Jackson and the Janks, we started in a living room in New Orleans. Piano and guitar playing old gospel songs and trying to make a dance band. First there were two, then a third came in to use the bathroom – he was living in his van out front at the time. He sat down and played along after nature’s call. Over a year it grew from there, adding bass, saxophone, and steel guitar. We started playing shows in New Orleans, sweaty dance shows, and we didn’t have a name other than “the garage gospel band” (officially, Sam Doores’ Garage Gospel Band). We’ve branched out now and adopted New York janks into the family.
The Janks as a name came up, describing all things Janky. An old time, do-it-yourself way of playing, inspired by New Orleans R&B, rock and roll, honky tonk, and of course the sacred songs.
This playlist is a mix of sounds that influence the sentiments of Jackson and the Janks. Rollicking dance music, garage band approach, songs of love and lost love, sweet and sour, irreverent. – Jackson Lynch, Jackson and the Janks
“My Journey To The Sky” – Sister Rosetta Tharpe
There’s something wrong if Sister Rosetta is not in the conversation. True muse and queen progenitor of rock and roll, she kills me with her gospel.
“Rockin’ Bicycle” – Fats Domino
The great Fats Domino. I picked this because it inspires an approach to songwriting that gets overlooked. Have fun with the lyrical content and make fun music.
“Unchained Melody” – The Fleetwoods
I don’t take baths, but listening to this tempts me to try it out. The harmonies do it to me. My favorite version of this song.
“No More Tear Stained Makeup” – Martha & the Vandellas
This one has that lyricism and rhyme that I love. Taking a simple theme and so cleverly making it heartbreaking, don’t see it coming. Smokey Robinson at his best.
“Young Boy Blues” – Snooks Eaglin
New Orleans for real songster Snooks Eaglin played everything. Country blues, jazz, and pop songs of his day. That’s the job: play what people want to hear, do it good, and make it your own.
“Let’s Leave Here” – Jackson and the Janks
It’s about trying to not be the last one at a party that’s going under. Nothing’s happening, but you gotta leave before something does. “Gates are dropped, the service stopped, at the shop on the corner…”
“I Got Loaded” – Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band
This is a great zydeco version of a swamp-pop party song. Keith Frank (son of the famed Preston Frank) and his whole family make some of the best music I’ve ever had the privilege to dance to.
“Sweet Nothin’s” – Brenda Lee
Sugar, spice, everything nice.
“Sitting on my front porch, well do I love you? Of course,” Brenda growls and tucks me in.
“Who Will The Next Fool Be” – Charlie Rich
This speaks for itself. Just listen to how Charlie Rich sings the word “Who.”
“Life Is Too Short” – Benny Spellman
A great ballad deep cut from the man who gave us that deep voice on “Mother In Law.” Operatic. ”
We do big things in a hurry/ Let’s do what’s right to live…”
“Immigration Blues” – Duke Ellington
This secular hymn is my favorite shit. Early Duke’s orchestrated pieces like this make me regret and hope, sad and happy.
As John C. Reilly cavorts around a converted Brooklyn warehouse, his wiry hair branching heavenward, he looks a bit like a heavily rouged version of his eccentric Dr. Steve Brule. But Dr. Brule isn’t here, and neither is Reilly, in a sense. A fellow named Mister Romantic holds court instead, serenading and chatting up audience members in an effort to win their hearts. He swoons and croons, he has a microphone that looks like a rose, and he really, really wants to be loved forever, lest he be doomed to an eternity in a steamer trunk.
Reilly is the rare sort of actor whose talents span cutting dramas and gut-busting comedy antics, and underneath all of it, he’s maintained a soft spot for musical theater. Audiences have gotten a peek at that in Reilly’s Oscar-nominated embodiment of Chicago’s “Mister Cellophane,” and while he’s hammed it up as Dewey Cox in Walk Hard. He’s long nurtured his musicianship, too, with a handful of bands in his youth, a blues outfit, and his more recent cadre of bluegrass friends.
After finishing his duties as Jerry Buss in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Reilly fixed his energy on finding some sort of remedy to the discord that he felt dominating everyday life. Mister Cellophane only got the one song, as Reilly has noted, so he drew upon more than twenty years of his own tune-collecting to develop a repertoire that felt suited to his mission and was close to his own heart. He’s pulled most of his material from the early 20th century body of the American Songbook, which Reilly expands to include a handful of Tom Waits numbers. Though Mister Romantic works a special kind of magic in person, he issued a baker’s dozen of recordings on his album What’s Not to Love? in mid-June, a more permanent evidence of his visitation.
He credits Los Angeles’ famed venue Largo with being the nexus of countless creative relationships – including Mister Romantic compatriots like David Garza, fiddler Gabe Witcher, and Sebastian Steinberg, who joins the ensemble on their recordings. The crew keep remarkably stony faces as Reilly improvises his appeals to the crowd, part of the story built around Mister Romantic’s cosmic arc: “He’s been traveling in this box for thousands of years trying to find love, and he just fails over and over. He doesn’t have a memory of the past, but the band does, and they’re stuck in this purgatory cycle with him,” Reilly says.
In chatting up different audience members between selections (“I’m not gay or straight, I’m desperate,” he offers), Reilly hopes to get everybody in the room feeling like they can open up a little bit. The songs, for Reilly, facilitate that softening in a sort of bucket-brigade through time. “‘What’ll I Do?’ could’ve been forgotten by the 1930s, but people loved that song and kept passing it along, and here I am, doing it again,” he says. “I think that’s the way to pay things forward, to pass along what you think is good.”
Now with an album release and several more Mister Romantic shows in his rearview mirror, Reilly is impassioned and reflective as he considers the value of vulnerability in a prickly modern world. His fervent belief in the fundamental goodness of human nature spills over as he shares his efforts to bring a little more love into people’s lives.
You made a point to tell your first audience participant that you weren’t bringing her up there to shame her or embarrass her, which got me thinking about how you’re watching people react to your character in real time. What has that been like for you with these performances?
John C. Reilly: It’s been a really special part of the show. I don’t know what I expected it to be when I started doing this, just kind of improvising my way through, but it’s been amazingly consistent. I say that stuff about “I’m not going to embarrass you or do anything weird” because people just don’t know what the hell the show is about, what the boundaries are. I really want to make people feel like I’m going to take care of them up there. The joke is not going to be on them.
With the audience, I’ve noticed if you really see people and the best in them, or you look for qualities that you find attractive, and you talk about them – it’s amazing the way people let down their guard and open up. It makes the whole audience feel like I’m talking directly to each one of them, even though I only get to four or five people during each show.
Have you had any reactions that have caught you off guard?
Sometimes I ask pretty heavy questions, like, “Have you ever been in love? How long did it last?” People generally want to play along, there’s no one that has ruined the interaction. People always ask me, “Are those people plants?” They’re never plants. The second thing they ask is, “Does anyone ever not cooperate?” I have to say, it’s like, 100% cooperation so far. I think part of it comes from the loving approach and the fact that I say at the beginning what the mission of the night is going to be.
It’s a really encouraging part of the show for me personally, because you really do want to believe that, in their heart of hearts, people are good. When I do this show, that is what I think when I go through the audience. I try to look at every single person directly at some point. The whole point of the show is connection – to the music, the world, to each other – and creating a live unique moment with a group of people. Whatever’s happening outside in the world is one thing, but in here, we’re all going to be connected by the end of the night.
There was a moment where you kind of scolded someone for having their phone out, but you somehow did it in the nicest way possible, where you brought it back to maintaining a connection in the moment.
I try not to even engage with what phones even are. We try to make it clear that you’re not supposed to use your phone during the show. I called that guy out just because I was surprised to see it in his hand. My point was not to say, “You broke the rules!” or get mad at him. There have been other times when people have their phones out. The point of those interactions is always to point out what’s special about this moment without a phone. When I said that, the audience almost started cheering [note: this is true]. Everyone is getting to this place where they’re starting to realize the cost of using a phone, and the separation that it creates between you and a performance or an experience.
How did Largo get to be such a major fixture in your life?
Largo has been a big part of my life since it opened in the early ’90s. It’s been a big part of my development as a singer and as a musician. I had my bluegrass band there for a long time. Mark Flanagan, who owns the place, creates such a special vibe in there, and does not allow cell phones during the shows. The audience ends up being focused in this way that’s different than other places I’ve been.
It’s kind of this temple of quality and entertainment, especially music. When I first started going to Largo, it was Jon Brion and all these different musicians moving through there – a lot of my friends who I play with now, who I played with in the past in other bands. Walk Hard, the songwriters from there – all those guys were all part of the Largo scene in one way or another. It really feels like home when I’m there, and it has its priorities right. It’s not just a place that’s about profit and selling beers, slamming them in and slamming them out. There’s a real soul to the place. I shudder to think what LA would be without Largo.
Is your bluegrass band something you think you’ll return to?
The blues, bluegrass, and this kind of show-tune world are all different aspects of me. I had a blues band before I had a bluegrass band. But I love bluegrass music, for the same reason I love all these American Songbook standards that I’m doing. That’s part of the conversation about the show that I think is really important, that Americana doesn’t just mean white Southern folk music from the 1930s.
People talk about, “What kind of category does [Mister Romantic] fit in?” To me, it’s Americana. A lot of these songs were written by Americans, and they’re not classical music. I think bluegrass definitely falls under the Americana banner, but I think songs in the American Songbook also fall under the Americana banner. Blues music falls under the banner. Why is blues music separated as African-American music? It’s part of America’s history. We should all embrace under the same umbrella.
You’ve talked about using Mister Romantic as a vehicle for getting people to open up a bit more to love and empathy. I think of romance as only one slice of the pie when it comes to loving or forms of love – why go with “romantic” as your channel into exploring empathy?
To me, romance is appreciating a beautiful sunset, or the way a flower looks or smells. Appreciating some weird little detail about a person that makes them unique, that makes you cherish them. It’s not just a Valentine’s Day card. Think about the reason that you got crushes on different people in the past. Sometimes it’s about the physical looks, but oftentimes it’s like, “Man, I just love the way that person does their art.” You crush out on people because of why they’re special. That, to me, is romantic.
On the surface of it, this guy Mister Romantic is trying to fall in love, but he doesn’t even really know what that is. He has so little experience. All he knows is, it’s a deep connection with someone else that will then stay with you forever. I’m not trying to get anyone to be anything. To me, the show is an opportunity to come together. If you’re craving connection, then you should come. I’m not trying to lecture people. I’m just pointing out the inherent truth about human beings, that we do love each other, that the secret to civilization and the reason that human beings are still around on earth is because of love.
I was seeing a lack of empathy – a coarseness to our dialogue, or a viciousness to our debate, and I thought, “Well, that’s distressing. What could I do that might lessen that?” And I decided I’ll do a show about love, and I’ll invite people to come see it, and maybe they’ll feel what I’m feeling. [Mister Romantic] is more about reminding people of what is true about us. On a good day, I think, everyone feels that people are ultimately good when the chips are down.
There’s a line from bell hooks’ All About Love about how “cynicism is the great mask of the disappointed and betrayed heart,” and when I re-read that recently, it resonated with how the crowd felt at the end of the show—like this cynical layer that a lot of us have was dissolved for a bit while we were laughing and having a good time together.
Yeah! It’s not just about me and what I’m saying. It’s also the music. The music has an alchemical effect on people that does put air in their balloons. I didn’t know that quote, but I agree with it. I say misanthropes are actually the most romantic people of all. They’re the most sensitive. They’re so sensitive that when they experience disappointment, they retreat into this place of, “Well, if it can’t be perfect, then everything is terrible.” But if you’re really truthful about the way life is, there are all these gray areas. Everyone is not an asshole. That’s a generalization. To be a true misanthrope, you’re generalizing, and not seeing what’s really there.
You have to be open to someone being a good person. I think that’s just the truth of the way things are. I do think if you’re worried and you want things to be better in the world and in your own personal life, you have to be willing to be vulnerable, and willing to reflect a world that you want to see. These things sound so rudimentary, or maybe cliché, but that’s where we’re at. We’re having to fight for empathy, to say, “Human beings have value across the board.” Human rights are at stake right now in the world. So it’s not a cliché. It’s not a thing that’s assumed to be true by everyone. These things have to be regenerated, generation after generation.
What’s something you’ve learned about yourself in the process of bringing Mister Romantic to life?
I’ve learned a lot about the courage it takes to invite people to a place and say, “I’m going to sing for you.” I had to learn what my voice is when I’m not impersonating other people. How do I sing? How do I convey my spirit through my voice? Those are big things, and making this album was a huge step. The personal journey to get yourself to believe that it’s good enough to share –that’s a big struggle for everyone, especially the first time they do it. Mister Romantic was a big step in that direction for me saying, “Whatever, I may not be the most perfect singer, but the reason that I’m singing is a good reason, and I’m going to keep doing it.”
You have to kind of have this blind faith in the mission, because there’s all kinds of slings and arrows that you can generate for yourself. But then you remember the core of it – these experiences that you have during the show, that I have from the show – and that tells you what you should be doing with yourself, what is important. If touching people the way this show touches people isn’t important, then I don’t know what is. It has given meaning to my life at a time when I was really struggling for meaning.
Artist:Adam Chaffins Hometown: Louisa, Kentucky Latest Album:Trailer Trash EP (released May 16, 2025) Personal Nicknames: “Chaffins”
Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?
I’ve considered myself a multi-genre artist from the beginning. While I feel confident identifying as a country artist, that label doesn’t capture the full range of my influences. Growing up, I listened to country alongside Top 40 hits and classic rock – those styles shaped my ear just as much. In high school, I discovered bluegrass and jazz, and during college I really dove deep into those genres and honed my craft within them.
All of those influences have filtered into my writing today and I think that’s especially clear on this new EP. Music, like culture, is becoming increasingly interconnected and multi-dimensional. It’s exciting to see more country artists exploring new spaces and I want to make music that is part of that evolution.
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
Speaking of multi-genre artists, Willie Nelson is a great place to start. He’s part of the foundation of country songwriting – hell, songwriting in general. His music draws from so many different influences and we wouldn’t have the classic Willie Nelson records without that breadth.
It’s tough to single out just one artist as my biggest influence, but more often than not, when I’m writing a line or delivering a phrase, I catch myself asking, “What would Willie do?” His sound has never felt forced or put on – it’s authentic because he’s lived every word of it. Beyond the music, his lessons in patience and positivity have been a huge influence on me and have played a big part in keeping me grounded and continuing to make music.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
I love the outdoors – it’s essential for my creativity. Whether I’m kayaking on the lake, hiking with my dog, or cycling down country backroads, being outside helps me reset. When I’m feeling bogged down by the ‘business’ side of music, stuck on a lyric, or just need a break from a piece I’m learning, nature gives me the space to clear my mind. It’s like a creative reset button – being in the elements helps me return with energy and perspective.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
Some of my earliest memories are of wanting to be a musician – or at least be around musicians. I had toy guitars and drum sets and would just bang away, trying to get the sounds in my head out long before I had any idea what I was doing.
One moment that really stands out happened before I could even read or write. A local DJ I was obsessed with was doing a promo at a car lot and my mom took me to meet him. I thought he was the gatekeeper to all of music. I remember scribbling on sticky notes – what I explained were the instruments and band members I wanted for my future group. He smiled, folded the notes, and tucked them into his shirt pocket with a wink, just before going back on the air.
Looking back, that moment felt like an early manifestation. Even then, I knew music was where I wanted to be – I just didn’t have the words for it yet.
If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
I love to cook. When the world shut down during COVID and there were no shows to play, I got a big offset smoker trailer and started smoking whole chickens outside a locally owned grocery store. Honestly, I probably earned fans faster with barbecue than I ever have with music…
That said – it’s tough work. Tending fires inside a steel pit during a Tennessee summer isn’t for the faint of heart. But then again, neither is rolling around the country in a van playing songs for strangers. I guess one just happened to be the dream I had first. I still cook and smoke meat whenever I can and, if I weren’t making music, I could absolutely see myself doing that full-time.
Artist: Thompson the Fox Hometown: Tokyo, Japan Latest Album:The Fox In Tiger’s Clothing, vol.1: FOX
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
Takero Sekijima. I first encountered his music about 15 years ago, back when I was playing marimba and aiming to become a classical performer. At the time, I was unsure whether to continue pursuing that path. Until then, I had mostly performed solo, but his music taught me how powerful it can be to create music with others. After discovering his work, I came to believe that simple, warm music has the ability to speak directly to the heart. – Rie Koyama, xylophone
Earl Scruggs. When I started playing banjo at age 11, I was blown away by Foggy Mountain Jamboree by Flatt & Scruggs. I couldn’t read English at the time, but I began studying banjo on my own using Earl’s instruction book that my parents bought for me. He’s the most creative figure in the history of the banjo and he has always been the player I respect the most. – Takumi Kodera, banjo
Dennis Crouch. His bass lines are precise and never excessive, and the tone he creates with gut strings is truly unique. – Akihide Teshima, bass
Paul Motian. As a drummer, his playing opened my eyes to the idea that rhythm can have a three-dimensional structure – almost like cubism in sound. He also composed many brilliant pieces and constantly explored new musical possibilities through innovative work in trios and combos. – Tomohito Yoshijima, drums
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
There was a time when a tune I came up with seemed to call for many different characters or voices and I felt that Thompson the Fox alone didn’t have enough sound to fully express it. That was a real challenge. On our new album, we layered toy piano and percussion to expand the sound. For live shows, we do our best to recreate that lively atmosphere by ourselves. – RK
My goal in composing and arranging is to make the most of each member’s abilities through the ensemble. Writing for a band like ours – with its unusual and unprecedented instrumentation – is always challenging, but deeply rewarding. Since there’s no model to follow, I try to understand each instrument’s unique qualities as well as each member’s playing style. – TK
For me, every tune needs a story – like a short piece of fiction. The hardest part is crafting a story that’s compelling on its own, then figuring out how to express it through music in a way that evokes that narrative. Communicating that idea clearly to the other members is also part of the challenge. – TY
Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?
I’ve always approached music freely, without confining myself to specific genres. It’s all about expressing myself authentically. – AT
Rie comes from a background of classical and contemporary music, Tomohito from jazz, and Akihide and I from bluegrass. We’re a band made up of four people with completely different musical backgrounds. We’ve been searching for the common ground between us and expanding on that as we create music. As a result, I believe we naturally developed a unique sound that’s difficult to categorize into any specific genre. – TK
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
Grilled samma (Pacific saury) with Bones Jugs. – RK
On a cold winter day, sipping hot sake and enjoying oden at a cozy izakaya while listening to Amos Milburn. – TK
Yakitori with modern jazz. – AT
Spicy food so hot it makes you sweat, paired with Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. – TY
What would a perfect day as an artist and creator look like to you?
A day with no urgent deadlines. I’d practice the xylophone, take a nap, go for a run, drink some beer, eat fish, read a sci-fi book in the bath, and go to bed. – RK
A day when I can play the banjo not to prepare for anything, but purely out of interest and curiosity. – TK
A day when I can play without mistakes and enjoy a drink afterward. – AT
A day when I can spend as long as I want trying to beat an insanely difficult video game. – TY
Okay, we say it every week, but really– You Gotta Hear This! Our weekly premiere and new music roundup includes bluegrass, the blues, Americana, indie, bebop influences, and so much more.
LA’s American Mile kick us off with a music video for “Waiting on a Sunday,” which is equal parts roots rock and alt country – into Tom Petty vibes? This one’s for you! The song was inspired by a mundane gas station encounter on a silent pandemic Sunday. Singer-songwriter Meir Levine also launches “I Wish It Was Over,” an indie rock-tinged Americana track with poppy textures that considers closure, moving on, and looking ahead.
Unfortunately, two of our string bands below have the blues this week! EZRA, a talented new acoustic quartet with bluegrass roots and a stacked roster of pickers, bring us a performance video for “Basically a Blues,” where they turn a typical 12-bar blues progression inside out and upside down with acrobatic, virtuosic picking. Plus, Lonesome River Band’s new single, “Blues,” is an Adam Wright-written song featuring Rod Riley on Telecaster. That track is from their upcoming project, Telegrass, and we’re receiving the message loud and clear.
Singer-songwriter Mac Cornish covers Danny O’Keefe’s “The Road” with a deliciously retro, twangy ’70s sound that’s appropriately melancholic and full of life, too. Elsewhere in our roundup, you’ll hear Julia Sanders, who’s also inhabiting grief, sadness, and nostalgia in a video for her new single, “Star Stickers,” during which her listeners will certainly be able to picture glow-in-the-dark decorations stuck haphazardly to their childhood ceilings.
Make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom, though, as you won’t want to miss “Foxology” from Tokyo’s Thompson the Fox, an exciting newgrass quartet with an uncommon lineup: banjo, bass, drums, and xylophone. It’s fantastic music, bebop and jazz influences leading to sonic surprises around every twist and turn of the original melody. When this one arrived in our inboxes, we were immediately charmed and entranced. You will be, too.
It’s all right here on BGS and, simply– You Gotta Hear This!
American Mile, “Waiting on a Sunday”
Artist:American Mile Hometown: Los Angeles, California Song: “Waiting on a Sunday” Album:American Dream Release Date: May 2, 2025 (single); June 6, 2025 (album)
In Their Words: “When I was writing ‘Waiting on a Sunday,’ I was on a couch in Vermont. It was silent and my thoughts were the only thing around. It was 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, and I walked to the gas station up the street, ’cause nothing was coming to me in that silence. There was a lady at the gas pump trying to wrestle her kids into the car and pump gas at the same time. I thought I recognized her from high school, so I helped her pump her gas while she dealt with her kids. She told me a little bit about her life and the struggles of being a single mom; she was heading to church that morning. It all kind of flooded into my mind at that point and I wrote most of the lyrics that day. I thought to myself, ‘We’re all in a way waiting for a Sunday,’ whatever that means to us.” – Eugene Rice
Mac Cornish, “The Road”
Artist:Mac Cornish Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “The Road” Release Date: May 1, 2025
In Their Words: “‘The Road’ by Danny O’Keefe has been one of my favorite songs for years, because of Danny’s melancholic but beautiful lyrics about life on the road. Danny’s writing in general has always been important to me, but as time has passed and I’ve toured more, this song keeps resonating with me more. I started covering it with my backing band about a year ago and it quickly became a staple in our set and a favorite of our audiences. This past December we went into the studio and recorded the whole thing to tape, really trying to emulate the early ’70s sounds of this song, but also give our own spin on it. Our two acoustic guitars lay as the foundation for our version of the song. The bass and drums drive the song forward, but never distract from the delicate Travis picking. The pedal steel weeps through the whole song, emphasizing certain lyrics and complementing the vocal melody. I’m proud of my take on this ’70s classic and am excited to add my name to the list of artists who have covered this song.” – Mac Cornish
Track Credits: Mac Cornish – Acoustic guitar, vocals Bailey Warren – Acoustic guitar, backing vocals Trevor Stellflug – Pedal steel Jacob Miller – Bass Hunter Maxson – Drums
EZRA, “Basically a Blues”
Artist:EZRA Hometown: Oberlin, Ohio Song: “Basically a Blues” Album:Froggy’s Demise Release Date: May 9, 2025 Label: Adhyâropa Records
In Their Words: “‘Basically a Blues’ takes the standard chords used in a 12-bar blues and flips them upside down. All the well-known bluesy harmonies become diminished when doing this, and I found the sound to be fairly intriguing. I especially love the solos and trades that Max [Allard] and Jake [Jolliff] take over this quirky tune and have to give major kudos to Craig [Butterfield] who burns constant 8th notes for the duration.” – Jesse Jones, guitar
Track Credits: Jacob Jolliff – Mandolin Max Allard – Banjo Jesse Jones – Guitar, composer Craig Butterfield – Double bass
Meir Levine, “I Wish It Was Over”
Artist:Meir Levine Hometown: Upstate & Brooklyn, New York Song: “I Wish It Was Over” Album:Long & Lonely Highway Release Date: June 6, 2025 Label: First City Artists
In Their Words: “‘I Wish It Was Over’ came in one of those exceedingly rare moments, where I woke up one morning and the song was already fully formed in my head. The song covers a pretty simple message I think, about the things that we can’t seem to let go of, that we seek out just to feel something – even if it’s bad or harmful to us.” – Meir Levine
Track Credits: Meir Levine – Songwriter, vocals, guitars Andrew Freedman – Producer, piano, keyboards Will Graefe – Electric guitars, acoustic guitars Jeremy McDonald – Bass Mike Robinson – Pedal steel, guitars Jordan Rose – Drums
Lonesome River Band, “Blues”
Artist:Lonesome River Band Hometown: Floyd, Virginia Song: “Blues” Release Date: May 2, 2025 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “We’ve all had the ‘Blues’ in our lives, but this Adam Wright song sees the ‘Blues’ in a whole different light. It’s a lighthearted break from the sad songs – one that we have a ton of fun with. Featuring our good friend Rod Riley on the Telecaster, it comes from our upcoming Telegrass project.” – Sammy Shelor
Track Credits: Sammy Shelor – Banjo, harmony vocal Jesse Smathers – Acoustic guitar, harmony vocal Mike Hartgrove – Fiddle Adam Miller – Mandolin, lead vocal Kameron Keller – Upright bass Rod Riley – Electric guitar
Julia Sanders, “Star Stickers”
Artist:Julia Sanders Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina Song: “Star Stickers” Album:Dark Matter Release Date: May 16, 2025
In Their Words: “Usually my songwriting process is the same. I start with a melody and then lyrics start to unfold as the idea of the song becomes more distilled. With this one, the chorus came lyrics, melody, and all, as I was laying in bed getting my daughter to sleep one night. I had been asking myself, ‘What am I avoiding writing about?’ and maybe more than any other theme, was my challenging and painful relationship with my own mother. My mother struggled with mental health her whole life and in her own pain, she hurt those around her. Just before I started working on this album, she was diagnosed with ALS. Her physical decline was very quick and heartbreaking. The grief was heavy, complicated, and messy. Lying in my daughter’s bed that night, watching the yellow-green glow of star stickers on the ceiling, I felt like I was time-traveling – to my own childhood bedroom, needing my mother to be different than she could be, then back to this room, trying hard to be a different kind of mother for my own children, and then to the future, where nothing is known except that none of this lasts.” – Julia Sanders
Track Credits: Julia Sanders – Vocals, songwriter John James Tourville – Guitar Steve Earnest – Baritone guitar Landon George – Bass Bryce Alberghini – Drums
Video Credit: Ashlyn McKibben
Thompson the Fox, “Foxology”
Artist:Thompson the Fox Hometown: Tokyo, Japan Song: “Foxology” Album:The Fox In Tiger’s Clothing, vol. 1: FOX Release Date: May 3, 2025 Label: Prefab Records
In Their Words: “We’re a Tokyo-based instrumental quartet with a unique lineup – xylophone, banjo, bass, and drums. Each member comes from a different musical background: Rie Koyama (xylophone) from classical music, Tomohito Yoshijima (drums) from jazz, and Akihide Teshima (bass) and I (banjo) from bluegrass.
“Writing tunes for such an unconventional instrumentation always feels like an experiment. I’ve long had the idea that the rapid melodic lines and complex syncopation of bebop would suit the xylophone and banjo. So I wrote this tune with strong influences from Charlie Parker – which is why I named it ‘Foxology.’
“It was a lot of fun coming up with the A section melody that can be played in melodic style on the banjo, so is the B section featuring a double-stop chromatic scale played on the xylophone with four mallets. We hope you enjoy our new album!” – Takumi Kodera, banjo
It’s been a decade since Doni Zasloff and Eric Lindberg became musical and life partners, melding her background in musical theater and singer-songwriter music together with his blues, jazz, and banjo-picking roots. Now, with a new double album, Beacons, their band Nefesh Mountain dives deep into the myriad ways music can serve as a light in dark times.
The album’s eighteen tracks across two discs convey not only a ferocious command of numerous roots styles, but also a level of compassion and empathy lacking from so much topical music.
“We’re always trying to … walk that high wire between trying to provide an escape … and not neglect[ing] what’s so clearly happening day by day to all of us, as we watch the news and look at our phones and feel this fear and anger and depression,” says Lindberg. The news, he adds, has become “this thing that we can’t run from.”
For many artists on the folk/roots continuum, this desire to comment on the state of the world might mean focusing entirely on our current political leadership. For Nefesh Mountain, though, it means relating with their audience on an even more personal level than usual.
“That’s really part of our job, I think, as artists right now,” Lindberg says.
This echoes a message of “revolutionary love” that many other artists have gotten behind, courtesy of author Valerie Karr.
“Wonder is where love begins,” Karr wrote in her 2020 memoir, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love. “When we choose to wonder about people we don’t know, when we imagine their lives and listen for their stories, we begin to expand the circle of who we see as part of us.”
This notion is what inspired Ani DiFranco’s 2021 album Revolutionary Love and seems to be echoed on Beacons, with Nefesh Mountain’s determination to weave radical love into their approach to progressive bluegrass and Americana music. Indeed, Beacons seems to strive toward illuminating our common humanity.
Granted, this mission of “radical love” began with the name Lindberg and Zasloff chose for their band in the first place. “Nefesh” is a Hebrew word denoting life force, the sentience that pervades all living things. Radical love requires as much vulnerable expression as it does being open to the array of scary, emotional, dark trepidation so many people have in common. Among the topics Lindberg and Zasloff breach on Beacons: coming clean about a history of substance use, discussing the hard truths around their seven-year fertility journey, and their shared determination to maintain a sense of wonder in a world that can feel relentlessly staid. (“If we’re looking for some heaven, babe/ There’s some right here on the ground,” Lindberg sings in “Heaven Is Here.”)
The first disc of Beacons features a deft exploration of the group’s Americana tones. Though Lindberg and Zasloff are from the Northeast, their Nashville connections and twang-centric improv skills deliver a set of songs that could play just fine on say WSM, the radio home of the Grand Ole Opry.
The set begins with “Race to Run” – a radio-friendly country song about overthinking the struggles of the creative life (“I’m tired of trying to stay out in front/ But you remind me … it’s your own race to run”). “What Kind of World” is a rumination on a sense so many folks share these days, of powerlessness in the face of climate change. (“Is it just me? Can you feel it too?”) But, the song’s lyrics extend into geopolitics and the sense of divide that leaves so many feeling unstable.
Asked about the song’s vulnerable and rather personal honesty, Lindberg notes: “Remember, it was a year and a half ago when the fires from Canada kind of made their way down. We live in the New York area … so the line in the song is, ‘I saw the golden hour at 11 a.m./ They say it’s from the fires, it’s not us or them.’
“Now, a year later or so,” he adds, linking last year’s fire headlines with those of 2025, this time in California. “We had to sing this in Orange County a few weeks back while they were [still seeing smoke].”
As Lindberg’s proverbial camera pans out, the song considers the role of the average citizen in the face of such behemoth powers as climate and politics. “What’s it all for if we’re not all free,” the lyrics ask, shifting from fear about climate disasters to a purpose of climate justice. This ability to move from complaint to action item in a single verse, all couched in infectious twang, is what sets Nefesh Mountain apart from many others in the country space.
The Americana disc’s finest moment, however, is “Mother,” a song written by Lindberg that addresses so many of motherhood’s side effects. “I’ve lived many lives,” Zasloff sings. “…It’s all part of the job as a mother.”
Zasloff notes that her first two children – from a previous relationship – were practically grown when she and Lindberg began trying for a child of their own. What ensued was a seven-year fertility process that echoes what so many women encounter when they discover becoming pregnant is not always as easy as it seems.
“I burst out crying when [Eric] first shared [‘Mother’] with me,” she says, “because it was so personal and so empowering and beautiful for my husband to write that about me.”
In addition to the way the song tackles their infertility journey, it also reckons with Zasloff’s history with alcohol – something she chose to leave behind in order to become a mother. “I decided in that moment of having that song come into the world,” she says, “that I was wanting to talk about something personal that I had never talked about publicly, ever. Which is the fact that I am sober. I’m an alcoholic and I just celebrated 20 years of sobriety. And I actually became sober to become a mother. It’s part of my whole story.”
Livin’ with that drink, Lord, Always left me wanting more But I was saved When I became a mother
After that high point, the group moves into the traditional “Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning,” which Lindberg notes has long been a part of their live show. “We’d always mess with the arrangement,” he says. “I kind of just called it in the studio. We had a little bit of extra time. I didn’t know it was going to be on the album, but it’s one that the band knew when we were down in Nashville and we kind of arranged it on the fly.”
“We’re all New York guys and jazz players,” he adds. “So we wanted to lean into that a little bit and bring this real Americana spiritual into a different sonic space, really let improvisation take over, and help that add to the obviously beautiful meaning of the song.”
Nine tracks in, Beacons switches to bluegrass, bringing in giants of the form to round out the band. Of course, anytime Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Rob McCoury, Cody Kilby, and Mark Schatz come together in any room, the sound is bound to slap. Toss in Lindberg, whose pre-Nefesh background is jazz improvisation, and something truly special crops up.
“Regrets in the Rearview” opens this second disc, feeling like a bluegrass answer to the Americana set’s opener, “Race to Run.” Its instrumental section sets a high bar for the rest of the collection, as the band hands around lead duties, featuring some of the finest bluegrass instrumentals in the biz.
But it’s “This Is Me,” coming in at bluegrass track number three, that delivers one of the double album’s finest moments. Capitalizing on the band’s commitment to building connections and “radical love,” “This Is Me” tells the bluegrass side’s most personal story.
“A question that’s been thrown at us for years now, and especially to Eric,” says Zasloff, “is: How did a Jewish kid from Brooklyn get into bluegrass? … He came to me and he said, ‘I think I wrote a response song so that people will stop asking me that question.”
“I was thinking about it,” Lindberg says. “How did I get into bluegrass? [“This Is Me” is] more about if we’re lucky enough to find that thing that really makes us come alive and makes our soul kind of catch fire –whether it’s writing a song … or painting or sculpture or any trade anyone does. If that’s the thing, then it doesn’t matter, geographically, where we’re from.
“I’m of the belief, nowadays especially, with what we’re trying to do in the roots world, [that it’s important to] try to break down all the barriers,” he continues. No matter where people are from, he adds, “there are people that find this music and go, ‘Wow, that is lighting me up!'”
With that, Lindberg hearkens back to the title of the album. That music might be a light in dark times is, of course, no new concept. (Consider “This Little Light of Mine.”) But the fact that the idea has been floated before doesn’t mean it’s not worth mentioning. At a time when so many folks feel powerless to the onslaught of news and information coursing through the internet and the real world alike, it can be easy to feel like none of us are enough to meet the moment. But Beacons is a reminder that there is no darkness without light.
“No one knows how we become who we are,” Lindberg says, before offering a word of advice. “Everyone just be yourself –regardless of the questions you get or the pain or the hate that you see. You’ve just got to stay true.”
Artist: Amy Irving Hometown: San Francisco, California Latest Album: Always Will Be (out April 25, 2025)
What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?
I’ve been an actor all my life. I began on this new path, making music with the band GOOLIS, a few years back. And I’ve been learning so much from them, especially our band leader Jules David Bartkowski.
I remember going into the studio to record our sophomore album, Always Will Be, and Jules suggested I improvise some. Well, let me tell you, as an actress, I had been traumatized in acting school improv class. I was never comfortable acting without a script. I’ve always considered my gift was in interpreting playwrights’ words. So, when I sang, I followed the notes exactly. But Jules and Aaron, our keyboardist, insisted that I try. I complained my mistakes would be so loud and they replied, “Oh yeah, Amy, we never make mistakes here.” Okay, I got it. I did it. And now you can’t keep me down on the farm.
What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?
Before every show, after sound check, I retreat to my dressing room, to meditate and rest my voice. It’s a time to conserve my energy. I eat some protein that will not talk to me on the stage. Half a beta blocker keeps my hands from shaking. I do a vocal warmup, either alone with a taped class or over FaceTime with my wonderful vocal coach, Celeste Simone. Gabriel Barreto, my son and manager and record producer and photographer, then digs his elbows into my tight shoulders. When it’s five minutes to showtime, I usually run to the bathroom and have to throw up (yes, I get terrible stage fright), knock back a shot of tequila, then Jules leads us all in an exercise of shaking all the tension from each part of our bodies.
Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?
Working with bandleader Jules is a thrill, because our music covers so many genres, once he decides on his arrangements. He has taken the songs of Willie Nelson and transformed them from punk rock to samba.
Broadly speaking, Jules was going for a kind of golden age of mid- to late-century global pop/rock approach. To offer a more specific example: the first song of the record Always Will Be, “Dream Come True,” was, for Jules, an attempt to channel 1960s Italian rock acts like Mina and Adriano Celentano, while throwing in some Vegas-style late Elvis maximalism and some doo-wop baritone sax. On the song “Getting Over You,” he was trying to find an intersection between The Clash and The Supremes. On “Everywhere I Go” he was trying to mix the Mexican influence of the original with the connected worlds of Klezmer and Balkan music and 1970s Ethiopian jazz.
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
I’d like to eat foie gras and fig jam on a baguette with a glass of pinot noir while Édith Piaf sings to me “Non, je ne regrette rien.”
Does pineapple really belong on pizza?
I think anything goes. I remember a long time ago when Wolfgang Puck first opened Spagos on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, I was appalled to see “Jewish Pizza” on the menu. Well, it was smoked salmon and cream cheese pizza and I’m here to tell you it was delicious!
Every year, the GRAMMY Awards bring us bigger, brighter, and more jaw-dropping stage performances. (Think Chappell Roan atop a gigantic pink pony this year, or Billie Eilish performing amidst an indoor recreation of the Southern California hills.) But the GRAMMYs stage also hosts dozens of more intimate performances during its annual awards show and premiere ceremony, like “Rhapsody in Blue” by prolific banjoist and composer Béla Fleck. (Watch an official clip from the premiere ceremony broadcast here.) With nothing but his banjo to accompany him, Fleck brings a stunning liveliness to this over-100-year-old tune originally composed in 1924 by George Gershwin.
It’s not often that we get to see such straightforward and understated performances at major awards shows like the GRAMMYs. Fleck isn’t accompanied by anyone else on stage at the premiere ceremony. It’s just him and his banjo atop a stool, with a single instrument mic for sound. Even so, the whole arena is silent and enraptured for his performance. As he plays, Fleck seems completely present with the music, following its many twists and turns combining jazz, classical, and ragtime elements.
You’ll probably recognize “Rhapsody in Blue” (it would be hard not to), as it’s been featured in everything from The Simpsons to Baz Luhrman’s 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald was famously a fan of the song). Fleck’s performance is anything but tired, redundant, or stale. Instead, the tune feels entirely alive and refreshing, a welcome acoustic interlude amidst the day’s fanfare. We can’t help but think Gerswhin would approve. As Fleck finishes, the GRAMMY winner gives a grateful nod and a humble smile, as he holds his banjo up on his knee.
Fleck is one of the most-nominated artists in GRAMMY history, with 47 total nominations to date and 18 wins – including his most recent win this year for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for his 2024 release with Chick Corea, Remembrance. After checking out the behind-the-scenes video of “Rhapsody in Blue” (above) shot by renowned bassist Leland Sklar from his position waiting behind Fleck on stage with the house band, we highly recommend heading over to the GRAMMYs page to watch the official video of Béla Fleck’s performance.
Artist:Max Wareham Hometown: Middletown, Connecticut Latest Album:DAGGOMIT! (releasing February 21) Personal Nicknames or Rejected Band Names: The Bluegrass Pagans, The Bluegrass Feds, The Bluegrass Paranormal Investigators, The Bluegrass Rats
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
I play in Peter Rowan’s Bluegrass Band – he’s been a pretty big influence on me. His spirit as an artist burns strong; he has a vision that isn’t restricted by parameters of tradition or genre and he has an incredible way of singing and playing from the heart. Who else has played in a band with both Bill Monroe and Jerry Garcia? I was honored to have him produce my album, DAGGOMIT!. He’s also a distant cousin of mine.
What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?
I like to write and practice photography, especially film. The great French photographer Eugene Atget is a huge inspiration to me. His photographs have profound harmony in them – every proportion is perfect and the simplest lines can be so expressive. To me, it’s very musical. I also love the German author W.G. Sebald. His writing often explores themes of decay and loss through a gauzy lens of nostalgia, not unlike bluegrass music.
What’s the most difficult creative transformation you’ve ever undertaken?
I’ve worn lots of different musical hats, so I generally don’t find it difficult to transform creatively. While bluegrass and the banjo are my primary focus, I played electric bass for years in psych-pop band, Sun Parade, and studied jazz guitar performance at school. I write and record some non-bluegrass songs under the name Sir Orfeo and was in the chamber-pop studio band Cousin Moon – to me, it’s all music.
If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
I’d probably work in archaeology. I quit music for a short while and worked on an archaeological dig in eastern Tennessee, excavating a 16th century Cherokee settlement. There’s something I love about digging, whether that’s literal or uncovering the history of forgotten banjo players.
I crewed for a hot air balloon pilot for a while, too, but that’s a tough gig.
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
Well, I did once find myself grilling a steak in a parking lot behind a venue with Dobro legend Jerry Douglas. I thought his company and the steak were a perfect pairing. He was wearing denim and the steak was medium-rare.
The members of Big Richard – Joy Adams (vocals, cello, banjo, octave mandolin), Eve Panning (vocals, fiddle), Hazel Royer (vocals, bass, guitar), and Bonnie Sims (vocals, mandolin, guitar) – were seasoned studio and gigging musicians when they met for their first rehearsal. Familiar with one another from Colorado’s thriving music scene, their initial gathering was the result of an offer to assemble a band and perform at McAwesome Festival 2021 in Castle Rock.
Musical and personal chemistry, apparent during practice, was also a given onstage, solidly reinforced by an outpouring of support from fans. There was also a flip side – backlash to the band’s suggestive name and often-bawdy stage banter. This, it turns out, created even more incentive to continue. Big Richard was officially a band.
Their wealth of experience across musical genres – bluegrass, country, jazz, classical, rock, and beyond – opened the door for writing, recording, and performing music that pushes beyond parameters while remaining firmly planted in tradition. It shows on their new album, Girl Dinner (released January 24), produced by the band and recorded with Colorado musician and friend Eric Wiggs at his Vermillion Road Studio.
Technically their second release, following 2022’s Live from Telluride, Girl Dinner represents several firsts for the band: their first studio release, first recording of all-original material, and first with Royer, who joined the ensemble a year ago. According to the musicians, Girl Dinner demonstrates the many sides of Big Richard, everything from stripped-down, quiet instrumentation and harmonies to the blazing solos that define their performances.
When was it obvious that Big Richard would be more than a one-festival project?
Joy Adams: It wasn’t really in the first rehearsal. It was in the reception to the show that we played. Obviously, bluegrass is a jam-based genre; it’s common to sit down with your friends and play tunes. But we felt a crazy chemistry in the way we sang and played together that was apparent from the very first song we played at Bonnie’s house. When we played McAwesome Fest, for starters, our set got rained out, so we didn’t get to play the whole set. We were upset about that. We were looking for another gig just so we could get to the other songs. And we also had a bad reaction to us, too. There were people who were very upset about our name and how crass we were onstage and we got some initial hate mail after that first show. That was the moment – in my head, anyway – where we were like, “Oh, we have something here. If we can ruffle some feathers with this band, we’ve got to do this. This is an important thing.”
When and how did you build the band?
Bonnie Sims: We played that first gig in May 2021, our second gig in September 2021, and we hit the ground running in the beginning of 2022. We booked [Colorado festivals] RockyGrass and WinterWonderGrass right out of the gate, and that gave us a lot of fuel in our tank to want to invest in the creative side, start writing together, start rehearsing more, and really invest in the music, because we had these exciting opportunities to be a part of. Not long after we booked those things ourselves, we signed with Crossover Touring. Our buddy Chandler Holt has been our booking agent from the beginning and has been a huge part of helping us get to lots of festivals and play fun rooms.
Eve Panning: That first year or so was an unexpected influx of gigs. We did a ton of touring and I feel like we were kind of playing catch-up. It’s been really fun in this last year. We’ve all settled into the band a little bit more, and it’s been fun to hear the songs that everybody’s bringing and spend a lot of time working on those. You can hear that in the new album. Live From Telluride had some originals, but we were doing a lot of covers because we were so new as a band. This new album is all originals, and it’s been fun to explore that side of things as well.
How have the sound and dynamic changed since Hazel joined you?
JA: The band has changed so much. Hazel is wonderful. Her attitude is fantastic. She’s an incredible musician who has brought the level of the band up a lot. The arrangements have gotten better, the groove is tighter, and the overall balance of band vibes is wonderful. It’s everything all of us could ever have dreamed of, and I blame Hazel for that entirely. She’s such a lovely person to be around, she writes incredible songs that are deep and moving and exciting, and we’re so lucky to have her in the band. She really saved us.
BS: I agree. Hazel brings such a strong singing voice. It’s really fun to lean into the power she brings vocally, intertwine with that power, and lose ourselves in it. And her original songs are incredible. It’s a natural elevation of maturing as a group and playing together. This is year three going on to year four for the band. It’s a lot different. The pace has been incredible as far as how much time we’re spending making music together. It’s very much like a pressure cooker. It has an effect on the music itself, so the sound has evolved immensely and continues to evolve in an exciting way.
Hazel Royer: Thank you, everybody. That’s so nice. When I joined the band, everyone was, “We want to work. We want to try new things and learn new songs.” We spent two months rehearsing before we played our first gig with me on bass. We looked at the music and we became a band before playing the shows. There was an emphasis on learning new material, and there was a really good excuse to do that because there was a new member and no gigs for a couple months, so we had the space to learn new things. I’m really grateful that I got to be a part of that.
EP: When you only have four people onstage and it’s all acoustic instruments, when 25 percent of the band changes, that’s really significant. That means the sound is definitely going to change. But, like everyone said, Hazel has such a powerful voice, she’s such an accomplished musician, so it’s felt great. It’s felt like a wonderful step up.
HR: I was super-lucky because everyone in this band wanted me to exist as myself. That was the primary thing: “We want you to sing. We want you to write your own songs and bring them to the band.” That’s rare for a new person – joining a band and being like, “We want what you do as embedded immediately.” Additionally, we have a lot of crossover, musically, that we all can draw from. I grew up playing bluegrass and old-time music, and these guys are steeped in that. I also like pop music, and everybody likes that, and I had classical studies, and there’s two people who are very accomplished classical musicians, so there was a lot of crossover that made the integration of myself into the band easier than it could have been.
Let’s talk about the album – the songwriting process, song selection, your goals going into the studio.
BS: Our goal was to present something different than what we presented on our live album, which, like Eve said, was mostly covers. We recorded Live From Telluride after being a band for right at the one-year mark. It was very much the first generation of material. This is our debut studio album, but it’s our sophomore offering as far as the material, in my opinion, because it’s the second stage of the band’s development as far as it’s all original. There’s introspective and thoughtful moments within the songwriting. We have those at shows, but they’re always intermixed with high-energy, raging things where you can hop around and have a really intense, energetic experience. The album, I feel, offers up the soft side of Big Richard, in a way. We have this saying, “Big Richard, big feelings,” and the album is representative of that side of the band, which is, again, usually balanced with this different vibe live. So we took that out and just are doing the original stuff on the record, which is exciting.
Did you write deliberately to explore that softer side, or did the direction become obvious as you were writing?
JA: We didn’t intentionally write a soft album, and I hesitate to call it a soft album, because there are some burning fiddle tunes that Eve wrote and there’s a couple of aggressive songs, mostly coming out of Bonnie’s pen. The album is all over the map. The more lyrical songs were collected over the course of a year playing together. We love these songs so much and they got such a good reception at all of our shows. We did play them out pretty thoroughly before we recorded them, so it was a matter of collecting our favorite songs that we felt hit the emotional depths of “Big Richard, big feelings.” We were really proud of these songs.
HR: To go off of what Joy said, they’re our favorites. We picked them because we all were very passionate and love those songs. There are some soft songs on the album, but there’s a wide variety of things going on there. It is different than our live show by a significant margin. The album, in my view, is a piece of something that’s made out of love. We love this music and we created these arrangements together.
Once the songs were selected, what was the sequencing process?
EP: We had an initial sequence, and then we were limited by how many songs we could put on each side of the vinyl, so we had to take our original idea and rework it. The album starts and ends with songs about saying goodbye, and that hits; that feels like a powerful moment.
HR: We looked at this group of songs as a set list. We wanted to create a listening experience similar to something we would provide at a show, like, how do these songs flow into each other? Are there seamless transitions that we’re able to utilize? That’s how we looked at sequencing the album. And also separating saying goodbye a million times. At the top and the end of the album was important.
BS: Vinyl presents an opportunity for sequencing to have more of a presence again. With digital consumption, people just click what they want and add it to their own playlist. No shade; do your thing with your playlist, but with vinyl you’re going to probably sit and listen to it in the order that we put it in, because that’s the style of listening for a record. So it’s nice to have that opportunity with vinyl.
Tell us about the recording process.
JA: We recorded this album in May 2024, and we had the last master submitted in September or October. Vinyl production takes a little while, so we got the vinyl back in December, which was really exciting. Mixing and mastering is a crazy process that takes so long. That’s the part I’m very obsessed with. I was, unfortunately, the squeaky wheel the whole time, being like, “The bass needs to be half a dB [decibel] higher in this song, in this one section, but not all the other sections.” That was all me. I love the process of recording. We’re not a band that plays a song a hundred times – thank heavens for that. We tend to get things within five takes. Some solos got replayed or re-recorded, little things that got added, studio magic. I’m very proud that this album required basically no tuning and really simple edits.
EP: We also did a lot of tracks without a click. We didn’t go into the studio with a plan as far as which ones we were going to record to a click and which ones we were going to just play. But I think it keeps a lot of life in those songs as well, playing them like we do with a little bit of breadth to them.
HR: This might go without saying, but we tracked the whole thing together. We made basic tracks and there was some soloing, editing, but that was it. Just iso booths, but all four of us live.
The album was self-produced. What does the word “producer” mean to you? Did you experiment much or make changes to the songs while recording them?
JA: Production for this kind of band, to me, means deciding how we were going to record it, which is a very big discussion: are you all in the same room together, are you recording separate, are you recording to a click track, etc. And then, of course, trying to democratically decide what take has the most musical power, because you’re going to sacrifice a little perfection somewhere for the sake of something that’s riveting. That’s always the case. And then making decisions about mixing and mastering. In some ways it would have been nice to have had an external source of nature in the room, like another producer to help us make those decisions, but it was incredibly empowering to make them ourselves, because we have dragged these songs through both the mud and the sky on the touring road.
We had really figured out and dialed in the arrangements in front of thousands of people. We knew exactly what we wanted out of these songs, and so it was liberating to be able to put those down in our way and not have to fight a producer on some decisions. As far as things changing in the studio, not a whole lot changed. We were all playing the instruments that we do. Sometimes Hazel plays guitar or bass, and so we had the ability to have both bass and guitar on some of her tunes, which was really effective. That was one thing that was different than how we usually do it live.
HR: To go off what Joy said, I think the production, as far as the musical side of things goes, really did happen on the road and in rehearsals. We came into the studio knowing our songs, exactly how they go, what we want where, and what we’ve tried and tested a billion times, instead of coming up with arrangements in a studio environment.
The Colorado music scene has been very supportive. How great a part have those audiences played in taking the band to the next level?
BS: The audience has been instrumental in every step and every piece of our success. They are the success, because if they weren’t there, buying tickets and wanting to be at shows, we wouldn’t have a reason to be out touring. We’re grateful to everybody who comes to shows. When we come back to our Colorado hometown vibe, it really keeps us going. It keeps the light on for us, because those are the crowds that lift us up energetically and have been there from day one. Coming back to those audiences fills our tank in a real way.
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