Artist:The Devil Makes Three Hometown: Santa Cruz, California Song: “Ghosts Are Weak” Album:Spirits Release Date: January 22, 2025 (single); February 28, 2025 (album) Label: New West Records
In Their Words: “‘Ghosts Are Weak’ is about breaking free from destructive habits and patterns. It reflects on how leaving behind a substance or lifestyle often comes with losing certain friends along the way. The song also carries a warning– escapism only works for so long. Sooner or later, the drugs lose their grip, but the ghosts of those choices grow stronger. Through raw lyrics and a haunting melody, ‘Ghosts Are Weak’ captures the struggle of moving on and the shadows left behind.” – Pete Bernhard
This week, there were just too many exciting releases and new songs to feature, so buckle up for seven excellent premieres – cause You Gotta Hear This! From a John Hiatt cover by modernist banjo player Tray Wellington to a brand new music video from country neo-traditionalist Corb Lund, from Amelia White to the Roe Family Singers, there’s something for every taste and from every style of American roots music.
Tray Wellington, “Lift Up Every Stone”
Artist:Tray Wellington Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina Song: “Lift Up Every Stone” Release Date: February 23, 2024 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “For me, ‘Lift Up Every Stone’ encompasses a sense of encouragement to fight through the hard times in life. When I first heard the John Hiatt version of this song, I loved the use of imagery to convey the lifting atmosphere. It was also a chance to try something new musically, which for anything I record, I want to be challenged more and more — and this was the perfect way to step outside of my comfort zone.” – Tray Wellington
Track Credits: Tray Wellington – Banjo, lead vocal Drew Matulich – Guitar, electric guitar Katelynn Bohn – Bass Josiah Nelson – Mandolin, fiddle DaShawn Hickman – Pedal steel guitar Wendy Hickman – Lead vocal, harmony vocal
Corb Lund, “El Viejo (For Ian)”
Artist:Corb Lund Hometown: Alberta, Canada Song: “El Viejo (For Ian)” Album: El Viejo Release Date: February 23, 2024 Label: New West Records
In Their Words: “We dedicated the record to our late friend, Ian Tyson, and the title track is a tribute to him. ‘El Viejo’ was our friendly nickname for him and it means ‘the old man.’ I’m pretty proud of the song, and the video, which uses a lot of cool old stock footage of him. Hope the record is as satisfying to listen to as it was for us to make. I left it all on the field for this one.” – Corb Lund
Video Credits: Noah Fallis – Director, Director of Photography Jamie Campbell – Producer Brendan Schmidt – Camera Operator, Editor Ethan Wournell – First A/C Blair Bourque – Key Grip Alyssa Howland – Gaffer Archival footage of Ian Tyson courtesy of Neil McGonagle
Amelia White, “Love I Swore”
Artist:Amelia White Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Love I Swore” Album:Love I Swore Release Date: February 23, 2024 Label: Thirty One Tigers
In Their Words: “The title track of Love I Swore is a dark and stormy love letter. I wrote it on the streets of Glasgow and Edinburgh in deep summer on tour when the sky stayed light until midnight. The ghosts of what I wished a love was and how it seemed to be slipping away were talking, and I wondered if a bird that had left the cage would be happy coming back? Kim Richey (producer) called in Eamon McLoughlin to slay our hearts with violin as the track builds. This honestly is one of my favorite guitar lines that has ever come out of me, and I hope all you troubled lovers find some strange comfort here.“ – Amelia White
Stephanie Sammons, “Faithless”
Artist:Stephanie Sammons Hometown: Dallas, Texas Song: “Faithless” Album:Time and Evolution Release Date: May 3, 2024
In Their Words: “What inspired this song was an old friend from high school who died from suicide in 2022. I kept up with her on social media. She would post pictures of her dog and her kids. Her posts seemed joyful and even funny from time to time. How could I have known she was suffering so immensely? If only I would have known! It was heartbreaking. I felt so helpless.
“And then there are the painful feelings with regards to my younger sister, who has had a rough time just doing ‘life’ in general. Even though we’re only 14 months apart, I was absent and oblivious to what she was going through during her darkest days. I’ve wondered, why does she continue to battle demons and dark places and I don’t? And why did it take me so long to realize how her anger was pain turned inward? I have guilt about not being there for my sibling.
“Because of the pain I have seen others endure and I have felt, this song explores my deep questions about faith. I’m asking myself, what do I have faith in? ‘Faithless’ is reflecting on the indiscriminate nature of suffering, generational trauma, and what ultimately happens to our souls when we depart this world.” – Stephanie Sammons
Track Credits: Written and published by Stephanie Sammons
Stephanie Sammons – Vocals, acoustic guitar Mary Bragg (producer) – Background vocals Josh Kaler – Guitars and pedal steel Jordan Perlson – Drums, percussion Jon Estes– Bass, piano, organ
The Roe Family Singers, “Little Trouble”
Artist:The Roe Family Singers Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota Song: “Little Trouble” Album:Sisters And Brothers Release Date: February 2, 2024 Label: Bonfire Music Group
In Their Words: “I’ve long been interested in the folk process; specifically, the idea that newer folk songs borrow melodies and lyrics from earlier songs and repurpose them. ‘Little Trouble’ started life by borrowing part of the melody from the traditional song ‘Little Birdy,’ and reimagines some of the lyrics, too, updating them to deal with modern concerns like urban versus rural, social media, political scare-mongering and manufactured moral panics, and a culture held together through pharmacology.” – Quillan Roe
Wolf Jett, “Tavira”
Artist:Wolf Jett Hometown: Santa Cruz Mountains Song: “Tavira” Album:Time Will Finally Come Release Date: February 23, 2024
In Their Words: “Imagine leaving your cushy pharma job and rent-controlled apartment in SF to travel by bicycle and busk through southern Spain for a year. One day, you lose your wallet skinny-dipping near the Portuguese border and then you come upon the village of Tavira. Upon first glance, the cobblestone streets and whitewashed buildings seem unremarkable, until you cross the Roman bridge over the canal, break open your guitar case, and start playing. Next thing you know, a large crowd gathers around, dancing and cheering, and you make more tips than you’ve seen all month. A French expat offers for you to stay on his farm to help with the fig harvest, and next thing you know you’re closer to Eden than ever. This is a love song to Portugal and the wonderful times I spent there.” – Chris Jones, lead singer and songwriter
Pi Jacobs, “Coyote”
Artist:Pi Jacobs Hometown: Los Angeles, California Song: “Coyote” Album:Soldier On Release Date: April 26, 2024 Label: Blackbird Record Label
In Their Words: “The song began one day when a coyote stalked my dog on a walk, following us home, and even jumping our fence that night. It was a terrifying experience, but the metaphor it brought to mind was even more menacing. My best friend had been fighting cancer and every time we thought it was gone, it would spring back up, just like this dang coyote. The image was so powerful, that when I told the story to my co-writer, Ted Russell Kamp, the song just about wrote itself! But even with this bleak backstory, the song sounds ‘happy,’ and I’m happy to report that both my dog and my friend are alive and well. Take that coyote!” – Pi Jacobs
Track Credits: Written by Lisa Marie Jacobs and Ted Russell Kamp
Recorded in Los Angeles at Carriage House & Forty Below Records Eric Corne & Pi Jacobs – Producers Eric Corne – Engineer Mark Chalecki – Mastering engineer Pi Jacobs – Guitar, lead vocal, backing vocal Adam Hall – Dobro, banjo Zack Hall – Upright bass Butch Norton – Drums, percussion Philip Glen – Mandolin
Video Credit: Taylor Hungerford, Director / Silver Spark Printworks
Photo Credit: Tray Wellington by Heidi Holloway; Corb Lund by Noah Fallis.
Many things contribute to the most memorable recording projects, but according to genre-hopping bluegrass band Town Mountain, there’s nothing quite like working on hallowed ground.
For their new six-song EP, Dance Me Down Easy: The Woodstock Sessions (out January 18), the band had an unexpected chance to record at the upstate New York home/jam space/studio of roots music legend Levon Helm – and they wisely jumped at the chance. Produced by Justin Francis, the equally unexpected set finds Town Mountain tapping the spirit that made Helm and The Band so inspiring, leading to a uniquely funky addition to their catalog.
Built around deep-pocketed, deep-cut covers of tracks by Helm, The Kinks, J.J. Cale, Dire Straits, and The Rolling Stones, Dance Me Down Easy is filled with homespun soul and helps connect the dots between normally separate musical worlds. And as mandolin playing primary songwriter Phil Barker says, it wouldn’t be the same without Helm’s spiritual presence.
“It’ll be tough to top as far as a studio vibe, that’s always a big thing for us is the space we’re recording in,” Barker says. “It’s got to be an inspirational thing, and this place had inspiration for days.”
Speaking with BGS from the band’s hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, Barker did his best to describe a spur-of-the-moment, three-day musical getaway that turned into a bucket-list experience, and gave an already-adventurous band new license to rock.
This seems like the type of project where y’all got to let off some steam and have a little fun. Was it time for a change of pace?
Phil Barker: Well, our label New West was talking to us about recording some cover tunes [to] tie it over to our next record… and we had a show booked at Levon’s Barn, which was our first time playing there. From the other people we’d talked to, we knew this was going to be nothing but vibe and our routing worked out where we had a couple days at the end of the tour. So it was like, “Why don’t we just go back to the barn and hang out there for a few days?” …It was the perfect space to do this. No high pressure situation. It’s just like, “Let’s cut loose and have fun on songs that we enjoy.”
For people who might not know, what does Levon Helm’s barn represent in roots music?
For me, it’s kind of like one of the epicenters of the whole Americana genre. He had such a great way of bridging rock and roll with funk and country and traditional American music. And him as a musician in the bands that he was in, he was such a huge influence on everybody. This place was his spiritual center, where he would come and all the parties he would have there. All the creativity that happened in this space has just kind of generated this buzz within itself, and the word just spreads. Everybody we’d talked to was like, “Oh man, you’re going to love it there.” And we’ve told everybody since then like, “You got to go, man. You got to go there.” So any fan of music and traditional American music in particular, it’s a one of a kind of experience and we’ve always had it on our bucket list to go play. I’m so glad we got to do some recording there as well.
I knew there were jams held there, but I didn’t realize it was a full recording studio as well.
We talked to a lot of folks up there and the story goes that Levon decided he wanted to bring the party to him, he wanted to bring it to his space. So he created this barn literally on the back of his house. If you go through the back wall of the barn performance area, it’s his kitchen. So it’s literally his house and this beautiful property with a nice lake and all these woods. I mean, if you create a space like that and people are already playing music in there, they’re going to want to record. So there’s no fancy infrastructure for recording – it’s just a barn and there’s a couple baffles you can roll around, not isolation booths or anything – but it’s meant for a community kind of performance.
Take me through the first moment of walking in there. What did it feel like?
It’s like being in a church. Everybody just started walking around seeing all the spaces, and you go downstairs and there’s just endless Levon memorabilia on the walls. All these amazing pictures, all these random artifacts you’ll see nowhere else, and you can just feel all the creative energy that has happened in this space and it’s really kind of like buzzing. It was a really moving experience, honestly.
You’ve said that Levon had things figured out, musically? What do you mean by that?
Man, he just knew where the pocket was supposed to be. …It’s like he knew how to connect with the soul of any kind of music, and how it would connect with people.
Is that why you picked the songs you did? They represent a pretty wide swath of rock and roll.
It’s always a challenge to come up with cover tunes and we went through a bunch of ‘em. If it was meant for your band, I feel like you’ll know in the first couple of times you sit down together and play it. …We were open to every genre. Any suggestion was something we would try out if somebody was felt passionately about it. It just so happened that the ones that were working best with us in this particular situation, were more from the rock genre.
Town Mountain as a band has always had a bunch of that influence anyways, right?
Oh, absolutely. We had a Jay Farrar tune on the first record, so it’s always been on something we’ve embraced and not been afraid of.
“Dance Me Down Easy” ended up being the title song – one of Levon’s, but not The Band’s. Why did you pick that and not “Cripple Creek” or “The Weight” or something?
We wanted to pay a little homage to the stuff Levon did outside of The Band. That one’s from one of his killer solo records and something maybe people haven’t done as much. And honestly, it’s just fun to play. It’s like a funky dance tune that we don’t really do. We wanted to highlight that Levon was so much more than The Band, both as a musician and a person. So it was a natural fit.
The Kinks’ track “Strangers” really stood out, too. How did that get in the mix?
That was one of my picks. That song, I’ve just listened to it for years and I’ve always gravitated towards it. I’ll go through these phases where it’ll be on my Spotify mix and I’ll repeat it for literally 10 or 15 times in a row. I can just listen to that song forever because it really resonates with me. I love the writing and I love the feel, it’s really unique and I wanted to give it a little more country-rock vibe.
Did any of them surprise you with how they turned out?
Probably “So Far Away.” When we originally thought about that tune, it’s just like Dire Straits is so iconic and they have this laid-back vibe. It’s such a perfect fit for that tune. But at the same time, the lyrics are so country and we thought it would definitely fit with a pedal steel behind it. We kind of gave it a little bit of a Cajun swing feel.
Is this experience going to stay with you guys? Is the vibe something you’re able to take with you on the road?
That’s a great question. Hopefully we’ll incorporate it into more of the rest of our material, and find a way to tap into that. It’s a very space driven thing, so hopefully we can keep that in mind and let it guide our way in the future.
Artist:Jon Dee Graham Hometown: Austin, Texas Song: “there’s a ghost on the train” Album:only dead for a little while Release Date: November 10, 2023 Label: Strolling Bones Records (a subsidiary of New West)
In Their Words: “So, my old friend Charlie Hunter, who started Roots on The Rails – Train adventures with live music. We’ve been to see polar bears in Churchill, [Manitoba] on the Hudson! – had made friends with the guy who found and restored The City of New Orleans train of Steve Goodman fame. Charlie asked if I’d play the [train’s] first run from Chicago to NOLA. I was in.
“It’s such an old and iconic train, I got to talking with one of the porters and I said, ‘I bet this train’s got a few ghosts.’ He got all serious and said, ‘Oh, this train is haunted as hell!’ No matter how I wheedled him he wouldn’t say anymore than that.
“So I’m playing on and off late into the night. At one point during a break I’m heading back to the baggage car to have a smoke and as I’m approaching one of the doors between cars, I see a hazy figure on the other side, I get all gooseflesh, and it keeps coming and I think, ‘Sweet Jesus! I’m seeing a ghost on the City of New Orleans!’ When I reached the door, I realized that I was seeing my own reflection in the door’s window. Relieved, but disappointed, I pushed on through to the baggage car. When I entered the dark baggage car, I caught a brief glimpse of 3 or 4 guys sitting in the back and then it was gone… another trick of the light.” – Jon Dee Graham
Track Credits:
Produced by Jon Dee Graham, Michael Hardwick, and Stuart Sullivan. Recorded by Stuart Sullivan at Wire Studio in Austin, Texas. Engineered by Stuart Sullivan. Mastered by Carter Greeves.
Artist:Jaime Wyatt Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Althea” Album:Feel Good Release Date: November 3, 2023 Label: New West Records
In Their Words: “In ‘Althea,’ Robert Hunter suspects betrayal, but perhaps is untrue himself. He references Shakespeare and many suspect he was referring to Jerry [Garcia’s] addiction to heroin, but I personally think it was about his own journey in learning to love.
“Thank you to LA-based director, editor, and animator Tee Vaden for bringing such beautiful images to this song. We compiled tour videos and live performances and meaningful symbols for healing and rebirth, as well as fun Grateful Dead-esque eye candy. I chose to record the Grateful Dead’s ‘Althea,’ as the song is just as true and applicable today as it was at its release in 1980.” – Jaime Wyatt
Photo Credit: Jody Domingue Video Credit: Tee Vaden
“We kissed the ring from the billionaire’s sleeve, yeah/ We let ‘em poison the roots/ I’d like my people and yours to see/ All of the earth in its bloom…”
Alt-country singer-songwriter Jaime Wyatt has announced her upcoming album, Feel Good, to be released on November 3 on New West Records, with a fiery lead single, “World Worth Keeping,” and its accompanying video. The track, though overarchingly optimistic and forward-looking, features Wyatt’s booming country croon dripping both with righteous anger and a passionate love for the Earth. The content here is more than apropos for a summer of striking, of record-setting ocean and air temperatures, and of ongoing natural disasters like wildfires, tornadoes, and torrential downpours. Wyatt’s particular brand of queer alt-country is perfectly poised to tackle issues such as these and to offer an imagination of the future that isn’t just despairing and defeatist. Like Iris Dement on “Workin’ on a World,” Wyatt chooses to see a redeemable planet, instead of a lost cause, utilizing hope not as a privileged denial of the stark realities of our everyday, but as a radical act of resistance – resistance queer folks engage in perpetually, within or without hope.
Feel Good was produced by Black Pumas‘ Adrian Quesada and builds on Wyatt’s rhinestoned and glamorous Western-informed Americana sounds, folding in R&B, country soul, and so many more roots influences. There’s a confidence and ease Wyatt continues to grow into following her critically-acclaimed prior albums. “A lot of us grow up feeling like we have to hide who we are just to be accepted, but that comes from a place of fear and judgment,” Wyatt explains via press release. “I wrote these songs as a way of letting go of all that, as permission to feel good.”
Artist:Lilly Hiatt Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Simple” Album:Lately Release Date: October 15, 2021 Label: New West Records
In Their Words: “The love that exists in our universe is infinite. My family is a big part of that realization for me, and they all appear in this song. I wanted this to begin the album as if to say hello with a smile.” — Lilly Hiatt
Artist:The Wild Feathers Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Get Out Of My Own Way” Album:Alvarado Release Date: October 8, 2021 Label: New West Records
In Their Words: “‘Get Out of My Own Way’ is one of those last-minute songs that somehow makes it on the record. We write a lot and there’s just no telling how or why a song will make the final cut. It’s very personal to me and my own struggle to not make things so hard on myself. Sometimes our insecurities and fears get in the way of who we really are and writing this song was me realizing that. It’s OK to have these feelings, but I’m learning to let things go and get out of the way.” — Ricky Young, The Wild Feathers
In Their Words: “Our Black brothers and sisters have suffered so long. Their dehumanizing journey began 400 years ago. They lived lives of slaves and now of being distrusted by the law of the land, treated as ‘lesser than,’ been in danger from the stranger, danger from the law. Parents’ hearts are so worried, distraught, and broken. So much suffering and sorrow, discrimination, dehumanization, and hurt, and disappointment. This should all hurt our hearts too. It will if we have one. A beautiful revelation has been jump started in the middle of a pandemic, no less. This is my song of solidarity. And it’s my heart crying with their hearts. Let the revolution live.” — Julie Miller
With spring just arriving, our BGS Artist of the Month has just given us a seasonal freshen-up with a lovely new release. Siblings Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle, known as The Secret Sisters, released their latest album, Saturn Return, at the end of February. The new record was produced by Brandi Carlile along with Phil and Tim Hanseroth and was released on New West Records.
“Late Bloomer” and its accompanying video have the same glow that an old photo album or a home-cooked meal with your family might have: welcoming, heart-warming, and encouraging. The message of the song is one of affirmation and reassurance, reiterating that everyone’s story is different and every path is unique. For a peak into what Saturn Return holds, watch the Secret Sisters’ touching music video for “Late Bloomer,” a spring of solace for those who feel the familiar impulse to compare and pass judgment on their own experience.
Photo credit: Alysse Gafkjen
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