The dynamic songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Susan Werner spoke to Basic Folk onboard the Cayamo cruise, which she describes as a “paid vacation.” Reflecting on her upbringing on a working farm, Susan discusses the hard work that shaped her, but also how sheâs learning to embrace rest and relaxation. With humor and insight, she navigates the balance between a hardworking mindset and the need for downtime, revealing her strategies for managing stress and expectations in both life and music.
Susan’s latest album, Halfway to Houston, is a continuation of her exploration of a place through its music. Previous releases found her examining New Orleans and Florida. In this particular case, she is focusing on the state of Texas, including the interconnectedness of communities across borders; the song “Sisters” is about twin sister cities El Paso, Texas, and JuĂĄrez, Mexico. As a seasoned artist, Susan dives into the importance of consistency and authenticity in her craft, emphasizing that hard work alone doesnât guarantee success â it’s about being consistently excellent. She also touches on the political landscape and how her songs aim to foster empathy and understanding, even in divided times.
Photo Credit: Lead image by Bryan Lasky, alternate image by Will Byington.
Originally from the village of Mutungo, Uganda (near the country’s capital of Kampala), Jon Muq‘s journey to his current life of touring with an Austin, Texas, home base has been unconventional. Onboard the Cayamo cruise earlier this year, we talked to Jon about his childhood experiences, including fetching water with friends and hearing “We Are the World,” which was the first Western music he ever experienced. He also recounts the emotional reunion with his twin sister at the Cambridge Folk Festival, revealing how distance from his family has shaped his identity as an artist. He had not seen her, his friends, or any family before that for many years due to leaving originally to work on a cruise ship (the same line we were cruising on!) and work visa realities.
Jon discusses the moment he first held a guitar at age 19, which felt like a natural fit. He shares how traditional Ugandan music influences his sound and how he began learning English through song before mastering the language. Jon speaks about his experience with food; growing up, his family was food insecure. When he started performing on cruise ships, he was overwhelmed by the amount of food available. He explained the ever-present googly-eyes on his guitar, which tie into learning about distinct cultural differences between America and Uganda. Like many countries, it is normal in Uganda for male friends to hold hands. This and many cultural differences were learned the hard way for Jon, so the eyes on the guitar symbolize an always smiling friend that will be there for him. He wraps up this episode of Basic Folk with a great lightning round giving us the inside scoop on the best food aboard Cayamo, his dream collaboration and, in his opinion as an industrial design student, what’s the most beautiful product in the world.
Basic Folk is making trouble at sea with Ani DiFranco and Carsie Blanton! Hosts Lizzie and Cindy had the opportunity to speak with the two like-minded radical songwriters aboard the 2025 edition of Cayamo, a roots music cruise. Our conversation kicks off with Ani sharing her transformative experience performing as Persephone in the Broadway show Hadestown, delving into the challenges of acting and the lessons learned from stepping outside her musical comfort zone. We navigate through Ani’s journey of independence, discussing Unprecedented Sh!t, her first album with a producer besides herself in 23 years â BJ Burton â and what it means to relinquish control in the creative process.
In Ani’s memoir, No Walls and the Recurring Dream, she writes about how her creativity is aligned with her menstrual cycle. She described the most creative part of her cycle as “THE WINDOW.” Cindy asked all three artists onstage to reflect on how their creativity relates to their periods. What resulted was a discussion on how creativity is impacted by not only menstrual cycles, but menopause and ovulation and how that has evolved over time. The conversation also touches on the significance of hair as a form of self-expression and how societal perceptions of women change with their appearances.
Ani and Carsie speak to the power of songwriting in addressing historical and political issues, emphasizing the importance of music as part of a larger movement for justice. They share insights on the necessity of community and collaboration among artists in a challenging industry, encouraging listeners to find strength in solidarity rather than competition. To wrap up, they reminisce about their parallel wild, youthful experiences and how those versions of themselves continue to influence their art today. As Ani had to leave the stage early, Carsie brought it home with an Ani DiFranco-themed lightning round.
Singer-songwriter Lilly Hiatt has an interesting way of working melodies and a down-to-earth way of telling stories about her life and about how she sees the world. All of her albums have cool, crunchy guitar parts that take folk songwriting to a rockin’ level. On her new album, Forever, her diverse influences are woven into songs that touch on everything from relationships to anxiety and mental health to good old-fashioned rock and roll.
In our Basic Folk conversation, we talked about the lessons that Lilly learned growing up the daughter of legendary songwriter John Hiatt and what it meant to her to see her dad go through the ups and downs of the music business while having the humility and self-belief to keep going. She also talks about how she thinks about herself as a performer â and how that’s changed since the pandemic. Before the pandemic Hiatt had a couple of really big records (Trinity Lane, 2017 and Walking Proof, 2020) that gained a lot of hype and attention. Once coronavirus hit, she had to sit in the house and ask the big questions like a lot of us did. She sat with the loneliness, alienation, and uncertainty.
You can hear in our interview just how much mutual respect and admiration we have for each other and how much belief we have in one another, not only as songwriters, but as women and as people who are in recovery. Very LYLAS vibes, lots of laughs.
In 2024, Vermont’s Lutalo released their debut album, The Academy. In this episode of Basic Folk, they share the profound influence of their father, whose deep love for artistry and creativity laid the foundation for Lutalo’s musical path. We dive into the broad variety of their influences, from underground hip-hop to African drumming classes, each shaping their unique sound and approach to music. Lutalo’s candid reflections on their experiences in a private prep school reveal the complexities of navigating expectations and identity as a scholarship student, offering insights into the pressures and opportunities that come with such an environment. We also get a glimpse into their life in Vermont, where they find peace and grounding in a tiny house on a mountain, learning carpentry, and building a future studio.
Lutalo’s music speaks for itself. It feels like there’s a new generation of folk artists coming out, with creators like Lutalo who are dedicated to crafting new a type of folk â even if their music is genre-agnostic. Lutalo is making really cool songs, they’re making waves, and could be compared to so many legendary artists and bands. You can’t quite put your finger on what their sound is, but they are a heavy-hitting songwriter and we think they’re going to be huge.
BGS is pleased to announce a new partnership with its signature podcast, Basic Folk, which is now an official BGS production! Hosted by Cindy Howes & lizzie no, Basic Folk had been previously distributed on the BGS Podcast Network since 2021, but now officially becomes part of our brand’s stable of first-rate, original shows. We’re excited to continue to invest in this superlative folk podcast with creative visuals, more live appearances, and our commitment to fresh and envelope-pushing editorial content front-and-center. This announcement follows the recent debut of Basic Folkâs brand new logo (designed by Belhum) and theme song (composed and performed by Dietrich Strause), which both festively mark this new era of collaboration.
“BGS is one of the coolest media platforms in any musical space,” the hosts share via press release. “As the landscape of podcasting, social media, and roots music evolves at hyperspeed, we are stoked to be docked on ‘The International Space Station’ known as BGS. Our evolution is tied in with theirs. Cheers to another year of telling folk stories and making queer mischief on Basic Folk.”
2025 is already destined to be big for Basic Folk. The show and its hosts will be back onboard Cayamo’s signature roots music cruise, Journey Through Song â and with even more live events to come throughout the year. Already we have brand new interviews with the legendary Dobro player Jerry Douglas and visceral folk-artist Lutalo on the docket for January. Later this winter, Basic Folk will reach the momentous mile marker of their 300th episode.
“The spirit and mission of BGS are completely in line with Basic Folk,” Howes says. “It’s an honor to create this platform alongside BGS to dig deep into artists’ perspectives of the human condition. It only makes sense for Basic Folk to do the work of dignifying folk musicians in collaboration with one of the most rad music orgs operating today.”
Since 2018, Basic Folk has uplifted under-the-radar roots musicians by providing a platform that they might not otherwise have, alongside interviews from GRAMMY-winning guitar gods like Molly Tuttle, or Haitian American folk legends like Leyla McCalla, or deep feelers like legendary songwriter John Hiatt. The show is dedicated to showcasing the best in folk, bluegrass, acoustic, and Americana while including Black, Brown, and queer folx who have been excluded from the folk world or felt like they did not belong.
Cindy & lizzie each bring unique perspectives to their honest conversations with folk professionals. Basic Folk is equally dedicated to repainting the broad landscape of folk music as we are to tearing down the ivory towers of the music industry. BGS is proud to welcome the show into our family of programs.
An entire year of Good Country has blown by! Our new email newsletter and brand has gone so much further and has reached so many more country fans than we ever imagined when we launched in January. The concept is simple: thereâs plenty of Good Country out there, and we want to highlight all of it.
As we look back at 2024 and the first twelve months of GC, we asked our pantheon of contributors to collect their favorite country releases from the calendar year. We did not determine for our writers what qualifies as country â or what does not. Itâs important for GC to facilitate a country space that attempts to revert this music back to its earliest days, before genres and formats split up the many subgenres and downstream styles of country into various, distinct buckets and boxes.
One of the things most clear to us after a year of GC is that our central premise is certainly true. Thereâs endless Good Country out there â especially when youâre open to as many styles and aesthetics, influences and entry points as possible. From mainstream, radio country to red dirt, from bluegrass to Southern rock, from old-time to down home blues. Good Country is more than a genre, itâs more than a simplistic pitch to âsaveâ this music we love. Good Country is a place, itâs an idea, a way of viewing the world â musical and otherwise. And weâre so grateful to all of you for joining us in Good Country.
Scroll for the playlist of our favorite 2024 Good Country below!
Kassi Ashton, Made From the Dirt
Kassi Ashton spent the better part of a decade honing her craft and trying out various promotional singles to gain traction. It wasnât until âCalled Crazy,â her third official single, that she hit the Top 40 on country radio. The minor success primed listeners for her long-awaited debut record, Made From the Dirt, a beautifully produced and raucous set blending the best parts of mainstream country. Ashton runs on high-octane energy â with her thick twang packing a punch on each loose-lipped syllable. From the propulsive âSon of a Gunâ to the slow rollinâ ââTil the Lights Go Out,â her debut radiates from the inside out and carries with it cross-generational appeal. â Bee Delores
Kaitlin Butts, Roadrunner!
Set to the timeless musical Oklahoma!, Kaitlin Buttsâ Roadrunner! is as much a modern retelling of the epic tale as it is a road map of her own exploits thus far. On the 17-track project she shines on soft, nurturing ballads like the Vince Gill-featured duet âCome Rest Your Head (On My Pillow),â âPeople Will Say Weâre In Loveâ (starring partner and Flatland Cavalry lead Cleto Cordero â the only song pulled straight from the musical), and âElsa,â a tune about a woman she met while playing nursing home gigs back in the day.
But, she also revels in its more chaotic moments as well, as is the case with âYou Ainât Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me)â and a Kesha cover, âHunt You Down.â Through these vignettes Butts not only shows that the near-century-old musical remains as impactful as ever, but that her music has the power to do the same. â Matt Wickstrom
Denitia, Sunset Drive
Okay, I am shook that Denitia has not been studying, writing, and recording country music for all her life. Formerly an R&B artist (just go on and check out her wicked 2018 album, Touch of the Sky), Denitiaâs on her second country record and it sounds exactly how Iâd want a country record to sound. Admittedly, I am not a huge country fan (except I know all the words to every song on â90s country radio stations), but Sunset Drive rings my bell from top to bottom. Her clear and cool â90s-inspired, indie voice and her flawless writing are on full display with songs like âBack to Youâ and âGettinâ Over.â The flow of the writing and instrumentation are seamless. No notes, Denitia! Hope they wise up and get you on the radio. â Cindy Howes
Sierra Ferrell, Trail of Flowers
In this instant classic, Trail of Flowers firmly establishes Sierra Ferrell as the voice of a generation. Her indelible songwriting delivered by her uncommon vocals will be revered indefinitely. Iâve had the honor of seeing her perform twice (well, maybe more like once and a half) since the albumâs release, each time surrounded by an audience brought to their knees by her sheer, unadulterated power. At DelFest, hundreds of us sheltered for nearly an hour in the grandstand after an untimely lightning storm struck following the opening chords of âJeremiah.â We rushed back to the stage in troves as soon as the skies began to clear, only to be utterly heartbroken upon learning that her set would not continue. Sierraâs performances are unspeakably transformative â her authenticity and eminence evoke the divine. Trail of Flowers offers us a precious keepsake, a textured collection of harvested treasures both earthly and ethereal. â Oriana Mack
Sam Gleaves, Honest
Maybe country music could leave behind its ongoing debate around âauthenticityâ forever, because the best country doesnât need to be âauthentic,â it just needs to be honest.
Sam Gleaves is an Appalachian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and community builder whose every note, sung or plucked, is as truthful and stalwart as the mountains he calls home. His new album, Honest, combines old-time, honky tonkinâ country, bluegrass, and mountain music in a charming, down-to-earth package thatâs never ambitious or try-hard. At the same time, this is one of the best country albums of the year and then some, with impeccable, tear-jerker tracks like âBeautifulâ and hilarious, sexy romps like âQueer Cowboy.â Thereâs no performance of traditional authenticity signifiers here; Gleavesâ most radical act is allowing us to perceive him wholly, through his music. Thatâs all too rare in mainstream country, but a longstanding legacy thatâs alive and well on the genreâs fringes. â Justin Hiltner
Mickey Guyton, This Is Who Iâve Always Been
Although she’s long considered herself an “outlaw,” Mickey Guyton has steadily moved up the country music ladder. She’s ultimately emerged as a consistent example of individuality and creativity. She’s battled since signing her first deal in 2011, refusing to accept the notion that being Black and outspoken placed limits on either outreach or popularity. She’s steadily smashed barriers, most notably being the first Black woman to be nominated in the Best Country Song GRAMMY category, and the first to both perform at and later co-host the Academy of Country Music Awards.
But she’s now also realizing her greatest musical achievements. Guyton’s latest LP, This Is Who I’ve Always Been, is a marvelous declaration of her country roots and legacy, a recorded statement that says everything without being overtly political in lyrical tone and presentation. There are 12 joyous, rousing tracks that spotlight her writing skills alongside Tyler Hubbard and Corey Crowder. It’s only fitting that she’s joined by Kane Brown on the stirring “Nothing Compares to You.” It’s a powerhouse tune co-written by Hubbard, Bebe Rexha, and Jordan Schmidt that is arguably the LP’s definitive performance. Guyton is now a Nashville resident, and this album celebrates her triumph as a true example of country’s diversity and inclusion. â Ron Wynn
Stephanie Lambring, Hypocrite
We should all be talking about Stephanie Lambring more. Like, a lot more. On her sophomore album, Hypocrite, Lambring continues her all-killer-no-filler critiques of patriarchy and oppression. The album opens with the ominous pop of “Cover Girl” before delving into the shattering vulnerability of “Good Mother.” Lambring has had her share of bitter experience in the Nashville machine and sharing those stories of superficial “authenticity” has proved to be the best thing she could have done â liberating for her, yes, but also offering the rest of us a portal to examine our ingrained biases and, hopefully, to break free of them. Hypocrite is not an easy listen â if you are a human being, you will squirm at least once listening to these lyrics â but it’s essential. â Rachel Cholst
Cindy Lee, Diamond Jubilee
Cindy Lee is the non-binary alter-ego of Patrick Flegel, reclusive former leader of Canadian post-punk band Women â and you could say Flegel made some curious decisions about how to put this music out into the world. Instead of the usual streaming sites, Diamond Jubilee lives primarily on YouTube as a two-hour-plus video of all 32 songs as a single track, no breaks. But donât let that scare you. Diamond Jubilee is spectral late-night soundtrack music to a movie that hasnât been made yet. You sure can picture it, though. The sonics are proudly low-fidelity, yet the gauzy arrangements are precise (and Flegel is one hell of an evocative less-is-more guitarist). Imagine Brian Wilson conducting teenage symphonies to the afterlife, and youâre in the ballpark. An amazing collection of music, deep as it is broad. â David Menconi
Adrianne Lenker, Bright Future
Indie-country-folk enigma Adrianne Lenker didnât use a single piece of digital equipment while recording her seventh full-length solo album, Bright Future. Instead, she and five friends hunkered down at a studio thatâs only been described publicly as âin the woodsâ somewhere in New England. They recorded an intimate, intuitive album using a process known as AAA. (Thatâs analog recording, analog mixing, and analog mastering.)
Despite its decidedly anachronistic engineering, Bright Future is one of the most unique and powerful American folk releases of 2024. Itâs even been nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Folk Album, marking Lenkerâs first GRAMMY nomination as a solo artist. Listening to the album feels like sitting in a small, warm room with Lenker and her collaborators, with every breath and every shifting movement still audible on the tape. For me, getting releases like this that feel so undeniably rooted in the real, tangible world, really does make the future seem a bit more bright â a small form of resistance against the forced digitization of our lives. â Dana Yewbank
Pete Mancini, âAmerican Equatorâ
Pete Mancini has been carving a path for himself through the country music landscape since the release of his debut solo album in 2017. Coincidentally, the title of his newest single, âAmerican Equator,â is inspired by the idea of a literal divide carved into the U.S. landscape. Mancini can be playful, imaginative, and solemn with his writing and âAmerican Equatorâ showcases these qualities sewn together. Much like the faders mentioned in the song’s chorus, Mancini knows when and how to apply blunt honesty for several true-to-life references and when to present the ugliness of the song’s settings through a no less candid but much more palatable metaphor. Even if heavy narratives aren’t what you’re after, the steady groove, power-pop style guitar tone, and hopeful arc of the chord progression make âAmerican Equatorâ a tune that’s easy to turn up and enjoy â especially on long highway road trips. â Kira Grunenberg
This was the year when Lizzie No seemed to fully embody their inner country crooner. No welcomed 2024 with the release of Halfsies in January on Thirty Tigers. Its songs tell a story of being female in an America that expects more of its women the more the melanin in their skin. When No sang in the title track about leaving her âsandals in a cabâ and finding âa snakeskin in the grass,â she was talking about pain and loss and transformation. About the performative nature of identity. When Loretta Lynn sang âYouâre lookinâ at country,â she was talking about what people are looking for as much as what they actually see. If Lynn has a legatee in todayâs country circles, it just might be Lizzie No. â Kim Ruehl
The Red Clay Strays, Made by These Moments and Live at the Ryman
Bursting out of their native Mobile, Alabama, The Red Clay Strays emerged as the hottest live act of 2024. A snarling blend of Americana, rock, and alt-country tones, the group went from selling 40 tickets a gig to 4,000 in less than 18 months â an incredible feat by any measure, and one immediately justified by the âyou had to be thereâ stage presence of lead singer Brandon Coleman and company.
Rolling into this summer, the Strays offered up their sophomore album, Made by These Moments, to wide acclaim from audiences and critics alike. But, it was the recently-released Live at the Ryman that truly showcases the intricate depth of sonic abilities and fire-and-brimstone vocal prowess at the heart of the outfit. The biggest takeaway? Thereâs no ceiling to the size and scope of where the Strays can take their music â in the studio or onto the stage. What remains is pure passion and guided purpose for their craft, this platform for compassion they hold with deep respect. â Garret K. Woodward
Zach Top, Cold Beer & Country Music
Rest easy, for country has been saved! But no, because Zach Top himself doesnât even believe that the genre needs to be rescued. Even so, this young bluegrass-raised artist, who seemingly catapulted overnight into retro, nostalgic country stardom, is doing his utmost to keep the realest kinds of â90s and throwback country alive and contemporary. With the mustache and Wrangler jeans to prove it. Watching as his audience has ballooned over the last year demonstrates that Top is certainly not alone in his love for this kind of archetypical country. âI Never Lieâ is probably the most impactful and far-reaching single from the genre of the year, as recognizable and requested on Lower Broadway as in the halls of SPBGMA (the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America). Top brings so many circles of the country music Venn diagram together, organically, and we are all better for it. I hope I stay embedded on Zach TopTok forever. â Justin Hiltner
Twisters Soundtrack
Twisters is not a great movie, though it would have been better if they let Glen Powell fuck. Or if they let the weirdness that David Corenswet displayed in Pearl show up here. It would have been a more politically relevant movie if the director didnât refuse to talk about climate change â which is why all of the chaotic weather is happening in Oklahoma.
Its soundtrack, though, is genuinely great. Part of the reason why is how carefully it was marketed â to work through the ongoing genre battles in country, to acknowledge the nostalgia of the original 1990s film, and to think about what country might mean more broadly. Ignoring climate change might be part of the filmâs faltering, foisting the bland hegemony of Powell is also part of it, but the album is more disruptive. And more beautiful than it has any right to be. It almost reaches gender parity, it has half-a-dozen Black performers, there are legacy acts and up-and-comers. Listening to the Twisters soundtrack this year made me yearn for a counterfactual country radio. â Steacy Easton
Rhonda Vincent, Destinations and Fun Places
Iâm a firm believer that bluegrass sits pretty under the umbrella of âcountry music.â If youâre a country music lover and are looking to expand your horizons, let my 2024 Good Country selection nudge you towards some âgrass. Youâll thank me later.
This year, Rhonda Vincent released her highly-anticipated album, Destinations and Fun Places, and itâs soooo Bluegrass Barbie-coded. From her stunning hot pink dress on the cover to her top-notch covers like â9 to 5â and âPlease Mr Please,â Rhonda proves sheâs still the queen. With featured artists like Dolly Parton, Trisha Yearwood, Cody Johnson, and Alison Krauss, any country music fan would have plenty of familiar voices to enjoy. This record also showcases Rhondaâs musical range, with sweet songs like âI Miss Missouriâ to bluegrass ragers like âRocky Top.â From âMargaritavilleâ to âThe City of New Orleans,â Rhonda Vincent is truly an American treasure. All hail the queen! â Bluegrass Barbie
Need more Good Country? Sign up on Substack to receive our monthly email newsletter with endless country, Americana, and more direct to your inbox.Â
Photo Credit: Sierra Ferrell by Bobbi Rich; Zach Top courtesy of the artist; Denitia by Chase Denton.
It’s 2024 recap time on Basic Folk! Cindy & Lizzie dive into a most special year-end reflection, featuring highlights from our honest conversations with folk musicians. We revisit the top episode of the year, Anna Tivel & Jeffrey Martin’s insightful discussion on navigating artistic challenges and living a simple life. Cindy shares her favorite episode featuring her co-host Lizzie No talking about her career-defining album, Halfsies (our 250th episode!). In turn, Lizzie’s favorite honest convo came from Leyla McCalla onboard the Cayamo cruise. We sat in the ship lounge and dug in with Leyla about the “folk process” and her thoughts on cruising, as a Haitian-American, as we ported in Hispaniola aboard a luxury cruise line. (Spoiler: it is complex!)
Basic Folk also checks in with friend Jontavious Willis about his biggest lesson of 2024 and what defining success as an independent artist looks like as he has just released his latest, West Georgia Blues. We also welcome Rose Cousins’ heartfelt words on embracing change as she prepares to release her next record, Conditions of Love – Vol. 1 (out March 14, 2025). As the episode ends, Lizzie leaves us with some words of wisdom:
“We are at a time of year where your body wants to be doing less. We’ve just survived a chaos clown show of violence in the election. Our culture is shifting rapidly. It’s okay if the things that used to work for you don’t work anymore. You’re allowed to start over. You’re allowed to try new things. You’re allowed to tell people in your life, ‘I’ve changed.’ You’re allowed to listen to new artists. You’re allowed to change how you dress. You can do it all. 2025 is a new year and you have freedom. And that’s my blessing to you.” â Lizzie No
Photo Credit: Lizzie No by Cole Nielsen; Rose Cousins by Lindsay Duncan; Leyla McCalla by Chris Scheurich; Jontavious Willis courtesy of the artist; Anna Tivel by Cody Onthank; Jeffrey Martin courtesy of the artist.
Artist:Kasey Anderson Hometown: Portland, Oregon Latest Album:To the Places We Lived Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): For a brief while in my early 30s I was convincing people to call me “T-Bone,” but it died out pretty quick.
Which artist has influenced you the most â and how?
I’m extremely fortunate in that the artists who influence me most are, by and large, my friends. I’ve been doing this a long time and had the opportunity to meet a lot of people, many of whom were heroes to me before I met them and remain so. Others have become heroes to me over time, through their work and friendship and their orientation to the world.
Hanif Abdurraqib, Kaveh Akbar, Melissa Febos, Brandon Shimoda, Lizzie No, Adeem the Artist… those are all friends whose creative work inspires and influences me â and whose orientation to the world, to their communities, and to their places within the world/their communities inspires and influences me.
One of my dearest friends, Ellen, runs a harm reduction program here in Portland and her approach to community and care has been an enormous influence on how I experience the world, and in turn, I see that influence in what I write. My family informs and influences me every day, in ways I sometimes don’t even realize until I hear them come back to me in my songs. I think when I was younger it would have been easier to say, “Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, Joan Armatrading,” whatever â Mike Watt, who I just spoke to last week. The list is long, you get the point â and of course that’s still true; there’s a long list of artists whose work influenced mine but, again, I’ve been doing this a while. The people who have a significant impact on my life, the people I love, they find their way into the work as much as anyone or anything else.
What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?
Eric Ambel taught me about the importance of lunch during a recording session. I’m not really a lunch eater â I never have been â but getting that break, that time to just be together, is important. My inclination is always to work from the second mics are set up until the second they come down. I’m glad I’ve been surrounded by people smarter than me who know when to take a break. It doesn’t matter as much when lunch happens, just that it happens. Just that people get a chance to extract themselves from the process for an hour or so.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use âyouâ when it’s actually âmeâ?
I didn’t realize this until much later on, but I hid behind most of the characters I wrote on Heart of a Dog and Let the Bloody Moon Rise. At the time, and for years after, I talked about those songs as if they were all works of fiction â or at least about people other than myself â but once I had some distance from those records and had been in recovery for a while, I recognized myself in all those songs. I had been writing to myself, about myself.
What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?
I think what might surprise people more than anything I do listen to is the fact that I don’t really listen to Americana or country music much. I listen to my friends’ records, if something comes out that a lot of folks are talking about or someone recommends I’ll check that out, but I don’t really listen to the kinds of songs I write, at least not much anymore.
If you didnât work in music, what would you do instead?
Well, I am currently the Deputy Executive Director at a nonprofit in Portland, so I’m not sure how much more of a “second job” I could possibly have.
I first came across Becca Stevens via her collaboration with string group The Attica Quartet. Her new album, Maple to Paper, is really different from her previous releases. If you think you know everything that there is to know about Becca Stevens as a singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer, you are wrong. And you are going to be so amazed by this new record. It’s completely stripped down, featuring just her guitar and her voice. During the pandemic, Stevens started getting inspired to write songs about her family, about her mom, about grief, about becoming a mother. She decided to record Maple to Paper in her home in Princeton, New Jersey. The result is a super intimate and adventurous, bold and personal album which is full of amazing performances.
In our Basic Folk conversation we also got to talk about some of her notable collaborations. The most interesting one, to me, was hearing about how she considers the late David Crosby a continuous spiritual co-writer. In addition to her friendship with Crosby, Stevens has collaborated with so many more incredible musicians including Jacob Collier and Sufjan Stevens on the Illinoise Broadway musical. She has a really unconventional approach to infusing pop, jazz, and folk into her work. Maple to Paper became an instant classic for me the minute I heard it. I’m really excited for our listeners to hear “Shoulda Been There for Me,” which feels like an old school R&B tune, but arranged for a contemporary folk record.
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
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