembo. We used dried flowers to create the ‘creature’ and the tulle as an ephemeral character, like memory difficult to grasp and always transforming.” — Malena Cadiz
Artist:Erik Stucky Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Heaven Only Knows” Album:Good Vibrations Release Date: August 6, 2021 Label: Binasaur Records
In Their Words: “This song is one of my favorites on the album. It brings a bit of depth and intensity to the concept of Good Vibrations. Specifically, there are things we can do with our time to improve this situation: ‘Heaven only knows what is possible, if we love ourselves like we are capable.’ This has a bit of a double meaning in that love for others is only possible to the extent that we love our individual selves. We are all one, and when we further love our individual self we simultaneously extend that love for the greater whole… humanity, the world, the universe, the never-ending consciousness. Amen.” — Erik Stucky
In Their Words: “‘Americana’ is a song about race and pain. It’s a song about being in the in-between. This is a song for multiracial Americans — for every person who’s been asked, ‘What are you?’ This is for the people who are white, and Black, and brown all at once, and at the same time never white, or Black, or brown enough. This is my love letter to America, I think we need to break up? This song is me asking, post-racial America? For who?” — Naomi Westwater
Rachel Baiman has never been afraid to delve head first into speaking her mind on the state of the world through her music. But with her new project Cycles, she approaches that task through a new lens focused on narratives that spark empathy in this era of entrenched polarization. Recorded in Melbourne, Australia, and steeped in its indie rock influences, she leans into a new sonic landscape with ease, collaborating with co-producer and Oh Pep! front woman Olivia Hally.
“This album started with the title song ‘Cycles,’ which was a co-write between me and Olivia,” Baiman says. “That happened around 2018 when she was in Nashville. I had been a big fan of hers for a long time. She asked if I would want to write with her when she was in town and I was like, ‘Absolutely, that is my dream.’ So we had that one writing session and it was a magical musical experience. It was kind of like going on a date, like an amazing first date. Because there was such a great working connection, I asked if she would want to co-produce the whole record.”
During her long-awaited first tour since early 2020, Baiman called in to BGS.
BGS: This album takes a bit of a departure from earlier bluegrass leanings. What has been influencing your sound these days?
Baiman: This album in particular was really influenced by the Americana and indie rock sounds coming out of Melbourne and that is what led me to want to work with Olivia Hally. There are a lot of artists and bands that I love from that town in this exciting roots music scene. Oh Pep! obviously was an influence on this record since Olivia had such a hand in it. But also I love Courtney Barnett, Dan Parsons, and The Maes. There are so many cool bands coming out of that scene. That was the impetus for going for that soundscape. Also, a lot of the more contemporary artists that I have been listening to are more in that rock and grunge vibe (probably more so than I would want to get to myself). I’m a huge Lilly Hiatt fan and Margaret Glasmeade as well.
You collaborated with amazing women on this record. Was that an intentional choice?
Yeah I’m always wanting to work with the right people first and foremost, but I definitely was thinking about how I could work with more women. Especially for the thematic nature of the record. A lot of it is written about women’s stories and about family. I did think it would be really cool to work with a female producer and when Olivia and I hit it off, I knew it would be awesome. It did change the environment. I felt very comfortable and at ease in the studio, which ideally you always want to be.
But when you are working with someone who you feel a little intimidated by, that can change the dynamic and limit your free flow of ideas. I am a huge fan of Olivia’s so that easily could have been the case but the dynamic was such that she made it feel very, very comfortable. There was no ego or shooting down of ideas. I think that when you are a woman in a male-dominated space, even if people are trying to make you feel comfortable, there is always going to be a layer of feeling like you are the outsider or that you have to prove yourself. Having that removed from the situation really did make a huge difference.
Bree Hartley is an incredible drummer. She was a rock star in this situation because we actually had to record all of the drums first because of a studio mishap. That’s a really crazy way to make a record. She had to go in there and make 12 drum tracks to nothing. She had one chance and that’s what we had to use and she nailed it. And Shani Gandhi is obviously such a rock star engineer. I was almost shy to reach out to her because she is so established. I was really stoked that she was into the project and she did an amazing job mixing it. Those are some of the chief players and all of them stand out in their fields.
This question is inspired by Cycle’s first single, “Joke’s On Me.” I read that you’d had a bummer of an experience in your music career that inspired this song. Can you talk about what some of the challenges in the music industry are and what you might change if you could?
That’s such a big question. I think a lot of the challenges honestly stem from the way that people in the country are treated when they don’t have a regular 9 to 5 job with benefits. Obviously healthcare is a huge challenge. Any kind of retirement plan is a huge challenge. Just having those basic safety nets that make you feel like if something goes wrong, you won’t be out on the streets and that your basic human needs are met, like health care. That is a countrywide systemic issue. I wish that everyone had access to that because it would dramatically change the experience of freelancing or being an artist.
On the artist side, everyone is trying to create art that is new and beautiful or that innovates. On the business side, innovation is scary because people don’t have a model. There is always going to be a disconnect between the art and the commodification of the art. When you are trying to make a living off of art, you have to have team members that need to make money off of you. …
For me, [I was] getting dumped from a booking agency for no reason other than they were merging and the people at the top of the new company decided I wasn’t making them enough money. It was hard because I knew I had a new record. I knew I needed one more record cycle and I could be there, just nine more months basically. I think that my personal agent would have kept going but he didn’t have a choice. You become a commodity because they aren’t looking at the art and thinking about ideas you have for the next record, they don’t care. They are like, “I looked at the spreadsheet and you didn’t make enough, bye!” I don’t have any big solution, but I do think there are some things we can do as a country to make sure that everyone is doing ok.
You are very vocal about what you think and feel. What is your experience like in speaking your mind through your art about the state of the world?
It can be hard. It is similar to everything in this country right now. It is really polarizing. A lot of people do rally behind it and feel heard and seen and want to be supportive of it. And then there are a lot of people who get mad. I’m trying to think about what makes people empathize with each other. It is a different landscape than it was in 2017. When I put out Shame, I felt like it was a really important message to go out at the time. I felt like this needed to be said and there wasn’t a ton of political music happening at that time. I think people really appreciated that, if they felt like they needed to be heard in that way. I have had a lot of women reach out and say that album has been really helpful to them. That is super meaningful to me.
Now I feel like we have spent four years screaming at each other and everybody knows the sides. We know the talking points, like everything has been said a thousand times. When I was writing the material for this new album I was trying to get below that layer of shouting and work through stories and people. I think generally people can empathize and understand each other as humans. It is just that we get immediately triggered by certain talking points and shut down. I’m not trying to say, “Kumbaya, we are all one.” There are some serious problems. It is about wanting to reach people on an emotional level. It is hard to disagree with someone’s personal experience.
You have been an advocate for mental health and the power of art and music to help out in times of need. How does creating help with your mental health?
It is a necessity for me in terms of my mental health. Some people have strategic ways that they work on their writing and I think that is great. I should probably do it. But for me it has always been haphazard. I have a really strong feeling or a really strong push and then I need to write it down. It needs to get out. It is very therapeutic. There is something about being able to create something new that feels important. I’m essentially a little bit addicted to that. There is so much negativity and destruction and bad news all the time. For me, my anxiety lives in the global news and politics. That is what triggers me. People have different things that get them down but for me it is very much the state of the world.
Creating acts as a real counterbalance when I feel like I can put something beautiful into the world. Especially when I get to do that with a band and go record it and see it come to its full realized potential. It is such a magical feeling because you are actually creating something instead of tearing something down or watching something or someone being torn down. Playing live shows and having that connection and being able to be a part of that magical moment that happens with live music, I didn’t even realize how much it meant until we got to play the first show after the pandemic and I was like, “WOW, I feel like a piece of me has returned.”
Artist:Pat Byrne Hometown: Borris, County Carlow, Ireland Song: “I Woulda Done It for You” Album:Into the Light Release Date: July 9, 2021
In Their Words: “‘I Woulda Done It for You’ is fun, quirky and upbeat, belying the tragic lyrics. The central character is dealing with the immediate aftermath of a breakup, listing all the crazy things he would have done for his recently estranged partner — and a final plea for one more chance. This song is a co-write with Miles Zuniga of the band Fastball. We met shortly after I moved to Austin and immediately hit it off. Like most songwriters, I was guarded about my work and tended to think none of it was good enough. I had written like ten or eleven verses, too many. After having the song in my notebook for years, it took Miles five minutes to hone the verses and gift me with a chorus. I learned a lot from the experience and am so lucky to have mentors like Miles.” — Pat Byrne
Photo credit: Samantha Della Fave
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