Tag: Mac Cornish

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Courtney Hartman, Dee White, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s another week where popcorn may be necessary to fully enjoy our weekly new music round-up, with all of the new music videos included below! You Gotta Hear This…

Our first screening is some cosmic California country from Mac Cornish, who’s sharing a music video for the title track of her upcoming album, Wayfaring Woman. The full LP will launch in September, so enjoy this early taste of the project, a song about finding, re-finding, and returning to oneself despite time, geography, and all that comes between.

We have a couple of fun and funny videos you’ll enjoy as well. Nashville-based husband-and-wife roots duo Zaggie (Zach & Maggie White) have a new single and video for “Parking Lot Vacation.” Sometimes a need to unplug, unwind, and relax can be satiated with a good ol’ fashioned sit in a parking lot. The video is witty and hilarious to match the flowing, island-getaway sonics of the song. Plus, Essence & Gold Country have a gut-busting video to tribute Mother’s Day and every “Good Mom” out there. As frontwoman Essence Goldman puts it, it’s all about “the beautiful chaos of motherhood and the truth that we don’t have to lose ourselves to be a good mom.” It’s bluegrassy country that will get your toe tapping while bringing a smile to your face.

Also just in time for Mother’s Day, our old friend Courtney Hartman shares an intimate and tender peformance video for “Honey, Honey,” a song she wrote dripping with love for her young daughter, describing the perfection of her child through her own eyes and building her up for a life built on love, confidence, and strength. It’s gut-wrenching and comforting at the same time, a deft balance that Hartman is well known for in her songwriting and guitar picking. It’s a lovely video for the occasion – and beyond – and announces her upcoming album, With You: From The Garden Shed, set for release June 12.

From bluegrass, Jaelee Roberts has a new single that was written by bluegrass radio personality and songwriter Terry Herd. “I’m Putting You Out of My Misery” pulls inspiration from traditional hard-driving bluegrass and contemporary sounds equally and boasts a stacked roster of pickers rounding out the band behind Jaelee’s gorgeous, crystalline vocals.

Country and Americana powerhouse Dee White has a new song as well, “Green River Rye,” which dropped earlier this week. Check it out below, it’s a pretty stripped-down recording made with just a simple acoustic trio – with Brian Murray and Jimmy Law – that lands somewhere between classic folk, country & western, and bluegrass, aesthetically. With whiskey as its centerpiece, it’s a lonesome and longing song that feels truly timeless – like you could sing along intuitively immediately, even on first listen. And don’t miss singer-songwriter Zach Seabaugh’s “Owes You Nothing,” a song about navigating Nashville, Music Row, and the music industry without losing your sense of self – or comparing yourself to everyone else you meet along the way. It’s a lovely track built on sensitive and brooding modern country sounds.

Celebrate your Mother’s Day weekend by calling your mama (who is definitely a good mom), sipping some Green River Rye, and taking a parking lot vacation – you’ve earned it. And, You Gotta Hear This!

Mac Cornish, “Wayfaring Woman”

Artist: Mac Cornish
Hometown: Raised Bay Area, California, based in Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Wayfaring Woman”
Album: Wayfaring Woman
Release Date: May 8, 2026 (single); September 25, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Wayfaring Woman’ is a song about a girl who stays moving so her past won’t catch up to her – and so she won’t have to face herself. By the time I finished writing it I realized it was about myself. It was my way of telling myself, ‘It’s alright to cry, but it’s time to remember who you are and stop this cycle.’ So when I sing, ‘Even in yours lows, you can always go home,’ I mean the place and the state of mind.

“Making my way back to myself has always felt connected to the California home of my youth. Those canyon roads and golden hills remind me of who I am and who I always dreamed of being. I might not be able to access those places physically anymore, but the sense of self that I found there is within me and this song is a reminder to myself that I can always go back, I can always go home to myself. ‘Wayfaring Woman’ is the title track and first single off my second record, set to come out in September 25. It’s steeped in cosmic California twang, and I don’t think I’ve ever sounded more like myself.” – Mac Cornish

Track Credits:
Mac Cornish – Vocals, acoustic guitar, songwriter
Hillary Fretland – Harmony vocals
Charlie Fuertsch – Electric guitar
Cooper Dickerson – Steel guitar
Jack Lawrence – Bass
Dave Racine – Drums

Video Credit: Directed and filmed by Janaya Pardo.

Essence & Gold Country, “Good Mom”

Artist: Essence & Gold Country
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Song: “Good Mom”
Album: Father’s Daughter
Release Date: May 8, 2026 (video); September 26, 2025 (album)
Label: Blue Elan

In Their Words: “This ‘Good Mom’ video is about the beautiful chaos of motherhood and the truth that we don’t have to lose ourselves to be a good mom. It holds that tension between giving everything to our children and still claiming space for our own soul, and taking care of ourselves so we have more to give.

“This song gets the best reaction when I perform it live. I just watch the mothers start laughing and shaking their heads in agreement. It is hard for me not to laugh when I sing it. Any mom out there can relate. We thought it was fun to release this music video as as a gift to all the moms on Mother’s Day. Though in my opinion, every day should be Mother’s Day!” – Essence Goldman

Video Credits:
Laura Kudritzki – Director, cinematographer
Essence Goldman – Producer
Austin Grose – Executive producer
Craig Morton – Assistant producer
Margaret Bolton Grace – Stylist
Angela Shippen – Hair, makeup
Andres Campos – Hair, makeup
Elise Bigley – Hair, makeup
Keldon Duane-McGlashan – Editor

Courtney Hartman, “Honey, Honey”

Artist: Courtney Hartman
Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Song: “Honey, Honey”
Album: With You: From The Garden Shed
Release Date: May 8, 2026 (single); June 12, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Honey, Honey’ is a love song to my daughter – a collage of daily imagery and truths I want her to hold onto. She has taught me about delight and even as I am the one cradling her and giving her comfort, it is often my own heart being mended by her.

“In the final verse I list a few things I want her to remember when I am not there to hold her, ‘quiet waters, soothe and sway, sunlight and kindness, the cradle of a day. You’re brave as an iris, a bright display, a trumpeter swan lifting up and away.’ Tift Merritt co-wrote this song with me, helping me clear away the debris and uncover within my own days the scenes I most wanted to sing.” – Courtney Hartman

Video Credits: Filmed by Kyle Lehman.
Edited by Erik Elstran.

Jaelee Roberts, “I’m Putting You Out of My Misery”

Artist: Jaelee Roberts
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “I’m Putting You Out of My Misery”
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Release Date: May 8, 2026

In Their Words: “‘I’m Putting You Out of My Misery’ is one of those songs that stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it. Terry Herd wrote an incredible song and I fell in love with it right away. To me, it strikes the perfect balance between that hard-driving traditional sound and a touch of contemporary bluegrass. I absolutely love how everything came together in the studio. I’ve always enjoyed a song with a little bit of attitude and this one definitely delivers.

“I was also fortunate to have some amazing musicians join me on the recording. Alan Bartram on bass, Ron Stewart on banjo, Tony Wray on guitar, Michael Cleveland on fiddle, Justin Moses on mandolin and Dobro, and Zack Arnold adding harmony vocals. Getting to collaborate with such talented players made this project especially meaningful to me. I’m truly proud of how the track turned out, and I’m so thankful to each of them for being part of it. I hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed recording it.” – Jaelee Roberts

Track Credits:
Jaelee Roberts – Lead vocal
Alan Bartram – Bass
Ron Stewart – Banjo
Tony Wray – Guitar
Michael Cleveland – Fiddle
Justin Moses – Mandolin, resonator guitar
Zack Arnold – Harmony vocal

Zach Seabaugh, “Owes You Nothing”

Artist: Zach Seabaugh
Hometown: Marietta, Georgia & Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Owes You Nothing”
Release Date: May 8, 2026 (single)
Label: Cloverdale Records

In Their Words: “This song came at a time when I needed to check myself – on where I was in life – and on the people in my life I didn’t want to take for granted. I wrote it with Park Chisolm and Reid Haughton on Music Row. I was talking to them about how hard it is sometimes to show up in Nashville, to be creative for a living. You can fall into the comparison trap when so much of the industry around you is trying to set out for the same thing. But I don’t like feeling sorry for myself. I’m super grateful for what I have and who I get to live life with and at the end of the day, I guess this world owes you nothing. So you gotta make the most with what you got—that’s when you realize you got all you need.” – Zach Seabaugh

Dee White, “Green River Rye”

Artist: Dee White
Hometown: Slapout, Alabama
Song: “Green River Rye”
Release Date: May 6, 2026

In Their Words: “I first discovered Green River Rye Whiskey during a hunting trip to Kentucky. The bottle instantly caught my eye – it was the same one I remembered from an antique lithograph that hung in my childhood home. At the time, my girlfriend had just left me, and the chorus melody had already popped into my head. Later that night, I was hanging out with my buddies Jimmy and Brian and we finalized the music and lyrics. The very next evening, we went into the studio and recorded it as an acoustic trio in Nashville.” – Dee White

Zaggie, “Parking Lot Vacation”

Artist: Zaggie
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Parking Lot Vacation”
Album: Turpentine Mind
Release Date: May 6, 2026 (single); August 26, 2026 (album)
Label: Zaggie Records

In Their Words: “‘Parking Lot Vacation’ came from the exact mental-headspace-shift the song is about. I was supposed to be writing. Instead, I was staring at a blank page for long enough that it started staring back. Eventually I just… leaned back, let myself off the hook for a bit, and the song showed up. Turns out vacations are less about where you are and more about the moment you stop letting petty anxieties run the show. A good car seat, a warm breeze, a window cracked just right is sometimes all I need. We’ve seen a lot of beautiful places in the world and a parking lot on the right day is genuinely in the conversation.” – Zach White

Track Credits:
Zach White – Vocals, guitar, songwriter
Maggie White – Mandolin
Dan Needham – Drums
Byron House – Bass
Chris Walters – Piano

Video Credits:
Cast: Annabelle Fox-Tieman, Douglas Waterbury-Tieman, Ollie Fox-Tieman, Huck Fox-Tieman, Emily Rogers, Josée Klein.
Directed and edited by Zach White.
Location Videography by BAMM Productions.

Photo Credit: Courtney Hartman by Michelle Bennett; Dee White by John Peets.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Tenille Townes, Mac Cornish, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s Friday and it’s new music time! We’ve got a few things on the slate that you simply gotta hear.

Starting us off, quickly rising bluegrass up-and-comer 16-year-old Asher Brinson gives us a sneak preview of his upcoming single, “Midnight Hurricane,” the title track for an album the young songwriter and picker has set for release in early April. “Midnight Hurricane” features Sierra Hull on mandolin and Lindsay Lou on vocals – and Brinson more than holds his own among the talented roster on the track.

Also in bluegrass sounds, Jesse Smathers turns the clock and calendar back to the primordial musical ooze before bluegrass with his rendition of “Take A Drink On Me.” The track was inspired by Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, with whom Smathers shares a hometown. As the artist and mandolinist puts it, “This tune is a prime example of early popular dance music” – the kinda stuff that inspired the earliest bluegrass artists like Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and many others. In the hands of Smathers and his band, it’s a bluegrass song fit for any era.

There’s Good Country to enjoy below, as well. Mac Cornish unveils a new track, her cover of Ian & Sylvia’s “Trucker’s Cafe.” You can almost catch the glint of bright sunshine off a chromed truck stop diner listening to the tune, lush with pedal steel and honky-tonkin’ guitar. The boot scootin’ track was recorded in Nashville and produced by Andrija Tokic.

To round us out, Tenille Townes returns to the site with “The Acrobat,” a contemplative and resonant song featuring another of our favs, Lori McKenna. “When you’re barely hanging on it’s easy to let go,” Townes sings, her voice rich with emotion and conviction. The song is the title track for Townes’ upcoming album, set for release in April, and is a fitting nexus point for the LP. “After losing my way for a while,” Townes shares with BGS, “this song felt like such an important anchor for this album.” You can watch the brand new music video for “The Acrobat” below.

Take a scroll and enjoy your listen – You Gotta Hear This!

Asher Brinson, “Midnight Hurricane”

Artist: Asher Brinson
Hometown: Newport, North Carolina
Song: “Midnight Hurricane”
Album: Midnight Hurricane
Release Date: March 6, 2026 (single); April 3, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “When Chris Henry and I got together to write, I told him I was having an ‘off’ day and he said to let it flow – say whatever was on my mind. Those thoughts became the first line of ‘Midnight Hurricane.’ Growing up on the North Carolina coast, hurricanes have always just been a part of my life. And it seemed like they always hit at night! Midnight is quiet, but your thoughts aren’t, and hurricanes are like that — all of your feelings hitting at once. It’s a love story wrapped in chaos and after the storm, there’s a calm that makes you appreciate what’s steady and real. With Sierra Hull on mandolin and Lindsay Lou on vocals, this song instantly became one of my favorites. I feel like they both added just the right touch. While hurricanes unfortunately bring destruction, they also have a way of bringing people and communities together… to uplift each other, support, and rebuild.” – Asher Brinson

Track Credits:
Asher Brinson – Guitar, lead vocal
Cory Walker – Banjo
Jason Carter – Fiddle
Christopher Henry – Bass, baritone vocal
Sierra Hull – Mandolin
Lindsay Lou – Tenor vocal

Mac Cornish, “Trucker’s Cafe”

Artist: Mac Cornish
Hometown: Currently Nashville, Tennessee, but grew up in the Bay Area, California
Song: “Trucker’s Cafe”
Release Date: February 27, 2026

In Their Words: “This single is a cover of the Ian & Sylvia song, ‘Trucker’s Cafe.’ The song is from their 1969 record, Great Speckled Bird, which they also used as the name of their newly formed band, including the likes of Buddy Cage and David Briggs. Ian and Sylvia are a huge influence on me because of their blending of folk, rock ‘n’ roll, and country – especially on this album and this song. The song is a subversive take on the trucking country fad of the 1960s and ’70s, taking the perspective of a heartbroken truck stop diner waitress. The vocals are distinctly folk with their vibrato and falsetto, but the instrumentation is all rockin’ country goodness with walking bass and ripping pedal steel. I’ve always said that the best year in music was 1969. This is one of the many songs I absolutely love from that year in music and it only felt right to record a cover and honor my influences. My cover was recorded in October of 2025 at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville, TN and was produced by Andrija Tokic.” – Mac Cornish

Track Credits:
Mac Cornish – Vocals, acoustic guitar
Charlie Fuerstch – Electric guitar
Jeff Taylor – Piano
Cooper Dickerson – Pedal steel
Jack Lawrence – Bass
Dave Racine – Drums

Jesse Smathers, “Take A Drink On Me”

Artist: Jesse Smathers
Hometown: Floyd, Virginia
Song: “Take A Drink On Me”
Release Date: February 27, 2026
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “Though my familial roots are deeply planted in Western North Carolina, I was raised in Eden, NC – the home of Charlie Poole. I spent my youth picking and competing at the Charlie Poole Festival there. The festival was held at Morehead Park, on the same grounds where the cotton mill Poole used to work at once stood. I heard the music of Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers ringing throughout my childhood. He, along with his bandmates, were some of the most prominent precursors to bluegrass stylings that came nearly 20 years later. Tales of Poole, Posey Rorer, and Norman Woodlief are still being told today, as you would expect, with larger-than-life personalities and musicians.

“I often imagine this scene: walking down Morgan Road in Spray (one of three small communities that made up Eden) in 1926 as a bystander and hearing the centric bounce of Piedmont Mill music in the distance. As I approach, I witness the North Carolina Ramblers sitting on a stoop sharing tunes and a jug of the best white liquor that the area along the NC/VA line is so notorious for. That sight is exactly what came to mind when recording this tune and what comes to mind when I hear it back. This tune is a prime example of early popular dance music. Hunter Berry on fiddle masterfully captured the necessary musical essences all while integrating his own spontaneous and playful liveliness. The same can be said of Corbin Hayslett who mixed in popping Charlie Poole banjo techniques. Whether it’s a Coke, glass of tea, a beer, or a jar of Shooting Creek’s finest, all you rounders get ready to party and ‘Take A Drink On Me’!” – Jesse Smathers

Track Credits:
Jesse Smathers – Guitar, lead vocal
Hunter Berry – Fiddle
Corbin Hayslett – Banjo
Nick Goad – Mandolin, harmony vocal
Joe Hannabach – Upright bass
Patrick Robertson – Harmony vocal

Tenille Townes, “The Acrobat” featuring Lori McKenna

Artist: Tenille Townes
Hometown: Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Song: “The Acrobat” featuring Lori McKenna
Album: The Acrobat
Release Date: February 27, 2026 (single); April 10, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “There’s an underlying whisper in this song saying you don’t have to make yourself smaller anymore, and it is my greatest hope that someone hearing this could believe it’s true. I have been navigating a return to self season in my life and reclaiming the belief that I don’t have to contort myself to fit what anyone else needs. After losing my way for a while, this song felt like such an important anchor for this album. Writing this song through the lens of a character helped me to hold enough distance from myself to be able to write the truth, and name the quiet damage that comes from performing, instead of just being.

“Lori McKenna has been a compass influence for me and it’s an honor to have her singing on this song we wrote together. I love how she enters the recording on the line about the fortune teller with all her knowledge, because Lori has been that voice of wisdom for me for years through her songs. The honesty in her lyrics and the way her voice holds emotional tension has given me permission to explore that kind of vulnerability in my own writing. I’m grateful for our friendship, and for the opportunity to share a love for the craft of a song with someone I am still so inspired by.” – Tenille Townes

Photo Credit: Tenille Townes by Madison Rensing; Mac Cornish by Mandi Fountain.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From EZRA, Lonesome River Band, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

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

Track Credits:
Rie Koyama – Xylophone
Takumi Kodera – Banjo, composer
Akihide Teshima – Bass
Tomohito Yoshijima – Drums

Photo Credit: EZRA by Tanya Rosen-Jones; Lonesome River Band by Sandlin Gaither.