Tag: playlist

MIXTAPE: Rose Betts’ Cottagecore For Your Ears

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

I feel like I’ve been living a cottagecore life since always. All my interests outside of music line up: I sew my own clothes, read old Russian literature, and I love horse riding, long forest walks, and filling my house with wild flowers and candles – and dreaming of picnics out of baskets, dressed in long skirts with ribbons in my hair and champagne in tea cups. My upcoming album, There Is No Ship, is a love letter to my homeland, [the UK], where a cottagecore lifestyle is a bit easier to achieve than here in LA. But, here’s a playlist with some songs that make me feel closer to it. – Rose Betts

“Do It Again” – John Mark Nelson

John Mark Nelson and I met at a session and as soon as we got to talking about books I realized he was a total keeper and we’ve been friends since. His vibe is so cottagecore. The man’s car smells like a pine forest and he bakes his own bread. I feel like his voice is so cozy and this song just feels like a day inside with the rain against the windows and pleasant feelings of being in love.

“Snow In Montana” – Michigander

My sister considers it illegal to listen to Christmas songs outside of December, but this has to be an exception. I love this song. On whatever side of Christmas I listen to it, it either makes me wistful about the one to come, or pleasantly melancholic about the one just passed. “Snow In Montana” makes anywhere feel cozy, which is quite a feat if you live in LA. I listen to it in the car on the way home from Trader Joe’s with bags full of vegetables and cheese and flowers feeling all stocked up and ready to light candles and get flower-arranging. I own so many small vases so that I can crowd my house out with flowers and make it feel like a garden.

“Deeper Well” – Kacey Musgraves

Her voice is so smooth and rich, I love it. And, her songs have this warmth and natural quality to them that I just want to sink into. Makes me want to rent a cabin in the woods with friends and get a campfire and hot cider going and watch the sparks fly up into the night.

“Wells” – Joshua Hyslop

I’ve been reading Anne of Green Gables lately and those books are so full of nature and the simple life, they make me really want to run away to Prince Edward Island, pick apples, and make jam. This song has that natural feel, like a little stream you sat by for a while and had a beautiful time, but all the while knew you couldn’t stay forever. Anne as a character is wonderfully joyful, but also so tragic, so the meeting of those two qualities felt expressed in this song somehow.

“Inconsolable” – Kate Gavin

A friend who knows me well sent me this song and I listened on loop for days. I love the instrumentation, that lovely fiddle part! One of my favorite things about being a musician is that when my musician friends come round they just start playing whatever instrument is in the house. The other week my friend came round and our hangout consisted of cups of tea, me sewing a top, and him going through my pile of sheet music on the piano. This song has that feeling of shared music… maybe it’s the harmonies or those lovely melodies, either way it reminds me of impromptu musical moments that are just so lovely.

“Bishops Avenue” – Rose Betts

For about a year and a half, some friends and I had the run of a mansion on Bishops Avenue in North London. We put on plays, painted out in the orchard, had renaissance parties and banquets in the ballroom, and it was one of those golden times when everything is just a little more precious and glittery. I feel like it’s how I always want to live, banquets by candlelight and then some creative frivolity of some kind. Moving to LA, it’s hard to find orchards and dilapidated mansions to play in, but I found some playfellows who get into the spirit with me so I get close.

“Tier Abhaile Riu” – Celtic Woman

This song has such a strong feminine energy to it, reminds me of all my creative friends who enrich my life so much. My friend and I hosted an evening where we invited just women to come and share stories and we lit candles and drank Champagne out of teacups and it was total bliss. Something about women together in candlelight talking feels ancient and holy and special in a way nothing else is.

“Skye Boat Song” – Bear McCreary, Raya Yarbrough

I’m lucky to have a twin who lives in Scotland, so I get to visit a lot and even lived there for a while in lockdown. It’s such an amazing part of the world. There is a beach near her village where I’d go for walks as often as I could, where the seals sing and the sky stretches out like a great pearl above your head. So much of songwriting is about finding the silence in the noise, so that the song has space to blossom and so many songs came from those walks. This song I’ve known since before I could remember hearing it, but it became more well known to the world when they used it as the title track for Outlander. This is a beautiful version. It sounds like Scotland to me, full of low skies and colossal lochs and mystery.

“The Author” – Luz

Some songs are so lovely they make me want to stop listening and write a song instead. This is one of those. I’ve started trying to write a poem every morning, just something small to start my day creatively. Then I punch a hole in the paper and hang it off some fairy lights I have around my bed. I think we are all the authors of our own life, which isn’t what this song is saying, but it’s so darn romantic and in its existence turns the singer into the author that tells the girl how she feels. If that makes sense…

“Sigh No More” – Joss Whedon

I heard this song in Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing and it takes a Shakespeare poem and sets it to music. I always really liked it. I have a little book of Shakespeare’s sonnets that I’ve carried around for years and I’m always trying to learn a new sonnet. If I’m bored at some LA party, I’ll get it out and read a sonnet and it puts me in a better mood.

“The Stars Look Down” – Rose Betts

This is off my first EP and I sound so young, which is kind of embarrassing, but also sweet. It’s like hearing a past version of me. I was reading a lot of Russian literature when I wrote this song and it was the mansion period of my life (which I mentioned before for “Bishops Avenue”). I’d just discovered Tolstoy, was reading War and Peace, and this song is full of the stories and vignettes in that book, heroism and love and dreaming and nights of glory followed by disastrous heartbreak. Books have always been where I get the most inspired for my songs, the quality of the writing makes me work harder at my lyrics.

“Mexico” – The Staves

The Staves are a group of sisters who actually come from a town right by the one I grew up in. It’s a place called Watford and is a bit of grey hole of a place. It’s surprising that these three beautiful singers came out of it. I guess music and beauty can come from anywhere, which is how I feel about my life. There’s beauty in everything, and if there isn’t you can bring it. My little apartment in LA is pretty boxy and lightless, but once you add candles and art and music it’s suddenly a little bohemian enclave where I can rest and be creative. Me and family sing together and there’s nothing like families harmonising, which is why I chose this song. Reminds me of the supper table at my childhood home, where we sing before we eat and sometimes after too, and whatever argument or trouble that’s going on disappears for a moment.

Photo Credit: Catie Laffoon

Artist of the Month: Billy Strings

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

We’ve been covering our friend, GRAMMY Award winner and physics-defying flatpicker Billy Strings for now almost ten years. In that relatively short period of time, he and his band have revolutionized the bluegrass, jamgrass, and acoustic guitar scenes. Way back in 2014 and 2015, when the local Michigan guitarist with generational talent first started appearing on our site and in our Sitch Sessions, and making his mark on the national bluegrass scene, almost no one would have predicted he would be selling out arenas less than a decade later. And yet– there were always signs.

Indeed, BGS’ first viral content was a Sitch Session performance by Strings and former duo partner Don Julin, performing what would eventually become a “hit” for Billy, “Meet Me at the Creek.” The video spread like wildfire on BGS, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, and beyond – rapidly garnering more than a million views. It was just one of the many early inflection points that would occur over Strings’ stratospheric rise.

Strings’ jaw-dropping picking, gritty and heartfelt vocals, mystifying jams, and virtuosic, tradition-steeped aggression are all at once charming and hypnotizing. Given a platform, of any size or reach in his early career, his performances, songs, and live shows were an unstoppable force. Audience members and fans could hardly look away.

His personal narrative, of hardship and bootstraps and holding onto a childhood dream of playing bluegrass for a living, of road-dogging and paying dues and “god-given” talent, bolstered his trad bona fides when his metal and rock background, long hair, and drug-infused stories might have undercut his appeal to bluegrass and old-time audiences. Strings was – and is – obviously, a real human being; despite what supernatural touches are evident in his music, here is a guitar hero embodied. And, for hundreds of thousands of roots music fans, diehard and uninitiated, that brand has been limitlessly resonant and relatable. Plus… there’s that picking!

It’s no wonder, merely four solo studio albums into his career, Strings has gone from touring 250+ days a year at every mom-and-pop bluegrass festival, rock club, coffee shop, and barbeque restaurant in the U.S. and Canada to selling out enormous arenas, auditoriums, and amphitheaters for multi-night runs all around the world. Billy Strings, as an artist, a brand, and an individual, was always made to go the distance.

His newest album, Highway Prayers, which released September 27 on Reprise Records, finds Billy and band putting even more miles under their well-worn, veteran tires. A long form, 20-track album, the project includes breakneck instrumentals, many a live show and fan favorite, and plenty of that Billy Strings magic that only he and his cohort could bring to such a record. But, despite the fact that Billy has guested on dozens of projects as a track feature in the past few years – from Post Malone to Zach Top to Sierra Ferrell to Willie Nelson to Luke Combs to Ringo Starr – Highway Prayers has not a single credited celebrity feature.

Which brings us to a point that, forest for the trees style, seems to go missing from considerations of Billy Strings, his music, and his impact. Yes, Strings is defining and redefining bluegrass in the modern era and in the 2000s. Yes, Strings is perhaps the most important bluegrass artist of his generation, if not of all time. Yes, Strings has illustrated there truly is no ceiling for bluegrass music, commercially and otherwise. And yes, he and his band are revolutionizing the very landscape on which this music is built, offered, and examined.

Still, as Highway Prayers – as well as his live shows and his entire discography – demonstrates, the most innovative and revolutionary aspects of Billy Strings and his version of bluegrass are not what he’s changed, but what has stayed the same.

Even Alison Krauss & Union Station at their very peak were only performing true bluegrass for a portion of their live shows. The Chicks, for all of their international touring and arena sell-out shows, would often only have four or five string band songs set aside in a special mini-set during their performances. Billy Strings and his band are not only raising the bar for bluegrass and its marketability and sale-ability in an era where nearly all music businesses are floundering and struggling, they’re doing it all as a simple, five-piece bluegrass band across the front of the stage.

Sure, there are pedal boards and LED screens and smoke machines and delay, and WAH, and distortion – plenty of “no part of nothin'” moments, of course. But at the beginning and end of the day, whether touring in a Ford Econoline or with dozens of road crew and buses and tractor trailers, Billy Strings is a bluegrass musician, playing bluegrass songs, birthing thousands of new bluegrass fans, and doing all of it at the largest scale we’ve ever seen as a community and as an industry.

There’s much (well-deserved) noise to be made about all of the strange and unique ways Strings and his team have accomplished this, but even more noise ought to be generated. For the most remarkable impact of Billy Strings is that he’s shown everyone, all across the globe, that bluegrass doesn’t need to fundamentally change to be something everybody can love.

All month long, we’ll once again be celebrating Billy Strings as our Artist of the Month. Enjoy our revamped Essential Billy Strings Playlist below, check out our exclusive interview with Billy here, explore our list of favorite songs and recordings – by other artists – featuring Billy here, and stay tuned on BGS and on social media as we dip back into the archives for all things Billy Strings.

Photo Credit: Dana Trippe

MIXTAPE: Melanie MacLaren’s Love & Loss Playlist

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Welcome to my Mixtape of loss and love! I hope you don’t need it right now, but if you do, it’s here to bring you a little comfort. When I was making it, I started out trying to make the most devastating playlist I could make, but then halfway through I decided to make something I’d actually enjoy listening to. Something that mimics the way we process loss and love– yes, there’s a lot of time spent in really dark places, but there’s also so much humor in the face of everything and a lot of reluctant joy, showing its light despite our best efforts to draw the curtains and hide.

That dialogue between loss and joy is at the heart of my EP, Bloodlust, which just came out on October 24. I wrote this project coming out of a period of life that was marred by grief, death, and illness, so naturally I had a lot of heavy stuff on my mind, but I felt this overwhelming need to write some of the most upbeat and energetic songs I’ve ever written.

Sometimes it helps to grieve and sulk and sometimes you want to just roll down the windows and feel your pain casually, communally, and maybe even with the last laugh. I think there’s room on this Mixtape to do both. – Melanie MacLaren

“Wayside/Back in Time” – Gillian Welch

We like to think of a loss as these finite events, but sometimes it’s a long, steady process, the passing of time and dissolution of relationships, a slow decline of health. Loss can sometimes simply be the progression of time, and Gillian Welch’s writing is so timeless, too, that it strengthens that feeling – she could be singing from any time about any time, as long as it’s gone.

“Change” – Big Thief

Thinking of loss as simply “change” is really difficult, but at its core that’s what it is.

“Flirted With You All My Life” – Vic Chesnutt

This song is wild. I remember the first time someone played this for me on a road trip, I was smiling thinking, “Oh man, he really likes me,” and then that guitar comes in and the lyrics change tone completely and you realize the whole song is about death. It’s a funny phenomenon. You can feel the sky darkening at that moment. But then you listen to the song again with all that in mind and you still feel happy in the first half of the song. I think that’s part of the beauty of it too– knowing the ending and still being receptive to joy.

“beachball” – Dan Reeder

This is a 90-second song about a beachball that makes me bawl my eyes out. I love Dan Reeder.

“Buffalo” – Hurray for the Riff Raff

I have a soft spot for songs that talk about animals (I guess that’s why I wrote a song about Laika for my EP). I think we can talk about them in a way that we’re afraid to talk about ourselves. Their fear is our fear, but it’s hard for us to think of it that way. Asking if the love we share with each other as humans will last forever or if it will go extinct the way that some animals have, at our hands, feels really bold.

“Bloodlust” – Melanie MacLaren

This is the title track off my new EP. This whole project is me trying to make peace with the constant cycles of loss and love we all inevitably experience in our lives. They’re natural like the seasons, but they still feel so overwhelming and unnatural. It was also my attempt to experience moments of joy while not shutting out my grief and anger.

“Random Rules” – Silver Jews

Love and loss are so incredibly random that it would be funny if it didn’t matter so much to us. I always laugh a little at the first line and feel really nonchalant in a dumb way. It sounds like wearing sunglasses inside to me. But then, by the second verse, I’m fully feeling my feelings and replaying every little thing that’s gone wrong between me and every person I’ve ever cared about.

“New Partner” – Palace Music

I like to listen to this song when I’m driving alone and see who I picture in the passenger seat beside me. It changes a lot. That’s probably a good thing.

“I’ve Got a Darkness” – Mick Flannery

Mick Flannery writes the best songs. This song is such a devastating portrait of generational pain and an ode to the fact that we can feel the effects of loss and love that we’ve never experienced in our own lifetime. We carry so much with us that we’re not even aware of.

“Lake Charles” – Lucinda Williams

I love how the verses are just memories, snapshots of life, and all questions and talk of death is reserved for the chorus. It’s such a beautiful homage that way, letting someone still be alive in the song and just describing things as they were, but then still asking those bigger questions because you can’t help but ask when you’ve lost someone you love. You just hope they’re ok.

“The Arrangements” – Willi Carlisle

I love the line, “It’s still sad when bad love dies.” Amazing album with lots of songs about animals.

“Whatever Happened to Us” – Loudon Wainwright III

I love how blunt this song is and how it relies on humor in the face of loss. I heard it for the first time this summer, after I had recorded my song “Get It Back.” I immediately resonated with its matter-of-fact nature. I also love the wordplay in it; I think having fun with language is a way we as humans maintain a little bit of control of the narrative of things we don’t really have much actual agency over.

“Donut Seam” – Adrianne Lenker

There’s so much off this album that could be on this playlist. I almost went with “Sadness as a Gift,” but I really loved the way this song intertwines a dying love with the feeling that the world is dying. Even if that isn’t literal, it often feels literal. The harmony on “what it means to walk that line” makes me feel human.

“Days of the Years” – The Felice Brothers

I love how loss is naturally integrated with the mundane and the beautiful: “These are the days, of the years, of my life.” What else is there?

“Don’t Let Us Get Sick” Solo Acoustic – Warren Zevon

The simplicity of this song is so overwhelming, especially from a writer who can obviously complicate things lyrically and musically when he wants to. He just stays in this sort of The Muppet Christmas Carol arena (compliment!) and it’s so effective, because what he’s asking for is so simple. It sounds like a child’s prayer.

Photo Credit: Blaire Beamer

BGS 5+5: Mark Stoffel

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Mark Stoffel
Hometown: Murphysboro, Illinois
Latest Album: True Tones
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Dr. Pretzel and recently The Mandolinator

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

Before I picked up the mandolin, I played the piano, inspired by my mom who was an accomplished classical player. When I was around ten years of age, my parents switched piano teachers and the new one taught me something completely new: blues, boogie, and ragtime. I did appreciate the classical stuff, but the boogie stuff got me really excited. Not too long after that I performed in school – I kicked it off with a fast boogie-woogie piece, then I played a solo on harmonica (probably not the greatest!) while continuing the piano rhythm with my left hand. The audience went nuts and I that’s the first time I felt that my calling was to be a musician!

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

Much later in my career I was given a book by Nate Lee, amazing fiddler and mandolinist. The book is entitled Effortless Mastery, penned by a jazz pianist named Kenny Werner. I started reading and from the get-go I was mesmerized. It’s all about embracing yourself – your ideas, your expression, your every musical moment. Do not ever worry about what other people might think of your playing and don’t always compare yourself with others. I’ll never be a Chris Thile, because only Chris Thile can be Chris Thile. I am Mark Stoffel. It’s as easy as that. Kenny Werner writes it in a way that totally spoke to me and it really – to this day – helps me every day. When I compose I no longer dismiss any ideas, when I practice, perform or record, I try to be myself and stay true to it. That was the best advice I received in my career so far.

Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?

We’re all just a product what we’ve been exposed to. I grew up listening to lots of classical music. Then my dad, in the ’70s, got into rock, soul, and disco music and he bought tons of records and spun them all the time. Then I got bluegrass, first the more contemporary stuff – which at the time was Tony Rice, New Grass Revival, the Seldom Scene – then I gradually worked myself backwards in time to gain an appreciation for first generation bluegrass.

I think all of that is what informed what I do today. Genres are worthless to me. There are only two categories: Good music and bad music. As long as it has good drive, good melody, compelling lyrics, and a soul, it’s good. I love AC/DC as much as Flatt & Scruggs.

If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?

I’d be a baker and make original Bavarian pretzels for my fellow Americans.

What would a perfect day as an artist and creator look like to you?

Get up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, grab my mandolin, and play whatever comes to my mind, most likely come up with some new riff or melody. That will set the tone for everything else that happens that day, and all will be good.

Photo Credit: Mary Stoffel

BGS 5+5: David Berkeley

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: David Berkeley
Hometown: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Latest Album: A Pail Full of Fire
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): The only time I really had a nickname was when I was teaching in a public middle school in Bushwick. The kids called me Shaggy.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

I gave up on my song “This Be Dear to Me” probably a dozen times. I began writing it as an exercise in positivity after Trump got elected. Instead of lamenting all the things I feared would be ruined, I decided to try to write a list of what I loved. That’s where it started. Pages and pages of places I found beautiful, people I cared about, lists of what I valued. I guess I wanted to unite people who were behaving like they had nothing in common by reminding them (us) that there are lots of things we all love. Like, here are some things we all must hold dear, right? Rivers and trees, the autumn, the moon, our children. If we remember that then maybe we stop fighting about less important things?

But I didn’t want it to be heavy-handed or preachy. And I didn’t want it to be too syrupy. Eventually, I had the list and I shaped it into maybe forty verses. That felt like a few too many, though, so I spent a long time whittling. I got it down to three. At first the chorus was just an extended Amen. “Ah ah ah ah… men.” But that seemed like a cop out. So I ultimately added a lyric, which wasn’t easy to write. It appeals to Adonai to help remind us what is worth fighting for. That also felt like a risk. I’m Jewish, but I rarely reference my Judaism in my music. Finally, I had this idea that the song should lift and modulate as it progresses, so the lyric would feel more urgent and the music could soar. But I also knew that I wanted it to feel cyclical and to come back home at the end. So then it became almost like a puzzle. Could I move through several keys and return to where we began? That’s ultimately where the song landed. It’s the hardest I ever worked on a song, but it’s also probably the most powerful to sing live.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I never had a dog growing up. In fact, I never really liked dogs. I pretended to like your dog if we met. But really I was a little afraid of her/him. And I never understood dog people. I’m a father of two boys. And when people talked about their dog like a child, I bristled. But we got a puppy during COVID. Her name is Mali, and I love her. Like I really love her. She’s changed my whole world. Don’t tell my boys, but I often miss Mali more than my kids when I’m on tour. She certainly seems happier to see me when I come home than they do.

This all to say, I spend a lot of my time hiking with her in the Sangre de Cristo mountains above Santa Fe. You’re far more likely to run into me hiking up Picacho or on the backside of Sun Mountain than anywhere else in town. You can see a hundred miles from up there. And I normally bring a blank book with me. I start a lot of songs on those hikes. And I try my melodies out on Mali. She has better ears than humans do, so I think it’s fair to trust her reaction.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

I wouldn’t call it hiding, but I use characters more and more in my writing to express certain ideas or emotions that might be clearer through the eyes or mouth of someone else. My song “Omaha,” for example, is a song about a guy trying to reunite with a lost love. That’s not autobiographical at all, but it’s honest.

And of course in my duo project, Sons of Town Hall. My partner and I have created a whole mythic backstory. My name in that project is Josiah and every song is sung from within that fictitious world. We’re now rolling out a comedy-fiction podcast series called Madmen Cross the Water that tells the stories behind the songs on our new album. But just like in my solo work, even though there is a character I’m writing for it doesn’t compromise the honesty. In fact, sometimes I think we can be more honest and open when we are wearing a kind of mask.

If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?

I’d go back to the Salmon River in Idaho and try to get my old job back as a river guide. I love playing music, but it isn’t an easy career and there’s a lot of it I don’t like – promoting myself, for example, or sound checking, or all the travel. But I liked every bit of being a river guide back in the day.

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

I’d like to travel back with Anthony Bourdain on a food tour of Italy. And after eating our way through the country for a few weeks, we end up in Rome. We head to the Pantheon one night under a big moon. It’s all barricaded off, but we’re ushered in. It turns out that Neil Young is there (but it’s 1971 Neil). He’s got a pipe organ in there and a few guitars. They serve us plates of cacio e pepe and glasses of cold Frascati and he basically plays the Massey Hall set for maybe fifty of us.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

MIXTAPE: Celtic & American Folk Inspirations From Rakish

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

As a duo rooted in both Celtic and American traditions, we find the intersection of these worlds to be a rich and endlessly inspiring place. From the rhythmic drive of Irish & Scottish reels to the melodic storytelling of ballads, we’ve always been captivated by how these two traditions speak to one another. They each carry a sense of community and history, and both offer the chance to push boundaries and explore something new.

Our latest album, Now, O Now, wants to embrace this duality. It’s a reflection of our love for these traditions, but also a hope to continually reinterpret them. This Mixtape is a collection of the kinds of tunes and songs that have shaped our journey – music that evokes both the wild energy of a late-night session and the quiet contemplation of a solo walk through the woods.

These tracks are selected from the voices of friends, mentors, and heroes who have inspired our original music along the way. We hope you enjoy the mix! – Rakish

“6 Then 5” – Seamus Egan

We love to put this track on at the beginning of a long drive. Seamus continues to be a master of bringing together composition, sound design, and groove.

“Goodbye” – Sean Watkins & The Bee Eaters

This whole record is great; it combines Sean Watkins’ brilliance with the thoughtfulness of The Bee Eaters, who happen to be some of our favorite musicians in the world.

“765” – Rakish, Jamie Oshima

We composed these tunes and had the idea of having our good friend Jamie Oshima produce/remix the track. He’s an incredibly thoughtful and agile musician and brings such a unique aesthetic to new fiddle music. Thanks Jamie!

“Hidden Love/Sheila Coyles” – Four Men & A Dog

We listened to this album in the car recently and this track was so good that Conor had an epiphany about how it brought together all the elements of arranging music that inspire him: highly poetic language, mystery, and an excellent Irish tune.

“City In the North” – Maeve Gilchrist

Maeve is remarkable at seemingly everything she puts her hands to; this song highlights not only her virtuosity and inventive harmony, but also her narrative ability to weave melancholy and joy.

“Bull Frogs Croon (Suite)” – Aoife O’Donovan

This whole record is potent for so many reasons. Aoife’s setting of Peter Sears’ poems is a reminder of her singular gift for putting melody to text, and Jeremy Kittel’s string arrangements are some of the best we’ve ever heard!

“Jack Dolan” – John Doyle

Just of the grooviest versions of a ballad ever from the preeminent master of Irish guitar in the modern era.

“Imaginary People” – Viv & Riley

Viv & Riley are at the forefront of writing incredible original music inspired by their traditional music backgrounds. We’ve admired them for a long time and they always blow us away.

“6 O’Clock in the Morning” – Darrell Scott

Tristan Clarridge, who always has the best listening recommendations, turned us onto this album. This track stands out with its intense lyricism and amazing instrumental orchestration.

“Turn the Page Again” – Tim O’Brien

We’ve loved this song for so long. This whole album is incredible, but this track in particular has been a source of inspiration by bringing together Tim’s songwriting, John Doyle’s groove, and Casey Driessen’s improvisational style.

“We’ve Got Our Friends” – Maura Shawn Scanlin

Maura’s solo record impeccably brings together the many things she excels at (and some of the things this playlist hopes to demonstrate): instrumental acuity, lyrical thoughtfulness, and masterful arranging.

“Strange Vessels” – Caoimhin Ó Raghallaigh & Thomas Bartlett

Conor listens to this album all the time. It’s a source of inspiration and a reminder to make music that feels relaxed and to not use too many notes.

“Dear Starling” – Pumpkin Bread

This is a favorite tune from a band with some of our best friends we were a part of in our college days. Thanks for listening!

Photo Credit: Sasha Pedro

MIXTAPE: Theo Kandel’s Dinner Party Playlist

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Welcome to my dinner party. It’s a potluck, of course, and because I can’t cook so well, I picked up a few cases of Miller High Life. Maybe a couple bottles of chilled red: delicious! Someone cooked an orzo salad, someone else made Ina Garten’s Engagement Chicken, maybe some tomato/mozz/basil type of dish – I don’t know. That’s up to you!

All my friends are here; some people even flew in from out of town. It’s the kind of night that you don’t want to make a big deal out of, but somehow someone’s crying happy tears over dessert and saying, “I can’t believe it’s been so long, why don’t we do this more often?” It’s the nights you took for granted in those early years after college, the ones that seemed to come together so easily, like a puzzle for children where all the pieces fit in such an obvious way. We fall into friendships; the hard part is keeping those friendships strong as we get older and move to different cities.

That tension exists at the heart of Eating & Drinking & Being in Love, my debut album that came out on September 20. It’s the tension of life, man! And that’s what makes it so beautiful. I hope you enjoy my Dinner Party Playlist – I’ve organized it into courses of a meal, highlighted as such for your digestion. – Theo Kandel

Appetizers:

“Sky Blue Sky” – Wilco

This is the easiest song of all time – you can listen to it when you’re sad, happy, angry, whatever. Breezy drums, melancholic lyrics. Welcome in!

“Honeydew Moon” – Theo Kandel

The first song on the album (not counting the intro), “Honeydew Moon” is for sunset cocktails, tasteful hors d’oeuvres, and saying, “How the hell are ya?” to friends you haven’t seen in a while.

“Fool” – Adrianne Lenker

Man, I love Adrianne Lenker. She is making beautiful music with thoughtful lyricism and melodies that float, but somehow still dig deep to scratch whatever itch you’ve got.

“Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” – Paul Simon

Okay, things are ramping up here. People are getting loose – people are drinking – people are starting to think to themselves, “Jeez, I hope we get to eat the real food soon.”

Entrees:

“Magnet” – NRBQ

Uh oh! We’ve sat down at the table and this funky ass jam pops on. People are cheersing, laughing, digging in.

“Tall Boy” – Abby Webster

Country alert! We’re cracking fresh beers, and they’re ice cold, baby.

“The Dress” – Dijon

Somehow, this wistful song still bangs hard at a dinner party. Dijon makes you think about your past, but also the awesome night you’re about to have.

“One More Night (With My Friends in the City)” – Theo Kandel

This song is really my ode to this kind of dinner party. Who brought the pizza? Who brought the beer? In this crazy universe, we all did.

“All Right” – Christopher Cross

Did you know that Billie Eilish was the first person to sweep the “Big Four” categories at the GRAMMYs since Christopher Cross in 1981? Of course, his best song (in my opinion), “All Right,” was not on Sailing, but still. This guy rips.

“Rosanna” – Toto

I put on “Rosanna” at every party I’m at. It’s a song that requires no introduction – quite literally, the drum intro speaks for itself.

“Dancing Queen” – ABBA

Okay now! Someone put ABBA on the speakers and people are getting out of their seats to dance. Everyone has finished eating, and it took only that iconic piano sweep to get everyone up and at ’em.

Desserts:

“April Come She Will” – Simon & Garfunkel

Everyone’s sitting on the patio/balcony/fire escape, sipping on the rest of the red wine and smoking cigarettes. It’s winding down, but not in a sad way, just in the way that a beautiful night with friends does.

“Perdido de Amor [Lost in Love]” – Luis Bonfá

I wish I knew any Portuguese, but luckily you don’t need to know any to understand this song. It’s so viscerally romantic, with Bonfá’s gorgeous guitar playing supporting his voice. Yes.

“I Must Be in a Good Place Now – Live at Spacebomb Studios” – Fruit Bats, Vetiver

This live cover of Bobby Charles’ original song makes me feel like I could cry tears of joy every time I hear it (secret: I have). Everyone is sitting comfortably at the end of the night, just happy to be here. Hope you enjoyed the party.

Photo Credit: Kate Stephenson

BGS 5+5: Wayne Graham

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Wayne Graham
Hometown: Whitesburg, Kentucky
Latest Album: Bastion

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

The enemy of creation, for me, is judgment. I often superimpose other peoples’ suspected judgments onto something I’m working on, before I’ve written anything down. The true work is in letting go of that fear. When I am in a good flow, I am like a child. I am totally swept up in imagining the possibilities and that ride feels like communion with something much bigger than myself. I hope that doesn’t sound grandiose, I am just left feeling very grateful.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

Dave Prince – or Laid Back Country Picker – told me once that, “The world is real big, and real cool.” Trusting this to be true leaves a lot of room for pretty much everything to be OK. Not that there aren’t horrendous things happening everyday, but maybe most people are on the side of wanting things to be good and they’re just doing the best they know how at any given point. Maybe it’s naive, but it’s definitely not cynical.

Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?

Genres are great if we’re looking to make broad categories that point to a recognizable aspect of a piece of work, but they start to lose their meaning when they come with their own dogmas. In other words, a genre should be used to contextualize a work, not as a frame to create a work within. That being said, we don’t discriminate along genre lines in what we listen to and draw from. We also hope our music is infused with the best parts of what we listen to, so hopefully we end up in a place we couldn’t have planned to go.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

I think the songs that make the cut for us are the songs where we’re not hiding. But that doesn’t mean the “you” or “I” is always used in a first person way. Oftentimes the “you” in my songs is “me” and the narrator is someone with a helpful perspective. Sometimes we put on characters to inhabit a lesser known part of ourselves that may have something cool to say, sometimes we just write what’s on our mind without needing it to mean anything.

If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?

Our mom retired a few years ago from teaching at a public school. It’s a job that has so much impact, and is so thankless, and I have so much respect for the people who do it for the right reasons. Our mom took the job very seriously, and so I saw what a struggle it could be at times, but it is really the only other job I’ve ever considered.

Photo Credit: Hunter Way, Impact Media

MIXTAPE: Rebecca Frazier Celebrates the Here and Now

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

I’m honored to create a playlist for BGS. I’ll share a Mixtape inspired by the theme of time and celebrating the here and now. I grew up in Virginia by the water and my musical life has been influenced by the seasons and the tides. Life (so far) has been a counterpoint of going with my gut and enjoying the moment while also considering intention and the bigger picture. But I’ve learned that I am more in touch with myself as an artist when I can remain in the present. The songs I’ve selected tend to resonate with my intuitive sense of joy and unconditional love – that deeply rooted part of ourselves that is free and unburdened.

It’s celebratory for me to share two tracks from my new album, Boarding Windows in Paradise, out now via Compass Records. Produced by Bill Wolf – who’s known for his work with Tony Rice and Grateful Dead – the album features the talents of Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Barry Bales, Ron Block, and a constellation of other bluegrass stars. The writing and recording process for the album brought me to a place of learning to create my own paradise through daily intention and action, and I’m grateful for this experience. – Rebecca Frazier

“High Country Road Trip” – Rebecca Frazier

I grew up on the water, so I love going with the flow and being taken for a ride. But I’ve got that philosophical side, where I’m also asking, “Where is this leading?” This song is meant to capture that moment of joy somewhere in the middle; that elevated feeling of loving the lightness of not knowing what’s around the bend and not necessarily trying to create a specific outcome.

“It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” – Darrell Scott

This song brings back great memories of living in Colorado and seeing Darrell Scott singing this one at music festivals out west. His song quickly became an anthem for savoring the present: “It’s a great day to be alive, the sun’s still shining when I close my eyes.”

“Sailin’ Shoes” – Sam Bush

This one is another anthem on the bluegrass festival scene. It’s about cutting loose and feeling liberated. When Sam Bush goes into his signature chop to kick it off, fans start to cheer like wild and dance in recognition. The freeing and soaring feeling of sailing – we definitely feel that when John Cowan joins in with his soaring vocals. As the lyric expresses, “Everyone will clap and cheer when you put on your sailing shoes…” Sam sings and plays it with abandon and you can’t help it but smile (or dance!) when you listen to this classic Little Feat cover.

“All I Want” – Joni Mitchell

“Applause applause, life is our cause.” Joni’s lyric speaks volumes about her expression of letting go. She sings about that feeling of dancing and unleashing herself in a dive bar, falling in love, and letting the best in herself emerge by forgetting about herself for a moment. “I want to have fun, I want to shine like the sun… I want to make you feel free.”

“Time in a Bottle” – Jim Croce

“I’d save every day like a treasure and then, again I would spend them with you.” This classic is a poignant reminder about the essence of time and what seems to have mattered most at the end. Croce sings about savoring time with a loved one and realizing that the metaphorical box of wishes and dreams can only be answered by memories of time spent with a loved one.

“Nick Of Time” – Bonnie Raitt

This song brings back powerful memories from the ’90s, when Bonnie Raitt received well-deserved acclaim as an artist after years of hard work as a blues musician. The message of time passing and realizing that we have almost missed a great life experience-but found that fruition in the nick of time-resonated with a wider audience. Her relaxed and soulful vocals portray the hopeful message in a calming way.

“Days Like This” – Van Morrison

In his relaxed and soulful way, Morrison sings about those rare worry-free days when the pieces effortlessly come together in a satisfying way: “When all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit, there’ll be days like this.”

“Cat’s in the Cradle” – Harry Chapin

This classic may be a tear-jerker, but it’s also a celebration of time. We’re reminded by Chapin to spend meaningful time with our loved ones now and not to wait for a speculative future time when our “schedule” is free. The lasting image of an adult son who’s now too busy for his dad – after spending years as a small child asking his dad to spend time together – is a powerful reminder about life’s priorities.

“Thunderclouds Of Love” – Tony Rice

Classic, powerful Tony Rice at his finest. This description of a thunderbolt moment can light up any heart, and Tony’s guitar solo takes us there with flashy, bluesy fireworks. Jimmy Headrick’s lyrics set the scene for Tony’s soulful and punchy baritone vocals: “I have been praying four nights on end for someone who could make me live again, and all at once from the darkness of my heart they came to light.”

“Alabama Pines” – Jason Isbell

This one snuck onto this list, because it always brings me into the present moment. Isbell’s writing and singing is just that good. Whatever you were thinking about or worrying about, it all tends to go out the window. Suddenly you’re driving in Alabama and seeing all of the imagery he describes, feeling all of the emotions he expresses.

“Help Me Make It Through the Night” – Kris Kristofferson

Kristofferson’s is my favorite version of this classic and I’ll admit that he also happens to be my celebrity crush. While he’s portraying relishing this moment, this night, I think many women are wondering if he really needs to ask for help with that cause? In all seriousness, he does pull us into the present with his poignant lyric: “Yesterday is dead and gone, and tomorrow’s out of sight.”

“Duck’s Eye” – Charles Butler

Banjoist Charles Butler is one of my favorite composers and this tune pulls me into an effortless feeling of gliding over an oceanic vastness. The call and response melodies bring the listener into a trance-like state, and the simple melody pulls the listener to that perfectly placed “eye” of the composition, echoing the David Lynch reference of Butler’s inspiration.

“Make Hay While the Moon Shines” – Rebecca Frazier

When I wrote this song with Bob Minner and Jon Weisberger, we wanted to express the feeling of unleashing ourselves and savoring the moment once the moon rises. We’ve all been told to “make hay while the sun shines,” but it’s just as important to put down our work and allow ourselves to be free and true to our inner selves.

Photo Credit: Scott Simontacchi

MIXTAPE: Wanderlust with Katherine Nagy

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

I moved around a lot as a child – from Ireland to Indianapolis to Puerto Rico to Seattle to Spain and more. It was so wonderful to experience different cultures and connect with new people. And I think these experiences caused me to have a restless soul. I am always looking for new people to meet and new experiences to have. I am always searching for meaning in life and for authenticity and joy. This Mixtape is for people struck by a seemingly endless sense of wanderlust who are enjoying the journey as we try to figure out this thing called life. – Katherine Nagy

“All Done” – Katherine Nagy with Austin Johnson

I wrote this song as I started living life the way I want to live. We only get one shot and I don’t want to have regrets. So the people-pleaser in me is “done pleasing everybody else, I can only be myself.”

“Starting Over” – Chris Stapleton

Sometimes I just want to pick up and start over again, like I did so many times as a child. A new house, new roads, new people, new experiences. I daydream about “starting over.”

“Into the Mystic” – Van Morrison

He is a fellow Irishman and I have always admired the passion of delivery and arrangements he uses in his songs. This classic has long rocked my gypsy soul.

“Angela” – The Lumineers

I have driven a Volvo since I was 16 years old, so I love the lyric about the “Volvo lights.” And so many times I’ve gone for long drives with the windows down listening to great songs that resonate with me the way this one does.

“Gypsy” – Stevie Nicks

I just adore Stevie and her essence. She is magical and whimsical and so in touch with her heart and art. I have always loved this song and related so strongly to it for years.

“Send me on My Way” – Rusted Root

This was one of the most fun concerts I have been to. It was at the House of Blues in Chicago. I was young and free as I danced all night enjoying the vibes of their music.

“Midnight Train to Georgia” – Indigo Girls

If the Indigo Girls are on the train – I am coming! Love their harmonies and beautiful melodies. This is a favorite and I perform it at my own shows.

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” – U2

Me neither, Bono! (another fellow Irishman) I am still searching over here. I’m always writing to process life and try out new things. Life is a journey of searching, and I’m not sure we ever find what we are looking for – wish I knew.

“Mockingbird” – Ruston Kelly

I am a sucker for beautiful guitar work and pedal steel. The intro to this song gets me every time and it just keeps getting better with the harmonica. It makes me want to go on a road trip. Plus, I love birds!

“The Time I’ve Wasted” – Lori McKenna

Let’s not waste time doing things or being with people that do not bring us joy. Life is too short, and “time goes by and when it’s gone it’s gone.” Live your life authentically – be brave.

“Shine” – Dolly Parton

I love Dolly and I love ’90s music, so this cover is just amazing and resonating with me. And I always want heaven to shine its light down!

“The Architect” – Kacey Musgraves

Kacey is an amazing writer. I love her music. This little gem of a song is so profound, as it’s trying to understand this beautiful life. Is there a higher power and what’s the masterplan?

“Keeps Getting Better” – Katherine Nagy

Stay optimistic and stay checked-in with life. Stay true to your heart and surround yourself with people that love you. If you do, it will just keep getting better.

Photo Credit: Robert Zyromski