Tag: Nashville

Artist of the Month: Billy Strings

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Billy Strings takes things up a notch for Renewal, a long-awaited collection of original songs produced by Jonathan Wilson. But is it bluegrass? Or is it rock ‘n’ roll? Perhaps more on the psychedelic side? Truly there’s no right (or wrong) answer to these questions. As Strings himself puts it, “I’ve learned, you’ve just got to let the song do its thing. So that’s what I try to do — write songs and let them come out however they do.”

Billy Strings is no stranger to the festival circuit, bluegrass or otherwise. His career trajectory over the last few years has netted him international acclaim, a handful of IBMA Awards — including Entertainer of the Year at this year’s IBMA Awards show — and even a Grammy for his 2019 album, Home. A Michigan native who now lives in Nashville, Strings says, “I called my last record Home, and then a few months later that’s where we all got stuck. Right now, we’re heading back into opening back up, and doing some more touring with real concerts and real shows. Hopefully we can renew everything. I think it’s an interesting word. It reminds me of how every morning is a renewed day and another chance.”

With Renewal, Strings seizes upon the opportunity to surprise his listeners and to expand his own musical horizons. By winning the Grammy, he discovered a newfound confidence to consider every creative path that presented itself. Because he’s bringing in his touring bandmates Billy Failing (banjo, vocals, piano), Royal Masat (bass, vocals), and Jarrod Walker (mandolin, vocals, guitar), as well as guests John Mailander (violin), Spencer Cullum Jr. (pedal steel) and Grant Millikem (synth), Renewal is far more than just a singer-songwriter record, even if it exposes his own mindset more than any of his material to date.

“I listen to this album now and it’s emotional,” he says. “I could sit there and tweak it forever, but there’s a point where it’s like building a house of cards. Yeah, I could add an extra tower on top, but it might collapse. I’ve always doubted myself, and I still do, but this album makes me think, ‘Hey, you’re doing all right, kid. You just need to keep going.’”

Read our exclusive two-part interview with Billy Strings here, and enjoy our BGS Essentials playlist below.

Photo credit: Jesse Faatz

LISTEN: Haunted Like Human, “Ohio”

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Artist: Haunted Like Human
Hometown: Nashville, TN; originally Fayetteville, Georgia (Dale Chapman) and Milton-Freewater, Oregon (Cody Clark)
Song: “Ohio”
Album: Tall Tales & Fables
Release Date: October 15, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Ohio’ is a special song for us. It started in the fall of 2018 when we were touring off of our EP Folklore and stopped to spend time with some of Cody’s family in Ohio. In chatting with his grandmother, she was telling the story of falling in love with her husband when he was in her native South Carolina, and how when she was pregnant he sent her up to Ohio to live with his family while he worked and sent money back. Things kept keeping him in South Carolina and she said offhand, ‘You know, he was just trying to get back to Ohio.’ I remember in that moment thinking that there was a song in that one statement and I sat with it for about a year until we really started writing again for this record. The end result is a story told through letters back home of a man wanting to do right by his family while also wanting to get back home to them.” — Dale Chapman, Haunted Like Human

Photo credit: Caroline Voisine

LISTEN: Moot Davis, “Hey Hey”

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Artist: Moot Davis
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Hey Hey”
Album: Seven Cities of Gold
Release Date: October 22, 2021
Label: Boot Knife Records

In Their Words: “I wrote this song in Nashville in 2002 just before I got signed to Pete Anderson’s Little Dog Records label. It’s a song that I’ve had in my back pocket for a long time, but when I was gathering tunes for this album I took it back out. The song was pretty close to being done, but the chorus needed to be reworked. My girlfriend Katie actually came up with the chorus while she was busy painting one of the large pictures that hangs in our little house.

“The making of the Seven Cities of Gold album was the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio and I think it really comes across on tracks like ‘Hey Hey.’ I was making music with my friends who I’ve known and worked with for years, with no pressure or financial constraints. We recorded it at my drummer Blake Oswald’s home studio and it was very relaxed and heavy on the vodka. I think we were all shocked when it turned out so well, because it was the first time we had ever produced anything on our own. Along with Oswald and myself, we had our past tour manager and studio engineer, Jody Sappington, help us produce and play bass. My longtime guitarist Bill Corvino really gave the album some sharp teeth with his playing while Skip Edwards and Gary Morse added beautiful parts on B3 and pedal steel. Our buddy Al Backstrom (Angela’s husband) did an awesome job mixing the album and laying down some killer harmonies.

“Sometimes projects just come together and it would be really hard to recreate it at any other time. We decided to put the album out now because we are already starting pre-production on the next album, so we felt it was time to get it out of the gate and share it. It’s hard to move forward with a brand new project until the current one is released. Like bullets in a sonic gun, baby!” — Moot Davis

Photo credit: David McClister

WATCH: Phoebe Hunt, “Goin’ Gone” (Tribute to Nanci Griffith)

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Artist: Phoebe Hunt featuring Tabitha Meeks and Makena Hartlin (the Pitch Pipes)
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Goin’ Gone”

In Their Words: “I was introduced to the Pitch Meeting in Nashville by my dear friend Makena Hartlin. She kept telling me to come out to Sonny’s on a Tuesday here in Nashville. I had been reluctant to go anywhere during the pandemic, but this August, I felt like it was time and the Pitch Meeting graciously featured me as their guest artist. It was really special to see what can happen when a group of supremely talented individuals come together to support one another. I felt heard, held, supported and lifted up. I hadn’t played in a live setting with a full band in a really long time and it really lifted my spirits. The next week, Makena and Tabitha Meeks invited me to be a featured guest in their Pitch Pipes female songwriter showcase. Again, I was blown away by the support from these beautiful women.

“Nanci Griffith passed the day before I met up with the Pitch Pipes. My husband and I had her album, The Last of the True Believers, on repeat in our home and I felt deeply connected to her voice, her writing and the covers she chose to sing. You can hear genuine tenderness in her voice. You can feel her spirit. So, I brought ‘Goin’ Gone’ to Makena and Tabitha and asked if they would be open to learning it and paying tribute to Nanci with me. It feels sacred to sing the songs she sang in her wake. As if we can keep the music and her memory alive simply by playing the songs she held close. We’ve lost many beautiful souls lately and it feels important to sing the songs of those who pass and keep their spirit alive through the music they left behind.” — Phoebe Hunt

Photo credit: Nate Luebbe

On “Radio Silence,” The Highwomen’s Natalie Hemby Lets Her Voice Be Heard

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Natalie Hemby’s new single “Radio Silence” puts her cunning sensibility as a songwriter on full display, while drawing on the strengths of co-writers Rosi Golan and Daniel Tashian. No slouches themselves, Golan is an accomplished songwriter whose music can be heard on countless TV shows and films, and Tashian is a writer and producer in Nashville with credits such as Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour.

With this dream team in support, Hemby’s weighty single encapsulates the anxiousness of being cut off from a friend — a true story that hits close to home. “This song is basically about being ghosted by a friend, only not because of a fallout, but because your friend doesn’t want to drag you into their struggles, so they shut down,” says Hemby. “I was the friend, and Rosi Golan was the one reaching out. We wrote the song with Daniel Tashian.”

An acclaimed writer and two-time Grammy Award winner, Hemby will releasing her first major label record as a solo artist, following her work with the Highwomen, the collaborative group with Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. “Radio Silence” and lead single “Heroes” precede Pins And Needles, an album that leans on her rock and roots musical influences, due out October 8 on Fantasy Records. “Pins And Needles is the record I never got the chance to make and I always wanted to,” she adds. “It’s the late 90’s sound, which is the sound of my young adult life.”

Photo credit: Alysse Gafkjen

WATCH: Audrey Spillman, “Summertime”

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Artist: Audrey Spillman
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Summertime”
Album: Neon Dream
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Label: Paper Star

In Their Words: “I’ve always loved ‘Summertime’ and the way it pulls you in emotionally through the lyric and melody. I wanted to create a swampy, dark, lullaby-esque sound that you could get lost in and somehow capture the way that song has always felt to me upon hearing it for the first time. Throughout my journey I’ve worked at trying to uncover my unique voice. I’ve always been drawn to the torch singers of the past and this song allowed me to further explore that style of emotive singing. Throughout the whole album, moments of my life are highlighted whether it be falling in love, having a child, or the loss of someone close to me. These songs give life to my most precious moments and memories.” — Audrey Spillman

Photo credit: Neilson Hubbard

WATCH: Jackson+Sellers, “Hush” (Yamaha x BGS Artist Sessions)

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Artist: Jackson+Sellers (Jade Jackson and Aubrie Sellers)
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA and Nashville, TN
Song: “Hush”
Album: Breaking Point
Release Date: October 22, 2021
Label: ANTI-

In Their Words: “I really loved [Aubrie Sellers’] voice and asked if she’d be interested in doing a co-write / duet. I wasn’t expecting a response but moments after I sent the message she responded with she’d love to. I knew the song would benefit from heavy female vocal harmonies, but working with Aubrie was such a boost. Collaborating with someone who’s so energetically strong, it gives you even more creativity and license to explore.” — Jade Jackson

Editor’s note: Watch more of our Yamaha x BGS Artist Sessions here.

BGS 5+5: The Delevantes

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Artist: The Delevantes
Hometown: Rutherford, NJ… then Hoboken, NJ… and now Nashville
Latest Album: A Thousand Turns
Rejected band names: “The band was originally named Who’s Your Daddy. The name came from the Zombies song, ‘Time of the Season.’ The lyric reads: ‘What’s your name? Who’s your daddy?’ but very few people ever got it. In fact I think maybe one person did. And it eventually made a list of top ten bad band names. Eventually Mike and I decided to go with our last name. It was easy and simple (for us) to remember. But it’s hard to count how many times it was misspelled in ads or on marquees. One of our faves was ‘The Deldinkos’! Probably should’ve gone with that.” — Bob

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I had played guitar since I was about 4 years old and I enjoyed it. Our family was very musical. But I don’t think I understood its full potential until I was a teenager and got together with friends and played as a group. Even just in casual circles. That’s when I saw what it can do and how it can bring people together. Our music began in friendships and it grew out from there. — Mike

In high school after lunch my friend Matt and I would pull out our acoustic guitars and play some songs in the auditorium. A little Simon & Garfunkel, Jackson Browne, or maybe something from Will the Circle Be Unbroken. As we played some of the football players’ girlfriends came over and sat down to listen. We realized guitars and harmonies, not helmets and shoulder pads, was the way to go for us. — Bob

Which artist has influenced you the most… and how?

There are so many, but I would probably choose Bob Dylan. Lyrics, folk music, rock ‘n’ roll — there are so many layers and I love that. And he just turned 80 and has released what I think as some of his best work! – Bob

Probably the Beatles. The combination of both amazing lyrics and some of the most incredible melodic lines. I don’t think anyone has come close. — Mike

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Being asked the day of the show to back up Levon Helm at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show in Cleveland. Rehearsing for about an hour that day and performing “Rag Mama Rag” and “Atlantic City.” — Mike

There are quite a few but two really stick in my mind: The first, we were playing an outdoor festival in Holland and it started to rain. There was large crowd on the hillside. I think the attendance was around 10,000 people and when it started to drizzle all these different colored umbrellas opened up. It looked like a field blooming. The second is the first time we opened up for John Prine and he asked us to sing on the encore, “Paradise.” Won’t forget that one. — Bob

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

Sitting down for a dinner of baked ziti and a beer with Frank Sinatra at Ricco’s in Hoboken, NJ, around 1941, just as his career was taking off. — Bob

Hearing the E Street Band play on the boardwalk in Asbury Park with a slice of NJ pizza. — Mike

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

I’m a designer, photographer, and illustrator as well as a songwriter. All these different disciplines feed each other. They’re all ways of telling stories and I work in all of them. My favorites are probably looking at other artists’ photographs and watching films. They probably affect me the most and inspire my work. — Bob

Going to art school in NYC opened my eyes to how a particular time and place with different art forms can be combined to create a story. The act of creating art alongside other artists — and being fully immersed in galleries and seeing bands in clubs at a certain time — created a story in my head that I can still see. A film with a soundtrack. That time inspires me to find similar moments in how you can imagine a song or say a painting can take on meaning for other people. Part of it is freeing in a way… you don’t have to control every aspect because they will put their story into your art and make it their own. — Mike

Photo credit: Emma Delevante

LISTEN: Katie Frank, “Come Clean”

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Artist: Katie Frank
Hometown: Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
Song: “Come Clean”
Album: Small Town Minds
Release Date: October 8, 2021

In Their Words: “I started writing ‘Come Clean’ while I was still living in Philly. I was 29 at the time and going through a big growth period, where I was really taking a good hard look at who I was, who I had been, and who I wanted to be. I was trying to heal from past traumas and change the way I responded to things emotionally, because I couldn’t stand being on that rollercoaster anymore. When you change the way you respond, it can make an impact on relationships, which is something I experienced. Come Clean is about trying to evolve and become, but having people in your life who still remind you or hold you to who you used to be. On one of my first trips to Nashville, I brought this song to a writing session with Carl Anderson and Kirby Brown. They are both amazing songwriters and they helped me bring the song to a whole other level. It was after that session that I decided I needed to move here.” — Katie Frank

Photo credit: Natia Cinco

LISTEN: Tammy Rogers & Thomm Jutz, “I Surely Will Be Singing”

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Artist: Tammy Rogers & Thomm Jutz
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “I Surely Will Be Singing”
Album: Surely Will Be Singing
Release Date: September 21, 2021
Label: Mountain Fever Records

In their Words: “We wrote this song at the beginning of the pandemic. We both noticed how much more we paid attention to bird life when everything slowed down. We also talked about the fact that while music is a career choice, it is important to continuously find joy in making music, without the need for outside approval — like a bird that sings to himself, with no regard for applause. This is a hymn to nature, and to the spirit of human resilience in the face of adversity.” — Tammy Rogers & Thomm Jutz

Photo credit: Anthony Scarlatti