Throughout his music career, singer-songwriter Amos Lee has cultivated a large female fanbase and also owes a lot of his early start to Norah Jones (a female!). He’s about to hit the road co-headlining with folk music and queer icons the Indigo Girls. In our conversation, he talks about the atmosphere he’s going for in concert, and it’s not a very bro-centered vibe. His latest album Transmissions further proves his case with a gorgeous sonic palette that includes country music, indie folk, folk rock and acoustic music sounds. Recorded with his longtime band in a studio in rural Marlboro, New York, the songs came out as warm as the reclaimed church wood it was built out of.
Amos dives into topics like how he feels about kids, to his work with cancer patients, to the benefits of caring for your mental health and music. He touches on anxiety and overstimulation (a topic mostly prompted by my anxiety!) and overcoming adversity. He also talks about being a mentor for the Black Opry residency at WXPN in his town of Philadelphia, and explains what a Hoagiemouth is. Amaze and delight at the wonderful Amos Lee.
Artist:Charlotte Morris Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; now Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Wild Child” Album:Wild Child Release Date: September 29, 2023
In Their Words: “I’ve never been a person who settles – I always find a reason to leave. I have big ambitions; I get anxious staying in one place for too long; I always feel the need to move onto the next job, the next relationship, the next city. Part of that is freeing – it allows me to see the world, try new things and challenge myself. But part of it is debilitating. Never staying in one situation for too long means never sitting with yourself or allowing yourself to grow in peace. I think that ‘Wild Child’ is a classic folk-country song that almost everyone can relate to at some point in their lives. Feeling drawn to one thing, but knowing that another option might be better for you; or perhaps, choosing between multiple amazing options, but knowing that ultimately you need to make a decision. It’s an experience that everyone has been through, and ‘Wild Child’ is an anthem for the folks with choice-paralysis and a fire in their feet.” – Charlotte Morris
Artist:Dave Hause Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Song: “Tarnish” Album:Drive It Like It’s Stolen Release Date: April 28, 2023 Label: Blood Harmony Records/Soundly Music
In Their Words: “My life is getting increasingly less interesting. And that’s by design. You want to be steady, you want to be at a baseball practice or taking your kids to gymnastics or whatever it is. You don’t want to necessarily be staring into the abyss all the time and trying to determine your existential weight. I don’t want my life to become fodder for songs — I want my creativity to be the fodder for songs. I had kids later in life, and it turns out kids ask an awful lot of questions. Sooner or later I’m gonna have some explaining to do for the four decades of living I did before they showed up on the scene, and I sure hope when they hear the answers, they take it easy on me.” — Dave Hause
Artist:LULLANAS feat. Luke Sital-Singh Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Song: “Cheap Silver Lining” Release Date: January 20, 2023 Label: Nettwerk
In Their Words: “One of the many thoughts that loop in the anxious mind is doubt. ‘Am I overanalyzing this?’ or ‘Are we hanging on by a thin thread of hope?’ ‘Cheap Silver Lining’ is a song for the over-thinkers…for the people who read in-between, above, below, and around the lines right in front of them. We were lucky enough to have our schedules align with one of our favorite artists, Luke Sital-Singh, while we were in Los Angeles. We’ve always been fans of his work… his writing, his voice, and we were lucky enough to experience his production work firsthand. As soon as Luke sent our demo back from our session together, within the first few seconds of hearing his rubber bridge guitar take on the feeling of the lyrics before the first word was even sung… we looked at each other and said, ‘We have to put this one out!’ It’s just the right amount of different from what we are used to. A song full of sad lyrics that doesn’t necessarily leave you feeling sad.” — Atisha and Nishita Lulla, LULLANAS
Artist:Maggie Pope Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Song: “Northern Girl” Release Date: November 18, 2022
In Their Words: “I most often write songs with the hope that others will find their own unique connection with and meaning for the song — that its lyrics and melodies will resonate with the listener’s own story. The same is true for ‘Northern Girl,’ though I will say that for me, this one was inspired by and will always be about my grandmother. She lived in Gloucester, Massachusetts, right on the edge of the Annisquam River. I lived with her for a year or so after college as I found my footing and was working in Boston. She was full of wisdom and music and warm hugs.
“She once said to me, ‘Now, you know they’ll be okay’ when I had been worrying about some people close to me who were navigating a difficult situation. It was just a conversation we had in her kitchen, next to the muffin tin and the little jar on the windowsill that she had stuffed full with some bread crust to save to feed to the birds. The memory of it is still so clear in my mind and her words hit so profoundly for some reason. It wasn’t until I shared this song with my dad and he said, ‘Hey, you included a line in that song that is really special and something she used to say all the time to us’ that I realized why. Now, you know we’ll be okay.
“So much gratitude to my friends Nicholas Gunty, for producing this one in the most perfect way, and Brad Hinton, for lending his sweet voice.” — Maggie Pope
Artist Name:Teddy Grossman Hometown: Philadelphia; based in Los Angeles New Album:Soon Come
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
John Prine. John’s music has been a fixture in my life ever since childhood, and has provided a lot of comfort and guidance throughout the years. He had a Buddha-like humor and lightness, and of course could turn a phrase with devastating beauty and truth. A true master. His last record Tree of Forgiveness is among my favorites, and kept me company during a pretty lonely time during my first year in LA. The last time I saw him live was right before the pandemic and his passing, in October 2019. He was as lively as ever — literally dancing on the floor by the end of his set. Will never forget it.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
Hearing Stevie Wonder for the first time is one that stands out. I have this profound memory of my dad playing me “Isn’t She Lovely” in sixth grade, and something inside me changed. It was the first time I remember music lighting me up, tapping into this inner sacred core that little else in this world does.
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
“Soon Come” probably. I knew it was going to be the album name before it was actually a completed song, so the stakes were unfairly high.
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
Meatloaf and George Jones.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
My favorite moments on stage are usually the ones that I have very little memory of. Pure presence in the moment, and flies by in a flash. An emotional blackout of sorts in the best kind of way. The last show I played — Rock N Roll Church at Eagle Rock Presbyterian (LA) — definitely comes to mind. It was right before things shut down again, and was a celebration of the incredibly vibrant Los Angeles singer-songwriter community. It was glorious.
Amos Lee‘s “Worry No More,” is an anthem for optimism, reminding us with an easy melody and a heartwarming video that anxiety does not have to control us. Looking to further open conversations around mental health and anxiety, the single is a microcosm of the upcoming album, Dreamland, slated for a February 11 release on Dualtone Records.
“I’ve had a lot of episodes with anxiety in my life and now I feel much more equipped to handle them, partly because my family and friends have always been so supportive of me,” says Lee. “Music has also been so healing for me, and helped me to find a place in my mind that isn’t purely controlled by fear.”
Mirroring the song’s message, the music video celebrates Lee’s hometown of Philadelphia and more broadly heralds the comfort and rest that can be found at home. In the video, locals are finding reasons to smile in the face of some less-than-bright circumstances. In a nod to his upbringing, the songwriter himself is seen singing in Star Garden Park, the actual park that he grew up playing in. For a beautiful homage to the city of brotherly love and a gentle song about peace and tranquility, take a look at “Worry No More.”
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
In Their Words: “The guitar, harmonica and fiddle-based song ‘Pretty Mama’ closes the album. I think of ‘Pretty Mama’ as really a prayer to my mom. I wrote it just before she died, I played and sang it at her memorial service, and while she was still physically with us at the time, due to how her condition had worked so slowly over time, I had long been imagining that her spirit had been leaving this world in these sort of waves or pieces, and it made me happy to imagine that she was then constituting herself in a sort of beautiful afterlife place, bit by bit, and maybe waiting there in peace to become whole as the rest of her that was still grounded with us in this world, wrapped up and passed on.
“As I was thinking or praying in this way, I thought, well I am operating out of a very dark place right now, and she taught me better — so while I do hope her spirit is with me somehow, I also kinda hope she didn’t see these latest round of life choices! At this time, I was by myself a lot, without a partner, I didn’t live near my family, and I had just quit my job; I was feeling very alone. I drank too much, I didn’t treat myself with a lot of self-love. So in this song I thought and prayed: Mom, if you are there, and if there is any guidance and protection you can give, please show me that — ‘let me know,’ as the final verse says!
“Of all the album’s songs, ‘Pretty Mama’ was clearest in my mind in terms of arrangement. Along with the bass and acoustic guitar, it would have two instruments in conversation with one another: cello, an instrument my mom adored and I which think reflected her warm and grounded personality, and then violin — a miniature of the cello, beautiful also but less calm, a bit more frantic. In other words, me! And then there would be the very important harmonica solo, which sounds as lonely as I felt at the time writing the song. The beautiful minimal backing vocals bring a little warmth and hope at the end, and this along with the song’s placement at the end of the project is meant to give my listeners and myself a sigh of relief — after the journey, a deep, calming breath. And then we keep on.” — Leah Shaw
Reggie Harris is a songwriter, storyteller, educator, and folk icon. No, literally. This year, Harris was awarded The Spirit of Folk Award from Folk Alliance International — as well as W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Award by the Du Bois Legacy Festival in Great Barrington, Mass. His career as a folksinger has spanned four decades, with musical collaborators and activist compatriots such as Pete Seeger, Dr. Kim Harris, C.T. Vivian, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Greg Greenway, David Roth, and many more. BGS is proud to host Harris on the sixth episode of our Shout & Shine livestream series on Wednesday, June 23 at 4pm PDT / 7pm EDT. (Tune in here via the video player below, our YouTube channel, or our Facebook page.)
The joy and hope evident in Harris’ 2021 release, On Solid Ground, stem from a rooted sense of perseverance and from his intentional decision to face each and every moment, in the moment, and to find hope within each. It’s why such heavy topics don’t feel gargantuan or burdensome as they make appearances and anchor songs on the album. Harris, watching the social, political, and racial reckonings that bubbled onto the sidewalks and streets of every city in America over the course of the last year, didn’t sit down or give up in the face of the unclimbable summit of translating that reckoning into song.
Instead, Harris draws upon the wisdom, insight, and hope given to him by his own elders and communities throughout On Solid Ground. In choosing to keep himself open in each moment, Harris found himself receiving inspiration, nuggets of ideas and stories, glimpses of songs and arrangements in so many of those moments, simply because he was there, with a still heart and still soul, to receive them.
On Solid Ground feels solid and grounded, but also soars – unencumbered by whatever aspects of its content and lyrics might be perceived as pitfalls or minefields to so many. Harris, as only a folksinger-storyteller can, weaves a reality that can indeed rise to the occasion of this twenty-first century civil rights movement. We just have to choose to be present to usher in that reality — which, it’s important to note, will have an excellent soundtrack.
BGS caught up with Reggie Harris over the phone on May 28, Memorial Day weekend and the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre.
BGS: I wanted to start off with “It’s Who We Are,” which leads off the album. It makes the point that the political and social turmoil of the last few years aren’t really anything new, but rather are pretty natural outgrowths of who we’ve always been — as a culture and as a society. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about why you wanted to reinforce that point and kick off your album with that song? You’re making the point that this isn’t an aberration, this is who we are.
RH: [Laughs] I do a lot of work, a lot of educational and historical performing — both in schools and around the country — and the question always comes up, with audiences of all ages, “How far have we come?” And, “Who are we?” These things happen around the country, incidents like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and also the incident in New York City with the Coopers — Amy Cooper and [Black birder, Christian Cooper]. People are constantly tweeting as if [these incidents] are one-offs, that each is an aberration. So I’d been working on writing a song for a while that basically says our nation was founded with white supremacy and racial issues from the very beginning. And we have been struggling with that. Obviously, we have made some progress over time, but we see that these things are so temporary — and the proliferation of them over the last two years particularly, and through the pandemic, really brought it to the fore.
I kept looking at all of that, and I started writing that song– I’m not a writer that likes to just put things out there, constantly pointing out all the difficult and sometimes dangerous events. I love to tie into hope and I couldn’t talk my way through it. I wrote about twenty-seven verses. And it was getting more and more dark all the time! [Laughs]
Even this week, we’re acknowledging the massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a hundred years ago. All of those — there are so manyof those incidents and events, I really wanted to say, “Yes. This is our legacy, this really is who we are.” But, there is something about what is happening, particularly with young people, particularly in the last year. So, when I saw people flooding into the streets all across the nation, in Portland, Louisville, and all these places I saw the diversity of faces and the diversity of ages. I thought, “You know, something has changed.” We’ve had a lot of false starts in our nation, but that became the critical point when I sing, “Yes, we can change! / Reshape the future of our reality.” We can define ourselves. Any way we choose to.
I have to admit, when I finished recording the song, I turned to Greg Greenway, my co-producer, and said, “I don’t know if I want to put this first.” [Laughs] We went back and forth and back and forth and finally — I was actually going to begin with Malvina Reynolds’ “It Isn’t Nice” and Greg turned to me one day and said, “No, this is the album statement. I think we gotta just put it out there.” And I said yes, and there you go! You need to have some courage in the work that you do. I’ve been looking to people like C.T. Vivian and John Lewis and all the sacrifices that people like Fannie Lou Hamer made. And all the amazing icons of civil rights history.
As I was thinking about this point — that this is exactly who we areand always have been — I was listening to “Let’s Meet Up Early,” and there’s a lyric, “It ain’t no mystery… don’t try to act surprised.”
[Laughs]
So this is a point you are making indelibly across the record! [Laughs]
Yes, well it is. And this came out of about three weeks of just sitting at home, watching the nation unravel. I wrote “On Solid Ground,” because that’s kind of where I live, you know, in the spirituals, saying that we can make it through this, we can persevere. But we can’t make it through it if we don’t acknowledge it.
Exactly.
I’m glad you bring up perseverance, because something I find striking about the record is that even though the songs do feel that they carry strong messages and morals, and explicit calls for justice and equity — and perseverance — they don’t feel too heavy, they don’t feel burdened by the gravity of the issues they confront. Like, “Maybe It’s Love” is very whimsical and wry and sweet. And you just mentioned “On Solid Ground,” which is gorgeous, but really also fun, a cappella, bouncy and bubbly with cheer. How do you strike that balance, when you’re thinking about writing music that has a strong sense of conviction like this, but you do want it to also evoke hope and joy?
I feel very blessed to have come up in a community in Philadelphia and throughout that demonstrated having hope. The folks that I grew up with, in Philadelphia, my elders, and then as I progressed not only as a person, but as a musician I have had such amazing [role models]. If you look at the musicians — and all those folks in my community, they’d sing, “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me ‘round!” And, “Oh, Freedom:” “Before I’d be a slave/ I’d be buried in my grave/”
One day we will be free. And we’re going to keep working at this.
We had C.T. Vivian at a conference I helped to put on in 2015 and he said, “We knew that we were working for something bigger than ourselves. We knew that we needed to have good leadership — and we did. We knew that we were working in the frame of love. For something, not against.” I try to keep those messages at the forefront of my writing, at the forefront of my performing. I know that a lot of white Americans have trouble embracing a lot of this because it brings up a lot of guilt, or it brings up this feeling there’s this huge thing you weren’t aware of. I just want to say to people: There are forces and systems that are trying to make sure you don’t know about this stuff. You’re not to blame for not knowing, but once you know — I think it was Maya Angelou that said, “When you know better you do better.” [Laughs]
I look at that and my own role in this is just to pass along what was given to me. I came up in a community that understood the nature of perseverance, that understood the nature of hope and working towards hope realizing that you’re not going to get everything at once. But, you might get some of it and then you pass that along. I think the songs, for me, are conduits to giving away this gift that I’ve been given. As I write I just always try to remember that people always gave me hope – and they did it mostly through songs.
As I was reading some of the song inspirations and contexts in the liner notes, I noticed you seem to really keep yourself so open to inspiration and new song ideas. You mention that “Come What May” came to you right after one of your regular livestreams and you began writing “Tree of Life” you were teaching. How do you keep your mind — and your heart — open to those kernels of inspirations, when new song ideas present themselves to you?
I’m not a writer who’s working at it all the time. I know friends of mine, folks who sit down every day and they either write a song or they tape something. I’ve never been that way, I really have kind of evolved into a person who’s eyes-wide-open in the moment. I’m very much focused on what’s happening around me and focused on noticing those opportunities. That’s one of the things that doing a lot of work with kids [has honed]. You really have to be present with kids. [Laughs] You come in with an idea of what you want to do, but if it feels at all like you aren’t including them or that you aren’t present, they’ll entertain themselves! I think I’ve developed a real sense of being in the moment, being charged with seeing those small windows of opportunity. Of course, I had a lot more of them in the pandemic! [Laughs] At home an unbelievably impressive amount of time.
A lot of it is also balancing. I’m very careful not to watch the news early in the day. I think my liver transplant, in 2008, really shifted me, in a way. It changed the temperature of my observations in the world. I think that it’s really benefited my writing, because as I approach life living hour by hour, I notice things. I live out in the country, so I have time and atmosphere to hear myself think. Particularly with the time I started writing the album, right at the end of March [2020]. I’m kind of in my own element, I’m watching, carefully and selectively, what’s happening in the world, but I’m also in an environment where my heart and soul could get quiet. I love what happens when those two things occur. It allows me to then go to that other place and to find the message.
A lot of times when you start to write a song, you think you know what you’re going to say. [Laughs] And the song has another idea altogether! It might be pulling things out of your subconscious you might have been working on for months — or years! It could be a thought I jotted down in my journal, or some phrase that I had been playing with. I think, for several of the songs, I was doing these online performances and it could just be the look in some peoples’ eyes as I sang a song. Or some comment someone would leave. Someone once said, “I wasn’t going to tune in, but you look hopeful.” I thought, “Wow, what a responsibility.” I try to carry that responsibility and be accountable for not making things… harder than the world.
Lead photo: Courtesy of Reggie Harris Inset photo: Anthony Salamone
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