Tag: indie

For Indie-Folk Sensation Mon Rovîa, ‘Atonement’ is Just the Beginning

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

When one really digs below the surface of Mon Rovîa, there’s this intricate kaleidoscope of self, this winding path where the road to the here and now for the singer-songwriter has truly been one of restless resilience, dogged passion, and spiritual curiosity.

The rising artist has already lived this whirlwind existence of trials and tribulations, but also one of triumph and transcendence. Born in the West African country of Liberia, Mon Rovîa (taking his stage name from Liberia’s capital city) was adopted by Christian missionaries and taken from his homeland in the midst of an extremely violent and daunting civil war,

From there, Mon Rovîa bounced around the United States in a highly religious household, one where he wasn’t exposed to modern culture or the endless depths of music, either new or old. But, nonetheless, he fostered many existential questions about his unfolding life, with one main query in the forefront: Who am I?

The intricate nature of Mon Rovîa became heavy and tumultuous within his heart and soul, these deep layers of internal conflict. Being an immigrant in America. Being a Black man raised in a white family. Being adopted with no sense of his biological parents. And being filled with survivor’s guilt about leaving Liberia.

Yet, it was writing in his journals that launched the long process of healing and understanding within Mon Rovîa. Those words, thoughts and emotions soon took shape as songs, all while he began to learn to play the ukulele, guitar and other instruments. Add into that, his continued exploration of recorded music itself.

What has resulted is this unique tone, a vibrant crossroads of indie-folk, Americana, and shoegaze pop stylings, with many viewing Mon Rovîa as a talented rising voice in the Afro-Appalachian folk scene.

Fast-forward to 2025, where Mon Rovîa has become a very popular star on TikTok, yet his soothing sounds and melodies echo far across the massive social media platform. Several studio EPs have been released to wide acclaim, with the latest, Act 4: Atonement, putting a period on this chapter of his art – his eyes now aimed at the unknown horizon of his intent, head held high and optimistic.

When you’re looking out the window these days – in terms of your career, where the music’s going, and also where you’re going – what are you seeing?

Mon Rovîa: From even last year, I think things have accelerated a lot faster than I would’ve hoped in music, to be honest. It still seems really fresh though. It’s a lot of taking in the new fans and a lot of the joy that’s come with the acceptance of the music on a broader scale. At times, I wonder if I was really prepared for all of it, because a lot of these songs and a lot of the roadmap was written from a place of deep sadness and things that I was going through at the time. It’s crazy when you get to the place of living the thing you hoped for and realize that, “Oh man, there’s longevity that needs to be tied along with it now, since it’s becoming something that people are really desiring.” But, I’m very thankful. I try to be truly in tune with my energy and spirit. The world is super heavy and I tend to feel it a lot.

As things get crazier for you, expectations may shift and things change. How do you keep that piece of you that’s honest and real intact in your music?

A lot of it is, for me at least, having perspective. I know that’s easier said than done. But, being able to understand that you’re doing what you love and to be honest with whatever it is you’re presenting. Write what you know, write what you feel.

Your popularity soared through TikTok and now you’re playing more live shows. Has that been an interesting transition in being face to face with your fans that normally see you from behind a screen?

Absolutely. It’s totally different. I’m a pretty quiet, shy person. So now, transitioning to moving from the screen and having that barrier, that river that can divide, all the little things that come into play when you’re face to face? It was a little bit scary at first, especially with the first couple tours we did. With being in front of a crowd, the most important piece I think that I’ve learned now is the stories that I’m telling are the tales of my journey with each song. As I play music, that’s helped me become a lot more confident onstage, because I know what I’m speaking about and I know what the songs are about. It’s not this kind of idleness and just good music to listen to. I try to take the listener a little bit deeper, and that’s fun for me to do that. It creates a lot more fun. I’m just not someone that likes to be in front of a lot of people or be the center of attention, to be honest. I prefer writing things in silence, being in my room and contemplating.

@mon_rovia_boy To those alchemizing your traumas… this is “to watch the world spin without you” 🫂 #folkmusic #mentalhealth #derealization ♬ To Watch The World Spin Without You – Mon Rovîa

With all of this going on, you’re also on this journey of finding yourself and figuring out who you are, where you came from, and where you’re going.

I think every adopted kid eventually hits the point where they want to know so many different things about their life, their story, what their background was. And that’s what was happening to me around the time of [my 2021 album] Dark Continent. And that’s even before we were taking this route of Afro-Appalachia. But, it led me to dive deeper into music and I just happened to be [living in Chattanooga, Tennessee]. Being in this area helped me to dive deeper into where all this music kind of came from and the history [behind folk, bluegrass, and Americana]. So here I am, just a Liberian refugee, but somehow in the perfect hands of history learning from where I was, not necessarily anything else. It is a very full circle moment.

That’s got to be a lot to wrestle with as you get older and you become your own person. I mean, there’s a lot of layers there.

So many layers. But don’t forget, there’s that layer of being the Black kid in a white missionary Christian family. And then the experience of growing up Black in that private school kind of world, having no tie to the African American experience. Being exiled as well from that group, because I didn’t have the same upbringing. I was always looked at as being a white Black person, a Black person that spoke white, because I spoke pretty properly. Kids that have my experience are very lonely, you know? There’s not really a place you fit, because you don’t fit with the white kids because you’re Black in their eyes, clearly. And then the African Americans don’t accept you because you don’t know their world either.

It was a very tough upbringing. I was very quiet and I watched a lot. I learned how to be what I am in social settings, how to relate to [others] and keep things to myself a lot, just try to fit in as best as possible. It was tough. It was lonely. Music didn’t really come to me as Mon Rovîa until 2018, and that’s when I really started to take music a little bit more seriously. [Growing up], it was more of an outlet. It was just a fun thing I did with my brothers. I didn’t think of a career or me being good at it, because nobody said I was good at music or writing music. My friends did like my writing. They thought I was very clever, but I didn’t consider it for myself at that time. I just did it.

With this period of your life and career, it seems Act 4: Atonement seems like the end of the beginning of this chapter of your music and your journey.

Yeah. That’s what Atonement is. It’s the end of the beginning. Everyone is a hero in this story of life. So, everyone has their hero’s journey, whatever that is to them. Some don’t make it to becoming the hero, which is a tragic thing. And some do, but everyone has that journey in their life. For me, this atonement ending is the start of what I am now. I think it gets me to this place where I’ve gone through a lot of difficult things. Hopefully now, in my next chapters of Mon Rovîa, whatever that is, I can atone to the people – people that are hurting and going through different things. The point is, I can hopefully now be some kind of light to these people, where I can tell them things I’ve learned along the way. And hopefully it helps them through their things and through their time. That’s the important piece of what atonement is – the knowledge then turns hopefully to wisdom.

Have you been back to Liberia at all?

The last time I was there I was 10 or so. But, I’m supposed to go back next year to see my sister and brother. They still live there.

Have you tracked down your parents?

My mother passed away during the war and my father also did. I keep in contact with my sister, and that’s only recently. Growing up, these people were not in my thoughts. I tried to forget a lot of these things and just assimilate to American culture. It wasn’t until I was older that that guilt set in where I realized, “Man, I hadn’t even thought about anybody else in my country or the gift that it is to be chosen,” because it could have been my sister or brother that was chosen to come to America. I was just picked out of the group of them like, “Hey, he should go with this missionary family.” So, a lot of those things didn’t even come to my mind until I was older, to really see how much time I wasted absolutely doing nothing for anyone else but myself in this place. At that time, I was going through a lot of different vices and dealing with a lot of different bad things. I was constantly drinking and deep into my depression and lack of understanding of what my purpose was at all.

Or who you are.

I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t really know my past and history. I had glimpses of it from just some things my adopted parents had told me. But, I hadn’t dove into it until I contacted my sister and heard the real thing, the truth of it all. The goal is to go back [to Liberia] and try to get some colors from my native country and, and just, you know, spend some time with people that I haven’t seen in a long time and learn. The last time I went was really difficult. When I was there, it was in the middle of the second civil war and we ended up staying longer than expected because the child soldiers had taken over the capital city of Monrovia. It was a really scary time and that was the last memory of Liberia during the conflict. That’s a whole other cathartic piece of my journey, to [once again] step foot on that soil. I think once I step foot on that soil, I’ll probably weep. A lot of things have been bottled up and lodged into different areas of my body, [and will be] released onto the continent. But, not until I go there. My story won’t end until I go back. That’s a major piece.

You have such an interesting perspective, because I think a lot of times people in this country take things for granted, where they’ve either never traveled out of this country or they’re not from other countries. I would surmise that you probably see things that are beautiful in this country that a lot of us don’t acknowledge.

Yeah. There’s so much beauty in this country. Through all of the tirades against each other, there is still so much goodness. I mean, being able to walk out your door and be able to get anything you want at a store that’s there and not be–

Afraid to go for that walk.

Not afraid to go, yeah. Not afraid to go on that walk knowing I might not come home today, and there’s many countries like that currently. People don’t even have that freedom to go out their door and just see something and or go walk in the woods.

Or make an album.

Or make an album. It’s crazy to me that we forget so easily the good things when times are tough. And when times are tough, you think that the good won’t come back again. Man’s memory is so short and it’s really the plague.

That’s really what kills us all is that our memory is terrible. In times of famine, you never think good will come again. So, you lose hope. But, everything’s cyclical as well. Good comes back and hard times come again. And then you weathered the bad time before, but you forget that you weathered it, so you suffer. That’s us. That’s humanity.

Photo Credit: Glenn Ross

Righteous Babes All Around: Joy Clark in Conversation with Ani DiFranco

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Joy Clark and Ani DiFranco connected over something unexpected: a Christmas song. Slated to perform at the same benefit show in 2022, the two singer-songwriter-guitarists were grouped to take the stage together and needed a holiday tune, ideally an original one. Clark’s “Gumbo Christmas” made it to DiFranco before the show, and the legendary artist and founder of Righteous Babe Records heard a hit. Once the pair synced up, they felt an instant musical kinship, and it wouldn’t be long before DiFranco signed Clark to her label.

Last October, Clark released her critically acclaimed debut album, Tell It to the Wind. Informed by her experience as a side player and imbued with a deep reverence for her craft as a solo artist, the record was one of 2024’s finest releases, announcing Clark as an artist with a keen sense of who she is and what she wants to create. The album sonically pulls from Clark’s roots as a Louisiana native and thematically from her experiences as a Black and queer woman making her way through the world. Highlights include “Lesson,” a bluesy, groovy reminder to keep your head up in the face of struggle, and the record’s vulnerable closing title track.

Before the holiday break, BGS caught up with DiFranco and Clark over Zoom to chat about Clark’s signing to Righteous Babe, her album Tell It to the Wind, and what she and DiFranco admire most in one another – as they prepare to hit the road together on tour next month.

Let’s start by having you share how you met and what drew you to one another.

Joy Clark: Well, it started with a Christmas song. It was 2022, and we were both on a Christmas show. There was a big lineup, with Big Freedia, John Goodman, and a lot of other people. So, they tried to group the performers together and I got grouped with Ani and Dayna Kurtz, and I happen to have a Christmas song called “Gumbo Christmas.” My agent contacted me and said, “Hey, can you make a recording of your song and send it to Ani?” He sent it to Ani and I heard back that it was a hit. She liked the song. So, they grouped us together and we performed it.

Ani DiFranco: It’s a total hit, this song. I mean, I don’t understand why people are not holding hands all over America singing this song right now.

JC: I wrote about my grandmother making gumbo every Christmas, it got to Ani, and I think that’s how I got on the radar.

AD: From my perspective, I’m asked to do a benefit and it’s just tons of New Orleans usual suspects involved, like she said. Then, I found out a little later everybody had to play Christmas songs for this thing. I was thinking I’d just show up and play a song or two of my own. I’m like, “Oh, man, Christmas. What the hell?” So, I’m combing through Christmas songs, and I’m like, “I don’t know.” And then I thought, “Oh, I’ll just write one. I’ll write a Christmas song.” I pounded my head against that wall for a few days and discovered that it’s harder than you think to write a Christmas song that anybody ever wants to hear.

Finally, somebody rescued me by saying, “Well, you know, Joy’s got a Christmas song. Maybe you could sing with Joy Clark.” And in comes this little video of Joy singing. I was like, “Oh, my God, that’s the best. That’s the best.” Now I know how hard it is to write a Christmas song, so my respect for this woman is already right up here for making this sweet, soulful Christmas song. And then [Joy] came and recorded it.

You don’t hear many artists getting signed off a Christmas song or even having that be their entry point to meeting their eventual label. That’s a great story.

AD: It was also just hooking up, you know, in person, doing a little rehearsal at Joy’s house, and then going and doing the gig. We got to hang out. It’s not just like I heard the song somewhere. I got to see firsthand that Joy can play and sing her ass off and was an artist in the world doing her thing. I always say that we’re not really a label with tons of resources that can create something out of nothing, or market somebody into existence or something. But what we can do is support working artists and try to get behind them and help facilitate what they’re already doing.

JC: I think that’s the cool part, because I’ve been a working musician for a long time. And not just being Joy Clark, just writing my songs and performing – I played in a lot of different bands, playing guitar, singing harmony. … I’ve really just been working, been doing the thing. I played as a side person for a long time, which is how you learn. That’s how you learn to just be a musician. I feel like that’s been a gift for me. So, now to be able to just to step out up front and write and put out music, I feel pretty lucky. But it also feels really right.

It sounds like you came into the picture with a fully realized sense of who you are and the kind of music you make and what you want to do. And it sounds like the label is a great home for artists like that, who already have strong senses of self and don’t necessarily need, like you mentioned, Ani, a lot of development and marketing.

AD: Certainly at Righteous Babe, you’re not going to have some pencil pusher telling you what you should do with your songs. The thing about an artist-run label is the artist has to follow their heart. That much is clear at Righteous Babe.

Joy, I’m going back to what you were saying a moment ago about being a side player and the opportunities that provides – or sometimes forces – for you to adapt and learn and be able to do things on the fly. How do you feel that those experiences have shaped your solo work?

JC: There’s pressure in it, but then there’s not really pressure, too, because it’s not about me. I think it allows me to just be and not think about, “What do I look like?” or “How do I feel about this certain thing?” It’s giving somebody else space to do their thing. And that gave me a lot of confidence, actually. It gave me a lot of freedom. … I think that helped me step into my work, because when you do need people, when you do need support, you get both sides of it. I think it’s made me more compassionate. I hope I’m not an ass. I don’t think I’m an asshole. [Laughs] I understand what it is to support somebody’s work.

AD: I can really relate, too. I remember the first time I worked on somebody else’s record that wasn’t my shit, and I was like, “Whoa. This is all the fun of making music without the crushing emotional baggage of exposing your guts and putting yourself up for judgment.” So, I completely hear what you’re saying about how it’s a different experience to make music when you’re not on the hot seat, when it’s not you being judged. I love working on other people’s music for exactly that reason. It’s so freeing emotionally. … And now we’re about to go out to make some live music together. That will be fun times.

I wanted to ask about that. As you get ready to hit the road together, is there anything you can share about your plans, or what you’re looking forward to, in particular, about getting to share a bill with one another?

AD: Another thing that is always in the back of my mind with Righteous Babe, if we’re considering releasing a record, is whether this is an artist we could have the means to help. Somebody came to us with a very different genre of music recently and it was a super cool record, but I just thought, “I don’t know how to get to the right audience and get this project where it needs to go.” But from the minute I met Joy and saw her play and interact with an audience, I thought to myself, “My audience will love this person.” So, that’s always in the back of my mind, like, if we put out a record on Righteous Babe, could we do shows together? That’s a really easy way for me to assemble a bunch of people and then point, “Look at her. Check this out.” I just know that they’ll eat you up, Joy. And I haven’t told you yet, but I was hoping to ask you if we could play a song or two together.

JC: Of course! Just let me know what you want. I’ve already been listening. You know it.

AD: I’ll text them to you.

JC: One thing I’m looking forward to is being on a bus. My dates have been fly, pick up a car, then drive, you know? And it’s not like I have a right hand. It’s me and my guitar, driving. When I’m driving, I can’t do anything.

AD: And it’s exhausting. Most of your energy is zapped when you get to the gig.

JC: Yeah, it’s like, “Can I just sit in the green room? Can I just recover from that?” I’m looking forward to having that tour experience of being on a bus and chatting it up and maybe even writing. We’ll see if I can actually write on the road.

AD: Yeah, you need a certain amount of space just to do that, like your own dressing room and your own hotel room. It’s so hard when you’re just out there driving around, doing all the things. Funnily enough, Joy and I were just at another benefit the other night, both playing a tribute to Irma Thomas, singing Irma Thomas songs and benefiting the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic. We were joking and I was like, “You got to be careful because once you get on that bus, it’s so hard to get off.”

JC: I can feel that coming. I’m looking forward, too, because I’ve really only seen Ani perform once, at French Quarter Fest in 2023. Now, I get to check out the show night after night.

Ani, you mentioned a moment ago that feeling of knowing that your audience will love Joy’s music. I see a lot of connection points in what both of you do. There’s a lot of vulnerability there, for one – I think you described it as “exposing your guts” earlier, Ani, and that feels true for both of you, at least from my perspective as a listener. What points of connection do you see in one another’s music?

JC: I think Ani is a badass guitarist. I respect that, because it takes a lot to be able to play with the band and then to just be a person on stage with a guitar. I think I really connect with that fingerstyle picking. I prefer fingerstyle because it gives you a lot of different textures and it gives you different choices. Instead of strum – a strum is great, it’s just when you can pick, there are these other things happening. These little flavors and lines that I connect with, because that’s the type of player I am. I don’t have the picks on my fingers, it’s just my fingers. But I think that’s how I connect [to the instrument].

AD: Ditto for me. Keep those naked fingers, because it sounds so much better. I put on these plastic nails, but that’s just because I get so violent with my guitar and I bloody myself if I don’t have them. But the sound is so, so great with the real finger and the real nail. I’m really more of a rhythm player, and I just sort of play by ear, but you can play solos. You know what key we’re in and what the notes are supposed to go with that – all the things that I don’t actually freaking know. [Laughs]

I’m just super impressed with anybody who can legitimately play guitar like you do. There’s knowing how to play or knowing how to sing or this or that, and then there’s knowing how to stand there alone on stage and hold an audience. And Joy can do that, too.

I’m glad y’all brought up each other’s guitar playing, because there’s clearly so much passion and care there for both of you. And I don’t think we ask musicians about their instruments enough. People ask a lot of questions about songwriting and lyrics but not so much about, say, devising chord progressions. How does incorporating guitar into your songs work for each of you?

JC: It’s always different. When I write, there is no one way that it comes. But there is a feeling. There are colors that appear. Sometimes, there are sounds that come out. But one thing that I can say, for me, is that [writing] happens simultaneously with messing around on a guitar. I often sing as I play. I’m not usually writing. I do write, but the core of it is a feeling. If it’s something sentimental, then sentimental lines appear. Sometimes it happens if I’m driving, then I pick up my phone and I hum, and then when I pick up the guitar, I’m flowing. There’s an improvisation that happens and it’s a little bit mysterious. I don’t really understand it. It’s just mystery. But I love chords and I love to pick out cool shit. Then, I just put words to the thing that I’m picking.

AD: I can basically relate to everything you’re saying. Same for me. It’s different all the time. There’s no, like, set process, of course, and each song happens in a different way. But generally, it’s just being able to hang out with your instrument and just be with your guitar, hang out, and process your feelings with it. I miss that myself in life these days. I’m older and at a different point in my road than Joy. And I, many moments, wish I could put myself back where you are, Joy, just embarking on something and being really focused and having that guitar by your side all the time. Now, my kids are in the way most of the time, you know? [Laughs] … But that’s really what it is, having a relationship with the guitar that deepens and deepens. The understanding between you and this instrument deepens, and the guitar starts finishing your sentences.

JC: You can find some really pretty jewels in something that didn’t really feel good [while] writing it. But I want something to grow on me. Maybe it doesn’t fit so perfectly, but in time, “Oh, yeah, that does make sense.”

AD: I feel like that’s what you want for other people, too. It’s not necessarily to always be making songs that are instantly like, “Oh, Skittles! It’s sweet and fruity.” But, something that, maybe, on repeated listens, it takes its time to get under somebody’s skin. Then it really lives there. … What I’ve learned over many years and many albums and hundreds of songs is that, even after you get back to your disillusionment or you sour on something that’s not new anymore, you just have to have faith that somebody out there in the world is still going to have that first experience that you had with it. Somebody is going to feel that way about it, even if it’s not you anymore.

That feels like a lovely place to wrap. Before we sign off, do you have any parting words for one another?

JC: I’m really freaking grateful. I’ve been doing my work and I feel pretty lucky that people want to hear what I have to say. And I feel really lucky to have an album out on Righteous Babe, on your label, Ani. I feel like it’s right. I just turned 40 a couple months ago, and I think it’s pretty fantastic to feel like I’ve just started.

AD: Well, I would say – in a way that’s not weird, in a way that [reflects] that we’re on the same level – that I’m proud of you. It makes me so happy to see you stepping into yourself and your music and stepping out there in the world. You’ve paid a lot of dues and you completely deserve this moment. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Photo Credit: Joy Clark by Steve Rapport; Ani DiFranco by Shervin Lainez.

MIXTAPE: Sam Blasucci’s Life Forms in Live Performance

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Coming early 2025, I will be releasing a live concert film of my new record, Real Life Thing. The film runs like a play of sorts, including different set changes and moods for each song as we run down the entire track list of the album. To me, live performance is the reason for making music. It’s the best way for me to tap into something deep in myself with those that have come out to do the same. It’s also the way that I make my trade as a human; I think live performance already brings an honest and vulnerable energy since it is our livelihood.

Songs evolve each time they’re performed live and each instrument reflects a current mood. It’s an endless mixed bag of potential outcomes. So much of a performance is pulled from all of the energies involved – the crowd, the band, the venue and the ghosts that live there, the time of year, etc. It’s the most exciting part of music to me and that’s why I decided to make my playlist all live performances of some of my favorite songs. – Sam Blasucci

“If I Was Your Girlfriend” Live In Utrecht (2020 Remaster) – Prince

I could have made this entire playlist just live Prince recordings that blow my mind, but that might only be fun for me. I especially love this version because it’s a song he wrote as his alter ego persona Camilla, who sang it on the album (Prince pitched his voice up to sound higher). But in this version, you just get Prince in Europe with his natural voice and it’s one of my favorite recordings of his ever.

“Hey That’s No Way to Say Goodbye” Live in London – Leonard Cohen

I think this is Leonard Cohen’s best album of any, live or in the studio. He was better and better with age. This is the cute version of Leonard as an old man finally, singing this song in the way it feels like it should have always been sung. Of any live performance on this list, this is the one I would have loved to see most in person.

“LA FAMA” Live en el Palau Sant Jordi – Rosalía

Some live versions I think are better than the studio versions and this is one of those cases, although I love the studio versions of all the MOTOMAMI songs. When Rosalía released this on the deluxe version of the album, it gave the song another side and clicked with me even more.

“Hunter” (Live) – Björk

If the purpose of a live performance is to tap in to something, Björk never missed. She’s the hunter.

“Knock On Wood” Live; 2005 Mix; 2016 Remaster – David Bowie

This is my favorite era of David Bowie (Cracked Actor). I especially love his vocal performance in this version. It’s not easy to cover a classic song like this and have it feel tastefully ramped up, but I think he brought it and crushed it.

“Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)” – Donny Hathaway

Willie Weeks may be my favorite bass player and his solo section toward the end of this is widely known as one of the coolest bass moments, and with good reason. I suppose it shouldn’t be that hard to tap in when Donny Hathaway is leading the band.

“17 Days” Piano & A Microphone 1983 Version – Prince

When you can strip it all down to a single instrument and a voice and come through with so much power and spirit, that must be the true peak of live performance. When there is nothing else in the pot, all the secret parts of the music come out and make magic.

“Hot Burrito #2” Live at Lafayette’s Music Room – Big Star

I always thought Alex Chilton had some similarities with Gram Parsons. They sort of sing in a similar way and they both show so much emotion in their songs. I think that’s why he could make this version hit so hard. Chilton is at the top of my list of guitar players as well, and this song is a reason why.

“Ventura” Live 2003/The Fillmore, San Francisco – Lucinda Williams

This was recorded on my birthday in 2003. Although I was in 3rd grade and not in attendance for the show, I’d like to think I helped with the vibes. This one sounds like November in SF to me. Another amazing thing about live performance is capturing the energy surrounding the show.

“Woman of Heart and Mind” Live at Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, CA, 8/14-17, 1974 – Joni Mitchell

Another version that I prefer to the studio cut. The sound of the night and the live acoustic guitar; Joni’s semi-confrontational and conversational writing style seem to be designed for an in-person type of listening.

“Angel Eyes” Live In Toronto/1975 – Jim Hall

Jim Hall is another one of my favorite guitar players. I learned about this song years ago on tour in Colorado and it has ever since remained one of my favorites.

“Stay a Little Longer” Live at Harrah’s Casino, Lake Tahoe, NV April 1978 – Willie Nelson

This feels like a good burning ender to this playlist, although it is the very opening of the concert it was taken from. Willie’s recipe is 3x the speed of the original, a couple out of control solos, and likely some exotic mood modifiers.

Photo Credit: Jo Anna Edmison

Sugar in the Tank

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

We’re not always promised earnestness and raw talent from musical guests who show up on late night talk shows, but Julien Baker and TORRES brought both during their energizing joint television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week.

Donning brightly colored western suits embroidered with flowers and wielding an eclectic mix of acoustic and electric instruments, Baker, TORRES, and their sprawling backing band are vital and promising in their four-and-a-half minutes on stage. It feels like stepping into a slightly altered version of reality, one where past and future bleed into one another.

Together, the seasoned songwriters blend elements of ’90s-era alt-country, western, and indie-rock; their energizing harmonies feel so riddled with life they couldn’t possibly be defined by genre. Baker and TORRES are returning to the root of something honest, vulnerable and nostalgic with their sound. But they’re also acting as alchemists, creating a secret third space, almost inexplicably, using familiar, common elements. There’s just something about this performance that words can’t quite capture.

“Sugar in the Tank” starts out slightly subdued. Baker sings in a characteristic restrained-yet-emotive voice as she plucks the banjo. TORRES starts a twangy conversation between their Fender Telecaster, the fiddle and the pedal steel. But as the song builds, the energy of the performance becomes electric and infectious. When TORRES first comes in with their rich vocal harmonies and the band kicks into full gear, the song becomes bigger than the sum of its parts. But even as it becomes raucous and expansive, the performance still manages to feel tender, personal and heartfelt.

At one point, Baker sings, “I love you now, already and not yet,” and this trepidation, this confusion matched by conviction, feels deeply fitting for the energy the musicians bring to this performance.

Baker is best known as the founder of indie/folk-pop supergroup boygenius, while TORRES has been trodding a steady path as a solo artist for over a decade. The two just recently started recording and performing together, and it looks like there’s plenty more to come. While “Sugar in the Tank” is the only single Baker and TORRES have released so far, rumor has it they have a full-length country album in the works. The two will be performing in select cities throughout the U.S. this coming spring and summer, and you can check out their full list of tour dates on their website.

Photo Credit: Ybru Yildiz

2024 Good Country

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

An entire year of Good Country has blown by! Our new email newsletter and brand has gone so much further and has reached so many more country fans than we ever imagined when we launched in January. The concept is simple: there’s plenty of Good Country out there, and we want to highlight all of it.

As we look back at 2024 and the first twelve months of GC, we asked our pantheon of contributors to collect their favorite country releases from the calendar year. We did not determine for our writers what qualifies as country – or what does not. It’s important for GC to facilitate a country space that attempts to revert this music back to its earliest days, before genres and formats split up the many subgenres and downstream styles of country into various, distinct buckets and boxes.

One of the things most clear to us after a year of GC is that our central premise is certainly true. There’s endless Good Country out there – especially when you’re open to as many styles and aesthetics, influences and entry points as possible. From mainstream, radio country to red dirt, from bluegrass to Southern rock, from old-time to down home blues. Good Country is more than a genre, it’s more than a simplistic pitch to “save” this music we love. Good Country is a place, it’s an idea, a way of viewing the world – musical and otherwise. And we’re so grateful to all of you for joining us in Good Country.

Scroll for the playlist of our favorite 2024 Good Country below!

Kassi Ashton, Made From the Dirt

Kassi Ashton spent the better part of a decade honing her craft and trying out various promotional singles to gain traction. It wasn’t until “Called Crazy,” her third official single, that she hit the Top 40 on country radio. The minor success primed listeners for her long-awaited debut record, Made From the Dirt, a beautifully produced and raucous set blending the best parts of mainstream country. Ashton runs on high-octane energy – with her thick twang packing a punch on each loose-lipped syllable. From the propulsive “Son of a Gun” to the slow rollin’ “‘Til the Lights Go Out,” her debut radiates from the inside out and carries with it cross-generational appeal. – Bee Delores

Kaitlin Butts, Roadrunner!

Set to the timeless musical Oklahoma!, Kaitlin Butts’ Roadrunner! is as much a modern retelling of the epic tale as it is a road map of her own exploits thus far. On the 17-track project she shines on soft, nurturing ballads like the Vince Gill-featured duet “Come Rest Your Head (On My Pillow),” “People Will Say We’re In Love” (starring partner and Flatland Cavalry lead Cleto Cordero — the only song pulled straight from the musical), and “Elsa,” a tune about a woman she met while playing nursing home gigs back in the day.

But, she also revels in its more chaotic moments as well, as is the case with “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me)” and a Kesha cover, “Hunt You Down.” Through these vignettes Butts not only shows that the near-century-old musical remains as impactful as ever, but that her music has the power to do the same. – Matt Wickstrom

Denitia, Sunset Drive

Okay, I am shook that Denitia has not been studying, writing, and recording country music for all her life. Formerly an R&B artist (just go on and check out her wicked 2018 album, Touch of the Sky), Denitia’s on her second country record and it sounds exactly how I’d want a country record to sound. Admittedly, I am not a huge country fan (except I know all the words to every song on ‘90s country radio stations), but Sunset Drive rings my bell from top to bottom. Her clear and cool ‘90s-inspired, indie voice and her flawless writing are on full display with songs like “Back to You” and “Gettin’ Over.” The flow of the writing and instrumentation are seamless. No notes, Denitia! Hope they wise up and get you on the radio. – Cindy Howes

Sierra Ferrell, Trail of Flowers

In this instant classic, Trail of Flowers firmly establishes Sierra Ferrell as the voice of a generation. Her indelible songwriting delivered by her uncommon vocals will be revered indefinitely. I’ve had the honor of seeing her perform twice (well, maybe more like once and a half) since the album’s release, each time surrounded by an audience brought to their knees by her sheer, unadulterated power. At DelFest, hundreds of us sheltered for nearly an hour in the grandstand after an untimely lightning storm struck following the opening chords of “Jeremiah.” We rushed back to the stage in troves as soon as the skies began to clear, only to be utterly heartbroken upon learning that her set would not continue. Sierra’s performances are unspeakably transformative – her authenticity and eminence evoke the divine. Trail of Flowers offers us a precious keepsake, a textured collection of harvested treasures both earthly and ethereal. – Oriana Mack

Sam Gleaves, Honest

Maybe country music could leave behind its ongoing debate around “authenticity” forever, because the best country doesn’t need to be “authentic,” it just needs to be honest.

Sam Gleaves is an Appalachian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and community builder whose every note, sung or plucked, is as truthful and stalwart as the mountains he calls home. His new album, Honest, combines old-time, honky tonkin’ country, bluegrass, and mountain music in a charming, down-to-earth package that’s never ambitious or try-hard. At the same time, this is one of the best country albums of the year and then some, with impeccable, tear-jerker tracks like “Beautiful” and hilarious, sexy romps like “Queer Cowboy.” There’s no performance of traditional authenticity signifiers here; Gleaves’ most radical act is allowing us to perceive him wholly, through his music. That’s all too rare in mainstream country, but a longstanding legacy that’s alive and well on the genre’s fringes. – Justin Hiltner

Mickey Guyton, This Is Who I’ve Always Been

Although she’s long considered herself an “outlaw,” Mickey Guyton has steadily moved up the country music ladder. She’s ultimately emerged as a consistent example of individuality and creativity. She’s battled since signing her first deal in 2011, refusing to accept the notion that being Black and outspoken placed limits on either outreach or popularity. She’s steadily smashed barriers, most notably being the first Black woman to be nominated in the Best Country Song GRAMMY category, and the first to both perform at and later co-host the Academy of Country Music Awards.

But she’s now also realizing her greatest musical achievements. Guyton’s latest LP, This Is Who I’ve Always Been, is a marvelous declaration of her country roots and legacy, a recorded statement that says everything without being overtly political in lyrical tone and presentation. There are 12 joyous, rousing tracks that spotlight her writing skills alongside Tyler Hubbard and Corey Crowder. It’s only fitting that she’s joined by Kane Brown on the stirring “Nothing Compares to You.” It’s a powerhouse tune co-written by Hubbard, Bebe Rexha, and Jordan Schmidt that is arguably the LP’s definitive performance. Guyton is now a Nashville resident, and this album celebrates her triumph as a true example of country’s diversity and inclusion. – Ron Wynn

Stephanie Lambring, Hypocrite

We should all be talking about Stephanie Lambring more. Like, a lot more. On her sophomore album, Hypocrite, Lambring continues her all-killer-no-filler critiques of patriarchy and oppression. The album opens with the ominous pop of “Cover Girl” before delving into the shattering vulnerability of “Good Mother.” Lambring has had her share of bitter experience in the Nashville machine and sharing those stories of superficial “authenticity” has proved to be the best thing she could have done – liberating for her, yes, but also offering the rest of us a portal to examine our ingrained biases and, hopefully, to break free of them. Hypocrite is not an easy listen – if you are a human being, you will squirm at least once listening to these lyrics – but it’s essential. – Rachel Cholst

Cindy Lee, Diamond Jubilee

Cindy Lee is the non-binary alter-ego of Patrick Flegel, reclusive former leader of Canadian post-punk band Women – and you could say Flegel made some curious decisions about how to put this music out into the world. Instead of the usual streaming sites, Diamond Jubilee lives primarily on YouTube as a two-hour-plus video of all 32 songs as a single track, no breaks. But don’t let that scare you. Diamond Jubilee is spectral late-night soundtrack music to a movie that hasn’t been made yet. You sure can picture it, though. The sonics are proudly low-fidelity, yet the gauzy arrangements are precise (and Flegel is one hell of an evocative less-is-more guitarist). Imagine Brian Wilson conducting teenage symphonies to the afterlife, and you’re in the ballpark. An amazing collection of music, deep as it is broad. – David Menconi

Adrianne Lenker, Bright Future

Indie-country-folk enigma Adrianne Lenker didn’t use a single piece of digital equipment while recording her seventh full-length solo album, Bright Future. Instead, she and five friends hunkered down at a studio that’s only been described publicly as “in the woods” somewhere in New England. They recorded an intimate, intuitive album using a process known as AAA. (That’s analog recording, analog mixing, and analog mastering.)

Despite its decidedly anachronistic engineering, Bright Future is one of the most unique and powerful American folk releases of 2024. It’s even been nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Folk Album, marking Lenker’s first GRAMMY nomination as a solo artist. Listening to the album feels like sitting in a small, warm room with Lenker and her collaborators, with every breath and every shifting movement still audible on the tape. For me, getting releases like this that feel so undeniably rooted in the real, tangible world, really does make the future seem a bit more bright – a small form of resistance against the forced digitization of our lives. – Dana Yewbank

Pete Mancini, “American Equator”

Pete Mancini has been carving a path for himself through the country music landscape since the release of his debut solo album in 2017. Coincidentally, the title of his newest single, “American Equator,” is inspired by the idea of a literal divide carved into the U.S. landscape. Mancini can be playful, imaginative, and solemn with his writing and “American Equator” showcases these qualities sewn together. Much like the faders mentioned in the song’s chorus, Mancini knows when and how to apply blunt honesty for several true-to-life references and when to present the ugliness of the song’s settings through a no less candid but much more palatable metaphor. Even if heavy narratives aren’t what you’re after, the steady groove, power-pop style guitar tone, and hopeful arc of the chord progression make “American Equator” a tune that’s easy to turn up and enjoy – especially on long highway road trips. – Kira Grunenberg

John Moreland, Visitor

For a slice of the country music-listening public, April 5, 2024 had December 13, 2013 energy. In fact, were Beyoncé not the Beyoncé of country music, I might say that John Moreland is the Beyoncé of country music. Both are undeniable stars and underrated producers. Visitor is a beautiful album that reveals brilliant new details with each listen. I sometimes feel fragile when the drums kick in on “Blue Dream Carolina,” but by the end of the track I always feel better. I am so happy that this songwriter’s songwriter keeps growing his audience. I am not entirely sure what country music is. I wish more of it sounded like a John Moreland record. – Lizzie No

Lizzie No, Halfsies

This was the year when Lizzie No seemed to fully embody their inner country crooner. No welcomed 2024 with the release of Halfsies in January on Thirty Tigers. Its songs tell a story of being female in an America that expects more of its women the more the melanin in their skin. When No sang in the title track about leaving her “sandals in a cab” and finding “a snakeskin in the grass,” she was talking about pain and loss and transformation. About the performative nature of identity. When Loretta Lynn sang “You’re lookin’ at country,” she was talking about what people are looking for as much as what they actually see. If Lynn has a legatee in today’s country circles, it just might be Lizzie No. – Kim Ruehl

The Red Clay Strays, Made by These Moments and Live at the Ryman

Bursting out of their native Mobile, Alabama, The Red Clay Strays emerged as the hottest live act of 2024. A snarling blend of Americana, rock, and alt-country tones, the group went from selling 40 tickets a gig to 4,000 in less than 18 months – an incredible feat by any measure, and one immediately justified by the “you had to be there” stage presence of lead singer Brandon Coleman and company.

Rolling into this summer, the Strays offered up their sophomore album, Made by These Moments, to wide acclaim from audiences and critics alike. But, it was the recently-released Live at the Ryman that truly showcases the intricate depth of sonic abilities and fire-and-brimstone vocal prowess at the heart of the outfit. The biggest takeaway? There’s no ceiling to the size and scope of where the Strays can take their music – in the studio or onto the stage. What remains is pure passion and guided purpose for their craft, this platform for compassion they hold with deep respect. – Garret K. Woodward

Zach Top, Cold Beer & Country Music

Rest easy, for country has been saved! But no, because Zach Top himself doesn’t even believe that the genre needs to be rescued. Even so, this young bluegrass-raised artist, who seemingly catapulted overnight into retro, nostalgic country stardom, is doing his utmost to keep the realest kinds of ‘90s and throwback country alive and contemporary. With the mustache and Wrangler jeans to prove it. Watching as his audience has ballooned over the last year demonstrates that Top is certainly not alone in his love for this kind of archetypical country. “I Never Lie” is probably the most impactful and far-reaching single from the genre of the year, as recognizable and requested on Lower Broadway as in the halls of SPBGMA (the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America). Top brings so many circles of the country music Venn diagram together, organically, and we are all better for it. I hope I stay embedded on Zach TopTok forever. – Justin Hiltner

Twisters Soundtrack

Twisters is not a great movie, though it would have been better if they let Glen Powell fuck. Or if they let the weirdness that David Corenswet displayed in Pearl show up here. It would have been a more politically relevant movie if the director didn’t refuse to talk about climate change – which is why all of the chaotic weather is happening in Oklahoma.

Its soundtrack, though, is genuinely great. Part of the reason why is how carefully it was marketed – to work through the ongoing genre battles in country, to acknowledge the nostalgia of the original 1990s film, and to think about what country might mean more broadly. Ignoring climate change might be part of the film’s faltering, foisting the bland hegemony of Powell is also part of it, but the album is more disruptive. And more beautiful than it has any right to be. It almost reaches gender parity, it has half-a-dozen Black performers, there are legacy acts and up-and-comers. Listening to the Twisters soundtrack this year made me yearn for a counterfactual country radio. – Steacy Easton

Rhonda Vincent, Destinations and Fun Places

I’m a firm believer that bluegrass sits pretty under the umbrella of “country music.” If you’re a country music lover and are looking to expand your horizons, let my 2024 Good Country selection nudge you towards some ‘grass. You’ll thank me later.

This year, Rhonda Vincent released her highly-anticipated album, Destinations and Fun Places, and it’s soooo Bluegrass Barbie-coded. From her stunning hot pink dress on the cover to her top-notch covers like “9 to 5” and “Please Mr Please,” Rhonda proves she’s still the queen. With featured artists like Dolly Parton, Trisha Yearwood, Cody Johnson, and Alison Krauss, any country music fan would have plenty of familiar voices to enjoy. This record also showcases Rhonda’s musical range, with sweet songs like “I Miss Missouri” to bluegrass ragers like “Rocky Top.” From “Margaritaville” to “The City of New Orleans,” Rhonda Vincent is truly an American treasure. All hail the queen! – Bluegrass Barbie

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Photo Credit: Sierra Ferrell by Bobbi Rich; Zach Top courtesy of the artist; Denitia by Chase Denton.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Sarah Klang, Jaelee Roberts, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Who needs Black Friday when you have New Music Friday? We’ve got your doorbusters right here, in our weekly premiere roundup!

This week, from the bluegrass realm, we have two new tracks from labelmates Benson and Jaelee Roberts. Check out “Down That Road” from husband-and-wife-duo Benson, featuring bluegrass veterans Kristin Scott Benson and Wayne Benson – with vocals by Keith Garrett. Plus, Jaelee Roberts pays tribute to ’80s and ’90s bluegrass with a loving homage to the Lonesome River Band with her cover of “Looking For Yourself.”

Also in our premiere collection, we have a brand new lyric video for “Go to the Sun,” a new single from Swedish folk-pop singer-songwriter Sarah Klang all about going from a dark place to one of hope. To wrap us up this week – and this month! – don’t miss our exclusive two-song Tønder Session with Ugandan-Texan roots artist Jon Muq.

It’s all right here on BGS and You Gotta Hear This!

Benson, “Down That Road”

Artist: Benson
Hometown: Boiling Springs, South Carolina
Song: “Down That Road”
Release Date: November 29, 2024
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Down That Road’ is a great song. I love to play banjo on tunes with this lilting groove. Wayne and I are both huge Keith Garrett fans and we love his vocal delivery on this one. The song conveys a vulnerability and he did a great job capturing that.” – Kristin Scott Benson

Track Credits:
Kristin Scott Benson – Banjo
Wayne Benson – Mandolin
Cody Kilby – Guitar
Kevin McKinnon – Bass
Tony Creasman – Drums
Dustin Pyrtle – Harmony vocal

Sarah Klang, “Go To The Sun”

Artist: Sarah Klang
Hometown: Gothenburg, Sweden
Song: “Go to the Sun”
Album: Beautiful Woman
Release Date: November 29, 2024 (single); February 7, 2025 (album)
Label: Nettwerk Music Group

In Their Words: “‘Go to the Sun’ is one of the most personal songs I’ve ever written. This song represents going to better places, be it in your mind or physically traveling to those places. It’s about a person’s mental state going from a dark place to one of hope. It’s about escaping from the day-to-day and finding your way.” – Sarah Klang

Jaelee Roberts, “Looking For Yourself”

Artist: Jaelee Roberts
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Looking For Yourself”
Release Date: November 29, 2024
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I absolutely love the ’80s and ’90s eras of bluegrass music and ‘Looking For Yourself’ (originally recorded by the Lonesome River Band) completely embodies that vibe. I’ve been a LRB fan my entire life and this song has always jumped out at me while listening to that classic album, so I decided that ‘Looking For Yourself’ should be the first bluegrass cover song that I’d record. Andy Leftwich, Cody Kilby, Ron Block, Byron House, John Gardner, and Grayson Lane are absolutely awesome and made this track go from dream to reality for me! Speaking of Grayson Lane, I just have to say how happy I am to have him singing harmony with me on this. We have known each other since we were born (literally) and he is one of my favorite singers and his voice on ‘Looking For Yourself’ was the icing on the cake. I hope y’all will enjoy my spin of one of my favorite bluegrass songs and that you’ll listen to it loud and sing along at the top of your lungs!” – Jaelee Roberts

Track Credits:
Jaelee Roberts – Vocals, harmony vocals
Byron House – Bass
Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar
Andy Leftwitch – Mandolin, fiddle
John Gardner – Drums
Ron Block – Banjo
Grayson Lane – Harmony vocals

Tønder Session, Jon Muq

Earlier this year, during the waning days of summer, our videographer friends at I Know We Should traveled to Denmark to capture a handful of special sessions with Americana and roots artists performing at Scandinavian music festivals. For our next installment in this mini-series, we’re excited to feature singer-songwriter Jon Muq performing during his time at premier Danish music event, Tønder Festival.

Born and raised in Uganda, Jon Muq has made waves since relocating to Austin, Texas, and leaving his mark on the American roots music scene. Earlier this year he released his debut full-length album, Flying Away, on Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound. That’s the project from which Muq’s first selection is pulled. On a waterside boardwalk with a marshy backdrop, Muq offers “Bend,” a song about resiliency, flexibility, and connection, and “Hello Sunshine,” another track from Flying Away – one just perfect for August in Denmark.

Watch the full performance here.

Photo Credit: Sarah Klang by Fredrika Eriksson; Jaelee Roberts by Eric Ahlgrim.

MIXTAPE: Rose Betts’ Cottagecore For Your Ears

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

I feel like I’ve been living a cottagecore life since always. All my interests outside of music line up: I sew my own clothes, read old Russian literature, and I love horse riding, long forest walks, and filling my house with wild flowers and candles – and dreaming of picnics out of baskets, dressed in long skirts with ribbons in my hair and champagne in tea cups. My upcoming album, There Is No Ship, is a love letter to my homeland, [the UK], where a cottagecore lifestyle is a bit easier to achieve than here in LA. But, here’s a playlist with some songs that make me feel closer to it. – Rose Betts

“Do It Again” – John Mark Nelson

John Mark Nelson and I met at a session and as soon as we got to talking about books I realized he was a total keeper and we’ve been friends since. His vibe is so cottagecore. The man’s car smells like a pine forest and he bakes his own bread. I feel like his voice is so cozy and this song just feels like a day inside with the rain against the windows and pleasant feelings of being in love.

“Snow In Montana” – Michigander

My sister considers it illegal to listen to Christmas songs outside of December, but this has to be an exception. I love this song. On whatever side of Christmas I listen to it, it either makes me wistful about the one to come, or pleasantly melancholic about the one just passed. “Snow In Montana” makes anywhere feel cozy, which is quite a feat if you live in LA. I listen to it in the car on the way home from Trader Joe’s with bags full of vegetables and cheese and flowers feeling all stocked up and ready to light candles and get flower-arranging. I own so many small vases so that I can crowd my house out with flowers and make it feel like a garden.

“Deeper Well” – Kacey Musgraves

Her voice is so smooth and rich, I love it. And, her songs have this warmth and natural quality to them that I just want to sink into. Makes me want to rent a cabin in the woods with friends and get a campfire and hot cider going and watch the sparks fly up into the night.

“Wells” – Joshua Hyslop

I’ve been reading Anne of Green Gables lately and those books are so full of nature and the simple life, they make me really want to run away to Prince Edward Island, pick apples, and make jam. This song has that natural feel, like a little stream you sat by for a while and had a beautiful time, but all the while knew you couldn’t stay forever. Anne as a character is wonderfully joyful, but also so tragic, so the meeting of those two qualities felt expressed in this song somehow.

“Inconsolable” – Kate Gavin

A friend who knows me well sent me this song and I listened on loop for days. I love the instrumentation, that lovely fiddle part! One of my favorite things about being a musician is that when my musician friends come round they just start playing whatever instrument is in the house. The other week my friend came round and our hangout consisted of cups of tea, me sewing a top, and him going through my pile of sheet music on the piano. This song has that feeling of shared music… maybe it’s the harmonies or those lovely melodies, either way it reminds me of impromptu musical moments that are just so lovely.

“Bishops Avenue” – Rose Betts

For about a year and a half, some friends and I had the run of a mansion on Bishops Avenue in North London. We put on plays, painted out in the orchard, had renaissance parties and banquets in the ballroom, and it was one of those golden times when everything is just a little more precious and glittery. I feel like it’s how I always want to live, banquets by candlelight and then some creative frivolity of some kind. Moving to LA, it’s hard to find orchards and dilapidated mansions to play in, but I found some playfellows who get into the spirit with me so I get close.

“Tier Abhaile Riu” – Celtic Woman

This song has such a strong feminine energy to it, reminds me of all my creative friends who enrich my life so much. My friend and I hosted an evening where we invited just women to come and share stories and we lit candles and drank Champagne out of teacups and it was total bliss. Something about women together in candlelight talking feels ancient and holy and special in a way nothing else is.

“Skye Boat Song” – Bear McCreary, Raya Yarbrough

I’m lucky to have a twin who lives in Scotland, so I get to visit a lot and even lived there for a while in lockdown. It’s such an amazing part of the world. There is a beach near her village where I’d go for walks as often as I could, where the seals sing and the sky stretches out like a great pearl above your head. So much of songwriting is about finding the silence in the noise, so that the song has space to blossom and so many songs came from those walks. This song I’ve known since before I could remember hearing it, but it became more well known to the world when they used it as the title track for Outlander. This is a beautiful version. It sounds like Scotland to me, full of low skies and colossal lochs and mystery.

“The Author” – Luz

Some songs are so lovely they make me want to stop listening and write a song instead. This is one of those. I’ve started trying to write a poem every morning, just something small to start my day creatively. Then I punch a hole in the paper and hang it off some fairy lights I have around my bed. I think we are all the authors of our own life, which isn’t what this song is saying, but it’s so darn romantic and in its existence turns the singer into the author that tells the girl how she feels. If that makes sense…

“Sigh No More” – Joss Whedon

I heard this song in Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing and it takes a Shakespeare poem and sets it to music. I always really liked it. I have a little book of Shakespeare’s sonnets that I’ve carried around for years and I’m always trying to learn a new sonnet. If I’m bored at some LA party, I’ll get it out and read a sonnet and it puts me in a better mood.

“The Stars Look Down” – Rose Betts

This is off my first EP and I sound so young, which is kind of embarrassing, but also sweet. It’s like hearing a past version of me. I was reading a lot of Russian literature when I wrote this song and it was the mansion period of my life (which I mentioned before for “Bishops Avenue”). I’d just discovered Tolstoy, was reading War and Peace, and this song is full of the stories and vignettes in that book, heroism and love and dreaming and nights of glory followed by disastrous heartbreak. Books have always been where I get the most inspired for my songs, the quality of the writing makes me work harder at my lyrics.

“Mexico” – The Staves

The Staves are a group of sisters who actually come from a town right by the one I grew up in. It’s a place called Watford and is a bit of grey hole of a place. It’s surprising that these three beautiful singers came out of it. I guess music and beauty can come from anywhere, which is how I feel about my life. There’s beauty in everything, and if there isn’t you can bring it. My little apartment in LA is pretty boxy and lightless, but once you add candles and art and music it’s suddenly a little bohemian enclave where I can rest and be creative. Me and family sing together and there’s nothing like families harmonising, which is why I chose this song. Reminds me of the supper table at my childhood home, where we sing before we eat and sometimes after too, and whatever argument or trouble that’s going on disappears for a moment.

Photo Credit: Catie Laffoon

Good Country Goodtime Variety Show Returns to LA’s Dynasty Typewriter December 1

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

BGS and Good Country are so excited to continue our one-of-a-kind, brand new variety show, The Good Country Goodtime, at premier Los Angeles venue Dynasty Typewriter on December 1 at 7:30pm! The second edition of the event – which features the best in country, Americana, and roots music, a first-rate house band, delightful comedy, and more – will be a whimsical walk through a western winter wonderland. In-person and livestream tickets are on sale now.

Confirmed guests for the December 1 show include Jonny Fritz, purveyor and proprietor of “dad country;” the delightful Old School countrypolitan sounds of California native Kimmi Bitter; plus indie/country singer-songwriter Rett Madison, who just released her latest album, One More for Jackie; and, attendees will enjoy stories, laughs, and more from comedian and Tennessee’s own Billy Wayne Davis – who will serve as the evening’s host. The Coral Reefers’ Mick Utley will return to direct the Goodtime’s all-star house band. And, you never know which Hollywood writers, actors, and improvisers and special guests may just show up to join in the fun.

Not able to attend in person? Grab a livestream ticket, or, just hold on – our Good Country Goodtime shows are recorded by Dynasty Typewriter’s multi-camera, multi-media content capture team and we will be sharing performances, sketches, and songs from the Goodtime right here, on BGS and Good Country, in the near future. Stay tuned!

We hope you’ll join us for the December 1 edition of the Good Country Goodtime, the show’s last hurrah of 2024 – before we continue with regular monthly shows in 2025! Attendees will enjoy songs, stories, sketches, and so many surprises in store. Pull on your boots and get ready for our western winter wonderland.

Buy your tickets now for the Good Country Goodtime.

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MIXTAPE: Rainbow Girls’ ‘HAUNTING’ Inspirations

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Hey BGS! Erin from Rainbow Girls here. Our new record, HAUNTING, just came out October 13th and we put together this Mixtape of reference tracks that inspired the writing or making of the songs on our record. We ended up choosing one reference track per song. Got some help from Caitlin and Vanessa for a couple of these and we ended up creating an awesome playlist. Hope you enjoy! – Erin Chapin, Rainbow Girls

“Sadness as a Gift” – Adrianne Lenker (for “sixth grade girlfriend”)

I’ve always been so inspired by Adrianne Lenker’s style of guitar playing. There’s an intricacy and an intimacy that lends itself so perfectly to the lyrics; the guitar and the poetry of the words stand like a power couple, instead of one falling into the background as support. “Sadness as a Gift” is this beautifully poignant song about losing a relationship, but still wanting to hold the memory in your hand like a moth – it just breaks me. – Caitlin

“Let It Be Me” – The Sweet Inspirations (for “paying my tab”)

The Sweet Inspirations’ 1967 version of “Let It Be Me” inspired me to write a song with a similar groove. I heard that simple intro and it immediately grounded me. Griffin Goldsmith from Dawes played drums on our song, “paying my tab,” and he took this reference track and ran with it to the moon and back.

“Cold Little Heart” by Michael Kiwanuka (for “you must not feel the way i do”)

“you must not feel the way i do” was written after we had already started recording for HAUNTING, but we knew it was the single. We had all the vocals and main instruments recorded, but it needed a hook to open the song. I kept demo-ing this weird sound with my voice we were calling the “vocal theremin” – this ghostly, half-human/half-instrument sound. I knew it would sound too crazy for anyone else in the band to get excited about, so I sent them Michael Kiwanuka’s hit, “Cold Little Heart,” to exorcise any doubts. Thanks, Michael.

“Running Down a Dream” – Tom Petty (for “loser”)

Nirvana loomed large when writing the chord progression for “loser,” but it was a Petty classic that kept rearing its head and ultimately snuck its way into the lyrics. “Running Down a Dream” takes us on a journey that winds towards aspiration. The road is wet and laden with obstacles, but it’s the act of surmounting those blocks that makes accessing the dream so much sweeter. – Vanessa

“Song for Prine” – Jordan Smart (for “how to deal”)

Caitlin wrote “how to deal” the day John Prine died. Part of it is a response to our friend Jordan Smart’s “Song for Prine,” which is about all his attempts to see John Prine perform live, which ultimately he never got to do. But life goes on.

“The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot” – Brand New (for “if i saw you now”)

The progression and mood of “if i saw you now” was inspired by Brand New’s “The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot.” Brand New has a way of holding the morose and appalling within their songs that few other artists can capture.

“Ageless Beauty” – Stars (for “ageless beauty, pt ii”)

When we first met and started playing music together in college, “Ageless Beauty” by Stars was on repeat. It was one of the first songs we ever sang together. Our song “ageless beauty, pt ii” reflects on our experience at that time and the beginning of Rainbow Girls.

“Fake As A Dream” – Rainbow Girls (for “sms to the void”)

“Fake as a Dream” is one of our songs, off our record Rolling Dumpster Fire. We had asked our friend Chris Lynch to arrange a string part for it, but what he sent back was so much more. It took the song to another dimension. When we decided that “sms to the void” should be more than an a cappella song, we knew Chris was the person to take the reins. And he did it again – the string arrangements, the piano. It’s both subtle and heartbreakingly gorgeous.

“Last Night” – The Lostines (for “a subtle f u”)

I heard the song “Last Night” by The Lostines and realized there was an entire element of “haunting” missing from our record. Their song opens up with this sweet-yet-spooky melody on an ambiguous keyed instrument and the sound conjures memories of classic ’90s Halloween-esque movies and tv shows like Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, Goosebumps, and Are You Afraid of the Dark. I knew we needed to have a layer like that somewhere on HAUNTING and our song “a subtle f u” won the draw.

“Subterranean Homesick Alien” – Radiohead (for our cover of it)

A cover of one of our favorite Radiohead songs. Alien contact, abduction, insanity. Everything you could ever need from a spooky social commentary.

“motel” – Hot Brother (for “spread me thin”)

We were in the studio recording our song “spread me thin” when we realized that we had 3/4ths of the band Hot Brother recording on the track with us (Nick Cobbett – drums, Ben Berry – bass, Jeremy Lyon – guitar). We decided to ask the 4th (and really first) member, Brittany Powers, to sing on it and that ended up transforming the song into a duet between two women singing about their community. Brittany performs with several other artists in the Bay Area and her voice is an iconic part of the music scene in Northern California. “motel” is the first song off her/Hot Brother’s upcoming record and it is a sheer banger.

“I Want Jesus to Walk With Me” – Mississippi Fred McDowell (for “dead ringer”)

Our song, “dead ringer” is a slide-heavy, minor blues song about being buried alive. It is musically inspired by Mississippi Fred McDowell’s 1959 version of “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me.” The vocal melody parallels the slide guitar’s melody interchangeably throughout the song, creating an eerie, almost trance-like soundscape.

“Cinnamon Tree” – Marty O’Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra (for “goodnight angel”)

The last track on HAUNTING functions as a sort of secret track, though not-so-secret in the age of streaming platforms. “goodnight angel” is a lullaby we often sing to our friends at the end of long, inebriated nights that was actually a drunken, collective-consciousness co-write with our friend Marty O’Reilly while on tour together in the UK in 2013. We used to play shows together all the time when we first started out and “Cinnamon Tree” was one of our band favs from his first release.

Photo Credit: Kory Thibeault

Out Now: The Accidentals

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Our next band featured on Out Now is the Accidentals, a group that I met over a decade ago, tucked under the oak trees in Northern Michigan at Interlochen Artist Academy. Interlochen is a hub for music and arts education. Katie Larson and Savannah Buist (founders of the band) attended the academy at the same time I did. I’ve admired their artistry and dedication ever since. I remember listening to Interlochen Public Radio, hearing a song they wrote, and thinking these artists were going somewhere. Spoiler alert… they have already gone everywhere, touring all over the U.S.!

Before they attended Interlochen, Katie and Savannah were already playing together in an orchestra and exploring their musical chemistry. The pair are creative, dedicated individuals, curious souls, skilled instrumentalists, and incredible writers. They built a successful career while still very young, touring and playing festival stages in their teenage years. Both turned down college scholarships to hit the road instead. After high school, they added Michael Dause to the band as their percussionist. In 2023, Michael parted from the band; they now play as a trio again with Katelynn Corll.

The Accidentals just released their latest single, “What a Waste.” It’s an honor to highlight this phenomenal band on Out Now. Learn all about their plans for the future, why they create music, and about their incredibly creative minds in our interview with Katie Larson and Savannah Buist.

You’ve been playing together since high school. What has it been like for you to create, write, record, and travel together for the past decade?

Savannah Buist: All of those processes – creating, writing, recording, and traveling – demand different parts of us, and all of them have changed and grown over the years. Creating and writing used to be a more solitary process, and yet [now] we find ourselves collaborating and co-writing with some of the people who inspired us to become songwriters in the first place. Recording went from being solitary, to with producers, to us becoming engineers and recording many of our own projects, to recently joining forces with producer Mary Bragg for a collaborative record. Traveling together used to mean 250 days on the road, sleepless nights living on the opposite schedule of everyone we loved – and now, we ease into it, take our time with it, and the number of people in the van seats, their names and faces have changed over the years.

But the thing that remains true is the constitution of our friendship and our trust. I lean on Katie more than I’ve ever let myself lean on anybody before. She’s the reason why I constantly challenge myself to do better, not just musically but as a person too. She’s a natural listener; she’s observant and deep-thinking. She’s the kind of person who would make an incredible documentary carefully examining both sides of a complex situation and reaching some inevitable core of truth. It’s been incredible watching her grow and change, too, just like all the processes that we engage in together. I think the growth and change I’ve undergone is just as dramatic and important. It’s what keeps us open to each other and supportive of our many interests and endeavors.

Adding Katelynn Corll to the band a couple years ago was like picking up a golden retriever to tour with. She’s always positive and brings balance to the band with her ability to see the big picture, ask good questions, and amp up the energy on stage. She’s got both our backs all the time. It’s a no-ego dream band reality.

Katie Larson: Some days, 10 years sounds like a lifetime and other days it feels like a drop in the bucket. Think about how much change people go through from their late teens to late 20s, then add in the inevitable ups and downs and major transitions you go through in the music industry. What a privilege to have someone by your side who has known your heart since day one. Not only that, but a friend who’s a true collaborator, business partner, and salsa-making science geek who’s always ready to dive into philosophical rabbit holes and will fiercely have your back no matter what. We take a lot of inspiration from the Indigo Girls, a few years ago we got to watch Ann Powers interview them during Americanafest. They’ve been playing music together for almost 40 years now and are still true friends.

Your early success, including playing at various festivals, is impressive. What were some of the most memorable moments or experiences from those early days of touring?

SB: I’ve kept journals for many years and those have sort of fallen into the digital world via Tour Blogs, which we write weekly on our Patreon. Cataloging our experiences has given us a plethora of perspectives. There are times I look back through those journals and blogs and think to myself, “How are we still alive?” From busted trailers to stolen gear to pedalboards lighting on fire from faulty power, playing in caverns and drained swimming pools and stages so tiny we stood shoulder-to-shoulder trying not to poke each others’ eyes out with our bows; farmer’s markets and people’s dogs and their bookshelves when we crashed at their houses, and the strangers who became family along the way. It’s literally too much to recount, because that’s thousands of memories stacked into some neural Jenga of nostalgia. I will say that the early days are like the later days in that we’ve never stopped learning, and never thought we were incapable of learning more.

KL: As an introverted teen, I remember being shocked by kindness from strangers. It still amazes me, but back then it seemed crazy that music could be a catalyst for people making us a home-cooked meal, letting us stay in their homes, or giving us boxes of books to read on the road. One time in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan a man handed us an entire smoked salmon after our set. On another tour in Colorado, we kept accumulating homemade pumpkin bread wherever we went. It wasn’t just gifts – music was also a fast pass to personal conversations with fans at the merch table or with our hosts who became family.

I remember playing a coveted electronic festival called Electric Forest the summer after we graduated high school. Playing folk rock in our dorky dresses (mine covered in pop art chickens and Sav’s covered in cats), we were probably the biggest outlier on the bill, but our artist badges gave us all access. We could go to any stage and watch Lindsey Stirling and Phantogram and Skrillex perform from behind the curtain. In the artist lounge there was this huge juicer, and the women there made me this juice concoction with beets and apple and fresh garlic, and they laughed and said I was glowing. I couldn’t believe we were there.

What was it like for you to start touring and building a career at such a young age?

SB: It was a lot. We thought we were just having fun playing some music with each other and it took on a life of its own. Sometimes in the early years it felt surreal, like a plane taking off and you’re running down the tarmac trying to get on it. I think having a team early was key. We’ve always had the support of our respective parental units – both our moms and dads are musicians and singers and songwriters, so they understood our ambitions and goals and sought tirelessly to lift us up. Having a parent that understands the industry and was willing to support us full time was a lot of the reason we were able to be full-time musicians from a young age.

My mom took us on a brutal “trial tour” in the summer of 2012 – she booked 30 shows in 27 days with radio shows a lot of those mornings, to convince us to go to college. It didn’t work. It just solidified that Katie and I were compatible on the road. At the end of that tour, Katie and I knew we wanted to do this music thing to the extent of both of us [gave] up scholarships to college. My mom agreed to manage/tour with us and we signed our first deal right out of high school. She buffered a lot of the stigma attached to young females playing in clubs they weren’t old enough to be in and took a lot of the verbal abuse that comes with this industry and recording with people you don’t know very well and we watched her handle it.

We learned to start with respect – even when it isn’t mutual – but stand up for ourselves when necessary. We learned to compromise when we could and if we couldn’t live with it, hold our ground. We were made acutely aware of the power of “core base, fans, supporters, road family” and FAMgrove, the fanclub was born. They have kept us going through all the hardest parts.

KL: It was eye opening for a lot of reasons. We had an amazing support system and we were eager to learn and become better musicians. A lot of artists and people in the industry took us under their wing and I learned so many life lessons from those who treated us with mutual respect. There were times when people assumed we put ourselves on a pedestal and didn’t know how to use our gear or hold our own, because we were young. We learned quickly that being alone in the wrong place at the wrong time could be very dangerous and relied on our tour family to keep each other safe. Contradictions can be true. I think touring made us more independent, and also more dependent on each other. It made us more self confident, and more self-conscious.

You founded a nonprofit organization, Play It Forward, Again and Again, to empower youth and provide better access to instruments, lessons, and mentors. What led you to that kind of work, and do you have plans and hopes to continue? What is your vision?

SB: We do a lot of workshops for kids all over the country – songwriting workshops, improvisational workshops, alternative styles for strings workshops. When we were in high school, a duo called the Moxie Strings came to our school and did a performance playing electric violin and cello. That was so monumental to us; it showed us that it was possible to take those instruments to a contemporary world and succeed and it also showed us that there were women out there making it happen. We started doing workshops for exactly that reason – to perpetuate that cycle of inspiration and encouragement; to allow people of any background to have the opportunity to express themselves via music.

It’s hard to do that when budgets for music programs are typically the first to get slashed. Many schools we traveled to had only a choir or a band program, if any program existed at all. The underprivileged areas we visited often contained extremely talented kids who were naturally gifted, but lacked access to the tools due to financial constraints. Instruments can be incredibly expensive, especially in the orchestral world, and it keeps them from being accessible to kids who could use them for therapeutic purposes, who could change the world with them.

So, that led to us establishing a nonprofit with the goal to get instruments into those kids’ hands. Not only that, but we want to establish a support system for them to get follow-up lessons from a musician local to their area. This allows them not just the tools for self-expression, but also instruction on how to use those tools, too. We wanna connect schools with bands that are touring through and provide funding for the band and school to show kids that it’s possible to make a living doing something you love.

For anyone reading this who might not be out of the closet, were there any specific people, musicians, or resources that helped you find yourself as a queer individual?

KL: I’m still figuring out where I identify on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, so one of the most helpful things for me is to talk to friends about their experiences. It allows me to sort through things I resonate with and gives me a safe space for self-reflection. I’m not always the best communicator, but since I was a kid I always thought I had a good understanding of myself. That makes it hard for me to acknowledge that there are still parts of myself I’m learning about. It helps to hear other people I admire doing the same thing at various points in their life. These are a couple articles I’ve read that come to mind: Lucy Dacus on coming out and Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso talking about her identity.

Who are your favorite LGBTQ+ artists and bands?

SB: I think it’s important to clarify that many artists and bands have LGBTQ+ members without being an “LGBTQ-themed” band, per se. It’s hard for me to definitively know if a band with LGBTQ+ members or an artist who lies somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum wants to be considered an LGBTQ+ artist or band, unless they’re specifically writing songs about their queerness – otherwise it leads to assumptions that I don’t think it’s my place to make.

I think identification can be both empowering and entrapping. We contain multitudes and we are so much more than who we love. It’s a big reason why I don’t always talk about my queerness. That being said, there is an important aspect to identifying with your queerness and resonating with it that creates a safety net for others to be themselves and I am all about that kind of inclusion.

There are artists of the LGBTQ+ community paving the way for inclusivity every day: Ani DiFranco and Brandi Carlile were the firsts for me, then I had a writing session with Maia Sharp and it opened up my world. She was the first person to tell me that I was OK. Then I met Crys Matthews, Heather Mae, Ethel Cain, Spencer LaJoye, and I felt safer talking about it. There is space for queer artists to create art about their queerness and queerness as a whole, and there’s also space for queer artists to create art that’s not about their queerness, at least to themselves. My favorite LGBTQ+ artists and bands write all kinds of music, while staying true to themselves – whether they are out of the closet or still deciding how to verbalize how they feel.

What is your ideal vision for your future?

SB: We made a pie chart at the beginning of ’24 and we each decided how much time we wanted to give to each project. My ideal vision for the future is balance. Right now I’m feeling pretty good about playing as a side artist with Lainey Wilson and still sitting in with artists like Ashley McBryde, Hannah Wicklund, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and Kim Richey. Katie and I played strings (and other instruments) and sang on 40+ other albums this year and we loved that. So we’re always down for more session work.

The Accidentals are touring less in ’25 to make room for other projects and that was the plan that came out of the pie chart conversation. We’ll put out a couple albums in ’25 that we’ve been working on for two years, a TIME OUT 3 album (first single just dropped), a children’s album written with Tom Paxton, and a Christmas album with Kaboom Collective Studio Orchestra. We’ll tour those albums, but not much aside from that. We’re also looking at a “Michigan and Again” children’s book deal.

As far as long term, I’m one semester away from my bachelor’s in biology so I’ll likely finish that when time allows. The takeaway from all that is we are in love with the process, the learning, the growing, the becoming. We find gratitude everyday for the opportunity to explore all those things and become the best version of ourselves.

Photo Credit: Jay Gilbert