Artist:Birds of Play Hometown: Ophir, Colorado Song: “Not Alone” Album:Murmurations Vol. 1 Release Date: September 3, 2021
In Their Words: “‘Not Alone’ was written in the thick of lockdown, early April 2020. I was sitting down to read a book when I found out that John Prine had died. I put my book down and picked up my guitar and played his songs for a couple hours. Somewhere in the midst of that celebration and mourning this song appeared. I wrote it over the course of that night and the next morning as a bit of a reflection on our shared lot. It feels cathartic to sing and still unfortunately relevant.” — Alex Paul, Birds of Play
Artist:Mike and the Moonpies Hometown: Austin, Texas Latest Album:One to Grow On Personal nicknames: The Moonpies
All answers by Mike Harmeier
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
It would be impossible for me to narrow it down to just one artist. Early on, I was heavily influenced by George Strait and ’80s/’90s country artists, in general. I really thought that was the path I would take — a very commercial approach to country music. I would later gain a new perspective when I started listening to more songwriters like Guy Clark and John Prine. It was then that I wanted to add more depth and sincerity to my music. When I moved to Austin in 2002, I started to get more into the art of record making and that process was heavily influenced by bands like Wilco and Radiohead. Lately, I’ve kind of melded all that into an approach that’s more along the lines of Jerry Jeff Walker. Freewheeling records with thoughtful lyrics and just having fun playing music with my friends.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
I’ve had countless moments that stick out in my memory from being on stage. Most of them include our artist friends joining us on stage. From the big jams we usually host at Mile 0 Fest in Key West, to our encores with the opening bands joining us for a cover song to end the night. Most recently, Jerry Jeff Walker’s son Django joined us on stage in Alpine, Texas, for our rendition of “London Homesick Blues.” It’s a song written and performed by Gary P. Nunn and made famous on Jerry Jeff’s Viva Terlingua record. We cut it in London at Abbey Road Studios for our Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold record. That was a very special moment and felt like a culmination of a lot of things for us. You never know who will join you or when, and that excitement always makes for a memorable show.
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
I’ve always found a lot of inspiration in film. Especially when that film uses the right music for a particular scene. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hit pause on a movie to write a song. Some songs can take on a whole new meaning when you put them behind the right scene or character and I will sometimes use those character’s emotions to inspire a new subject to write about. I’ve written quite a few songs just off one line I heard in a movie or TV show.
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
I actually had a lot of tough moments writing songs for this record. I had more time than normal to write and rewrite these songs. There were countless edits and rewrites and versions of the songs that we just scrapped and then started over. While I think these are some of the best songs I’ve written, it really took much longer to get to a place where I was happy with them. I think if you spend too much time on one thought it can be a dangerous game to play. I’m still learning when to put the pen down and be satisfied with what came naturally. It’s a fine line.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
I think I have subconsciously done this a lot with many songs in our catalogue. Not until this record have I made the conscious decision to write from a character’s perspective. While I was experiencing or have experienced a lot of the feelings and virtues of the character on this album, I tried to take myself out of it as much as I could. I wanted to broaden the scope and viewpoint beyond my own personal experience so I strayed away from talking too much about road life or really much to do with my personal experience with my work as a musician. I wanted to project a world view from the perspective of an everyday nine-to-fiver and play with how that intersected in my own personal experience. While there is a lot of myself in these songs, I think it translates to the everyman in a very relatable and accessible way. At least to anyone that works hard to get where they want to be.
Artist:Tré Burt featuring Kelsey Waldon Hometown: Sacramento, California Song: “Dixie Red” Album:You, Yeah, You Release Date: August 27, 2021 Label: Oh Boy Records
In Their Words: “I prayed under an old oak tree in my neighborhood a lot for John Prine and his family while he was in the hospital last year. In the days following his passing I was mostly silent and listened to The Tree of Forgiveness non-stop. One night, I was standing on my porch looking at the full moon through a break in the trees over my street. It was especially silver and awfully large. The moon looked as if it were signaling John’s safe arrival to the other side. I felt privileged to witness this message sent for his family. ‘Dixie Red’ is a southern-grown peach and that line from ‘Spanish Pipedream’ has always been so potent to me. So I used a peach as imagery to represent John’s body of work he left behind for all of us.” — Tré Burt
Artist:Ric Robertson Hometown: Greensboro, North Carolina Latest album:Carolina Child
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
I attended second grade at Garden Ridge Elementary in Flower Mound, Texas. The twenty or so of us in my class put on a play about popcorn, some of us dressed as corn that had been popped, others of us were merely kernels. I was a kernel. My one line happened before the big final musical number, encouraging the other kernels, “WE CAN DO IT!” Then the song…
“Weeee can do it (POP! POP!) weeee can do it (POP! POP!) weeee can do it, if we try, try, try.”
What a thrill. Still waiting to pop.
What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?
Ideally I spend the four days before a show without any sleep, alternating every hour between practicing didgeridoo circular breathwork techniques in the sauna and soaking in a bathtub filled with lukewarm matzah ball soup. Then I try to always miss soundcheck and arrive at the gig exactly 13 minutes before it starts. Finally, I look for all the emergency exit doors and fire alarms in the venue, and make sure to set them all off immediately before I walk on stage to create some excitement for the audience.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I never wanted to be a musician, I just happen to be one. It’s working out alright, though I’m not sure I’d recommend it. The list of things I want to be grows bigger everyday, the last few additions being:
· kitesurfer · card-carrying member of the Bohemian Grove · cat
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
Break even.
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
Seven cheesy Gordita crunches from Taco Bell while watching a Justin Bieber livestream in bed. With napkins, of course. And a bowl of Fiona Apple Jacks for dessert.
Tim O’Brien is putting his best foot forward with He Walked On, a new collection of eight originals and five carefully chosen covers. Through his music he shares his worldview, by channeling significant figures like Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, Congressman John Lewis, and John Prine. The topics on this self-produced record may be heavy, yet O’Brien believes that the music offers an opening for reflection.
“When you sing something, it kind of sneaks in, in that music is a powerful medium,” he says. “It’s a language that’s mysterious on its own — it tugs on the emotions. It grabs people’s attention in a certain way and prepares them to hear things, and music kind of draws people together.” O’Brien wrote the album’s lead single, “I Breathe In,” which BGS proudly premiered in May. He relied on longtime band members like Mike Bub on bass, Pete Abbott on drums, and fiancée Jan Fabricius on vocals to round out the record.
“The project is about what you need to do to survive in America,” he told BGS. “We all need a roof over our head and something to eat, of course, but we also need love. I’ve been grateful to have Jan beside me during the pandemic. The song stresses the need to take things one step or one breath at a time, and to keep those you love close as you do so.”
O’Brien’s own journey has carried him from his birthplace in West Virginia, through the Colorado bluegrass scene, and ultimately to Nashville, where he’s been a key figure in the roots music community since the ’90s. In some ways, He Walked On reads like a map, with distinctive songs like “Five Miles In and One Mile Down,” about the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in West Virginia in 2010. (The banjo adds some serious mood to this narrative, too.) In addition, “El Comedor” was written with Fabricius after they joined a grassroots humanitarian effort to provide water and food to immigrants at the border near Tucson, Arizona.
“You talk about the music, where would we be in America if we didn’t have this mix of people from Africa and Europe and Native Americans,” he says. “We’re family, but we’re estranged, and we’ve never learned to be family in so many ways. And it’s crazy, and we’re still suffering from that. If you read James Baldwin — America’s insane. And until we figure out how to actually deal with reality here, we’re just going to stay insane.”
With a multi-tasking musician like Tim O’Brien, who plays mandolin, fiddle, guitar, mandola, and mandocello on this record, his creative path could carry him almost anywhere. And his comic timing is impeccable on songs like “Nervous” and “See You at the Funeral.” Until he brings us on his next adventure, let’s enjoy a few songs from He Walked On, mixed in with some classics, on our BGS Essentials playlist. Read part one of our Artist of the Month interview here. Read part two here.
2020 was a year of many things – COVID-19, existential elections, the shuttering of the music industry, and on and on – but one common, non-catastrophic throughline of the musical variety was cover songs. Many musicians and artists, finding themselves with more free time than usual and more standard-fare albums and cross-continental tours back-burnered, took the opportunity to explore live records, collaborations, and yes, covers. From Molly Tuttle to Wynonna, livestreams to socially-distanced shows, covers became an unofficial pandemic pastime.
Now, in 2021, many of these cover projects conceived and created in 2020 have made it to store shelves – digital and otherwise – and we’ve collected ten tributes worth a listen:
Shannon McNally covers Waylon Jennings
It’s fitting that Shannon McNally released The Waylon Sessions on Compass Records, whose headquarters now occupies “Hillbilly Central.” As Tompall Glaser’s former studio, the building helped give rise to country’s outlaw movement and it’s where Waylon himself recorded. With guests like Jessi Colter, Buddy Miller, Rodney Crowell, and Lukas Nelson, the project recontextualizes Waylon Jennings’ material, which is usually associated with hyper-masculine wings of the country scene. As McNally puts it in a press release, “What Waylon Jennings brought to country music is what country music needs right now, and that unapologetic and vulnerable sense of self are what women are tapping into artistically right now as the industry evolves.”
Steve Earle covers Justin Townes Earle
Many a musical child has covered their parents’ catalogs in retrospect, but it’s rare that we see the reverse. A gorgeous, gutting, and laid-bare album, Steve Earle’s J.T. is a ten-song tribute to his son, Justin Townes Earle, who passed away suddenly in August 2020, shocking the Americana and folk communities. Earle’s signature emotion bristles and crackles throughout the project, giving Justin Townes’ songs an even stronger quality of visceral electricity. Proceeds from the album will go to a trust for Etta St. James Earle, Justin Townes’ daughter and Steve’s granddaughter.
The Infamous Stringdusters cover Bill Monroe
Spread out from North Carolina to Colorado and beyond, the Infamous Stringdusters utilized home recording from their respective studios during the pandemic to accomplish musical creativity their jam-packed schedule hadn’t really allowed in the “before times.” Their brand new EP, A Tribute to Bill Monroe, returns the virtuosic jamgrass outfit to territory familiar to those who first found the group when they were cutting their teeth, striding out from traditional bluegrass into the vast, expansive newgrass-and-jamgrass unknown. The project illustrates that the true strength of this ensemble is found in utilizing traditional bluegrass aesthetics for their own creative purposes. For example, you might listen through the entire record without realizing the Stringdusters made a Bill Monroe tribute album without mandolin!
Mandy Barnett covers Billie Holiday
Mandy Barnett is a cross-genre chameleon; between her talent, her voice’s timeless Americana tinge, and her appetite for classics — from Nashville staples to the American songbook — she often finds herself reaching far beyond Music Row and classic country to R&B, standards, and in her most recent release, Billie Holiday covers. Every Star Above was recorded in 2019, pre-pandemic, and includes ten songs from Holiday’s 1958 Lady in Satin album – songs previously also covered by Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington, and many, many others. The project feels akin to Linda Ronstadt’s pop and big band forays, never fully detached from Barnett’s country roots, but built atop their solid foundation. In another Ronstadt-esque move, Barnett partnered with recently departed jazz arranger Sammy Nestico; Every Star Above was the award-winning composer’s final project.
Charley Crockett covers James Hand
Country-western crooner Charley Crockett is truly prolific, having released nine full-length albums in the past six years. As the story goes, before his friend, acclaimed Texan singer-songwriter James “Slim” Hand passed away unexpectedly about a year ago, Crockett promised he would record his songs. “Lesson in Depression” captures the sly, winking quality of the best sort of sad-ass country, which isn’t burdened by its own melodrama. While it’s certain Crockett (as Tanya Tucker would put it) would have rather brought Slim his flowers while he was living, there’s a poignancy in how 10 For Slim – Charley Crockett Sings James Hand, like Earle’s J.T., immediately demonstrates how these impactful musical legacies will live on.
Lowland Hum cover Peter Gabriel
Lowland Hum’s album covering Peter Gabriel’s So — which they’ve cutely and aptly entitled So Low — began as a passing joke, but the folk duo of husband-and-wife Daniel and Lauren Goans followed the passion and fun that led them to Gabriel’s hit 1986 release, quickly unspooling the passing whim into inspiration for a full-blown project. “We already loved the iconic record, but in translating Gabriel’s melodies and otherworldly arrangements,” they explain on their website, “we fell even deeper in love with the songs, Gabriel’s voice, and his uncanny ability to fully inhabit both vulnerability and playfulness…” Their “quiet music,” minimalist approach is well suited to the material and the entire project is incredibly listenable, comforting, and subtly envelope-pushing.
Chrissie Hynde covers Bob Dylan
After The Bard released “Murder Most Foul” and “I Contain Multitudes” early in 2020 (and in the pandemic) founder, singer, songwriter, and guitarist for The Pretenders Chrissie Hynde was inspired to once again revisit Dylan’s catalog – a limitless fount of material with which she was already intimately familiar. Her new album, Standing in the Doorway, features nine Dylan tracks recorded with fellow Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne – almost exclusively via text message – and for their coronavirus YouTube video series. Hynde opts for deeper cuts, showcasing her affinity for swaths of Dylan’s career often overlooked by other would-be cover-ers. This classic, “Tomorrow is a Long Time,” feels appropriately sentimental and longing, a perfect encapsulation of the day-to-day of the realities of the pandemic, filtered through a Bob Dylan lens and Hynde’s distinctive voice.
Various Artists cover John Lilly
John Lilly is a songwriter’s songwriter. Based in West Virginia, his original music has been covered by modern legends like Tim O’Brien, Kathy Mattea, and Tom Paxton. April In Your Eyes: A Tribute to the Songs of John Lilly gathers various artists from the folk, old-time, and bluegrass communities – in West Virginia and otherwise – spotlighting the incredible depth and breadth of Lilly’s catalog. The title track is stunningly rendered by Maya de Vitry and Ethan Jodziewicz, who were connected with Lilly originally through West Virginia’s iconic old-time pickers’ gathering affectionately referred to as “Clifftop.” Paxton, O’Brien, and Mattea all make appearances on the project, as do Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay, Bill Kirchen, and many other members of Lilly’s musical family and inner circle, giving the project an intentional and intimate resonance.
American Aquarium cover ’90s Country Hits
BJ Barham’s American Aquarium dropped a surprise album, Slappers, Bangers, & Certified Twangers: Volume One in May. Featuring ten covers of some of the band’s favorite ‘90s country hits, it’s a dose of all-star-tribute-concert packaged in a pandemic-friendly stay-at-home-form – and available on John Deere Green vinyl, of course. One particularly sad casualty of the coronavirus pandemic has been these sorts of musical nostalgia bombs – when was the last time any of us attended a theme night or tribute show at say, the Basement East in Nashville or Raleigh, NC’s The Brewery? – and Slappers, Bangers, & Certified Twangers has us in the mood to attend the first ‘90s country covers live show possible now that things are finally reopening.
Various Artists cover John Prine
A year without Prine seems far, far too long to travel with such a Prine-shaped hole in our musical hearts. But his presence and legacy certainly still loom large; the Prine family has announced “You Got Gold: Celebrating the Life & Songs of John Prine,” a series of special concerts and events held across various venues in Nashville in October. Oh Boy Records is also planning to release a new tribute record, Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2, to coincide with You Got Gold. The first two tracks from the project that have already been unveiled feature Sturgill Simpson performing “Paradise” and Brandi Carlile’s rendition of “I Remember Everything,” which you can hear above. Each month until October, the Prine family and Oh Boy will release another song from the project, unveiling special guests who each pay tribute to Prine, his songs, and the enormous vacuum his loss has left in the roots music industry.
Artist name:Them Coulee Boys Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin Latest album: Namesake (available August 6, 2021 on Some Fun Records) Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): For better or worse, we’ve always been Them Coulee Boys.
(All answers from Soren Staff)
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
For me, it’s never about how tough it is writing a song, but rather when to move on from one. I generally build songs from a line or two that I’m excited about, whatever makes my stomach burn and rush to write more. Sometimes they come in minutes, but sometimes those lines can ruminate in my head for weeks or months, caught in limbo. When I try to force them out, it often isn’t something I’m proud of. The hardest part of writing for me is realizing when to take a step back and let songs breathe. That line is still going to be there when I come back, and maybe this time there’s more to the story. “Given Up” worked that way, and space let me fill out the story in a way not possible if I forced that out.
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
I feel like this is an answer that changes, but one artist that has loomed large in his influence on our work is Bruce Springsteen. It might not be sonically obvious, but I think every small town kid has looked at him and seen some of their story in his. The lesson I always come back to is that the intensely personal details can feel universal. On this next record particularly, I was more comfortable using characters that weren’t me. Just because you haven’t specifically lived it doesn’t mean someone you know and love hasn’t. We model so much of what we do off his example, be it in our powerful live performances, our evolving sound, or intimate style of writing. He’s a master at so many things, and I feel like I’m continually learning.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
Right before COVID hit, we were on the biggest tour of our young careers, opening up for our friends in Trampled By Turtles at The Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin. Being the closest show on the run to home, so many family and friends were in the audience, but in particular was the family of my dear friend Phil Marks. We lost Phil the year before, and this was the first time that his family could make a show. Every night when we play our song “I Won’t Be Defined” I talk about mental health, and that night I talked about Phil. When you get a crowd of 3,000 to go from joyfully dancing, to a complete silence, and then back to dancing, you feel the power in what you can do through song. I miss making people feel something, be it joy or sorrow. I’m so grateful to have that chance again very soon.
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
We are a band of family and friends that seek to create community through joy, energy, and sincerity in their work and performances. We learned very early how people respond to genuine expression, and we’ve made it our mission to be the absolute most authentic version of ourselves. We love what we do, and we hope you do too. One part bear hug, one part gut punch, and one part steadying hand. That’s what we want our listeners to feel when they listen to us.
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
Well, we are dreaming here, so I’m going all out! It’s tempting to think I’d be able to soak up some advice, but I love good food and I think I’d get distracted. First, I’d start with brunch with Joni Mitchell and my mother and let them do the talking. I’ve learned so much from them both and I know they’d hit it off. Then I’m headed over to LC’s, my favorite BBQ joint in Kansas City with Bob Dylan and the rest of Them Coulee Boys, if only to see how he handles the literal gallons of BBQ sauce in front of us. Finally, I’m ending the night drinking Handsome Johnnys with John Prine at my hometown Eau Claire, Wisconsin, dive The Joynt. I feel like he wouldn’t mind me picking his brain a bit with a few glasses of vodka and ginger ale.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I was around 10 years old sitting in the basement with my dad and brother watching this Bruce Springsteen concert. I remember my dad saying something like, “Look at how much fun he’s having and that’s his job.” I had never really thought about being able to do something you loved and getting paid for it.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
Maybe five years ago we threw a big concert on the day of The Kentucky Derby. My friends, The Nude Party, were on the bill too and we had a few days of debauchery leading into it. For the encore, all the bands got on stage to sing “Dead Flowers” and it was the first time for me where everything felt right.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
Most of the time when I’m writing songs, they start with me just singing over some chords until a good line sticks out. Most of the time I’m usually writing outside of my own experiences, but there are many moments where I look down and realize that I was accidentally writing about myself.
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
John Prine. Aside from being one of the best songwriters ever he’s just been so consistently cool and compassionate throughout his career. I feel like from the moment he started that his success never affected who he was. We didn’t deserve John Prine, but I’m glad we got him.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
I spend a lot of time fishing with friends and on my own. I don’t think it necessarily inspires my music, but there’s something about fishing by yourself and playing music that go hand in hand. It becomes meditative at some point just listening to the water and finding some sort of rhythm. And when you finally catch a fish it’s just as exciting as pulling a lyric out of thin air and holding it close for a moment.
Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Amythyst Kiah and Allison Russell are the leading nominees for the 20th annual Americana Honors & Awards, set for September 22, 2021 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Familiar names like Tyler Childers, Steve Earle, Sarah Jarosz, John Prine, and Sturgill Simpson are also on the ballot.
Carlile and Isbell are joined by Kathleen Edwards, Margo Price, and Billy Strings in the Artist of the Year category. On the ballot for Duo/Group of the Year, Carlile is also nominated as a member of The Highwomen, while Kiah and Russell are part of Our Native Daughters. As solo artists, Kiah and Russell are both nominated for Emerging Act of the Year as well. In addition, Kiah’s version of “Black Myself” (which was earlier recorded by Our Native Daughters) will compete for Song of the Year, bringing her total nominations to three.
Other contenders for Emerging Act are Charley Crockett, Joy Oladokun, and Waxahatchee. The Duo/Group category also includes Black Pumas, The War and Treaty, and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. The Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Awards, including the NMAAM co-presented Legacy of Americana Award, will be announced at a later date. The awards ceremony is a cornerstone of AmericanaFest, which returns for its 21st year on September 22-25.
Keb’ Mo’ and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor unveiled the nominations during a socially-distanced ceremony at Nashville’s National Museum of African American Music. The intimate event featured acoustic performances from nominees Valerie June and Allison Russell. A full list of categories and nominees for the Americana Music Association’s 20th annual Americana Honors & Awards is below:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Cuttin’ Grass – Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions), Sturgill Simpson, Produced by David Ferguson & Sturgill Simpson
J.T., Steve Earle & The Dukes, Produced by Steve Earle
The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers, Valerie June, Produced by Valerie June, Ben Rice & Jack Splash
Reunions, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Produced by Dave Cobb
World on the Ground, Sarah Jarosz, Produced by John Leventhal
ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Brandi Carlile
Kathleen Edwards
Jason Isbell
Margo Price
Billy Strings
DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Black Pumas
The Highwomen
Our Native Daughters
The War and Treaty
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
EMERGING ACT OF THE YEAR:
Charley Crockett
Amythyst Kiah
Joy Oladokun
Allison Russell
Waxahatchee
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR:
Megan Coleman
Robbie Crowell
Ray Jacildo
Philip Towns
Kristin Weber
SONG OF THE YEAR:
“Black Myself,” Amythyst Kiah, Written by Amythyst Kiah
“Call Me A Fool,” Valerie June ft. Carla Thomas, Written by Valerie June
“Dreamsicle,” Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Written by Jason Isbell
“I Remember Everything,” John Prine, Written by Pat McLaughlin & John Prine
“Long Violent History,” Tyler Childers, Written by Tyler Childers
This is a collection of the BEST love songs in my life, the heartbreakers and the heart menders. The ones that make your heart burst and bloom. Because hey, it’s spring, and who doesn’t want a damn good love song or two in their lives? — Leah Song, Rising Appalachia
John Prine – “Angel From Montgomery”
This song brought me to my knees when I heard it live at the Kate Wolf Music Festival years ago. A hardened kind of love song, a love long changed and still just barely holding. But still, even the love between John Prine and Emmylou Harris is precious…
The Roots, Erykah Badu – “You Got Me”
I have listened to this song since my teenage years and it is rich, passionate, and real amid the throes of what life on the road looks like. What longing feels like. How to show up.
Hozier – “Almost (Sweet Music)”
The most joyful and epic lyricist around. And such a bright and catchy melody, this one is contagious.
Keb’ Mo’ – “Kindhearted Woman Blues”
Such a rich treatment of this classic. Got that salty form of simple, front porch, storytelling love.
Arouna & Biko – “Doubabu”
Nothing sings to the heart like the sweetness of this melodic instrumental by our dear friends, Arouna & Biko.
James Blake – “A Case of You”
I mean, this needs no additional telling. It just SLAYS.
Ray LaMontange – “Shelter”
The tamber of LaMontange’s voice is so insane, it’s another delicate one, but it reaches into the pain and pleasure of love.
Lankum – “What Will We Do When We Have No Money?”
A gentle, Irish look at love and the long haul. How to piece it together with your beloved when times are tough.
Beyoncé – “Drunk in Love”
Riddles with unapologetic passion.
Jorge Cafrune – “La atardecida”
Classic heart strings, plus the guitar just makes you swoon.
Rising Applachia – “Novels of Acquaintance”
Our favorite love song.
Polecat Creek – “That I Should Know Your Face”
A traditional Appalachian love ballad. “That I should know your face,” the depths of loyal love.
Maggie Koerner – “Shades of Grey”
Simple, open-hearted love song from the young vulnerability of the road.
Trevor Hall – “Chapter of the Forest”
A love song to the divine.
Hypnotized – “Ani DiFranco”
The classic bass line of this song plus the simplicity of the imagery. Sometimes, you are just brought to your knees by the wafting breathlessness of love.
Photo credit: Savannah Lauren
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