WATCH: Vinnie Paolizzi, “Ahead of Me”

Artist: Vinnie Paolizzi
Hometown: West Chester, Pennsylvania
Song: “Ahead of Me”
Album: The Vinnie Paolizzi LP
Release Date: November 17, 2023

In Their Words: “Ben Danaher and I have both been at this songwriting thing for a minute. Some days it feels like we’re hanging on by a thread, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that our best days are coming around the bend – and this is all going to pay off. I love old R&B music and this was my attempt to throw a few elements of that into the mix on your way out the door. ‘Ahead of Me’ was the first song we recorded and it’s the perfect way to say goodbye and thank you for listening to my debut album.” – Vinnie Paolizzi


Photo Credit: Brooke Stevens

STREAM: Delaney Ramsdell, ‘Rambler’

Artist: Delaney Ramsdell
Hometown: Roosevelt, Texas
Album: Rambler EP
Release Date: November 2, 2023
Label: North Llano Records

In Their Words: Rambler is a full spectrum look at my life as a writer. From the dark, smoky moments from ‘Withdrawal’ and ‘Carry the Load’ to the forlorn prayers of ‘Kitchen Window’ and ‘Any Good Wife,’ this project covers every corner of my heart. I wanted to make sure that every piece of this record spoke to the rambler in all of us – the travel, the heartbreak, the fun, and the authenticity life brings as we make our way through the world.

“I hope the listener is able to journey down the roads I walked with these songs when I wrote them, and I hope they are able to pave their own way with them as well. The songs are cut and dry and they speak for themselves, but Rambler is my first real venture out into the world as an artist and I’m grateful for the space and chance to have worked with a great team of writers, producers, and players who helped me realize this dream.” – Delaney Ramsdell

Album Credits: 

Writers: Delaney Ramsdell, Autumn Buysse, SJ McDonald, Mia Mantia
Produced by: Grady Saxman, Jeff Armstreet at Saxman Studios


Photo Credit: Seth Hays

LISTEN: Jon Dee Graham, “there’s a ghost on the train”

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.


Photo Credit: Darrin Back

STREAM: Claire Hawkins, ‘The Name’

Artist: Claire Hawkins
Hometown: New York City, New York
Album: The Name (EP)
Release Date: October 27, 2023

In Their Words: “The songs on this EP have been on the road with me for the past two years. I wrote in Ireland and Germany, tracked demos in Thailand, and recorded in my hometown of New York City. I’ve gotten to play them for audiences in Lisbon, Los Angeles, and London, and alongside different musicians from around the world. These songs are my souvenirs from the last two years. This EP is a scrapbook of the people, places, and sounds that have left a mark on me during this period. They’ve been around the world with me, and now they’re out in the world for everyone else to hear.” – Claire Hawkins

Credits: Written by Claire Hawkins

Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Katie Buchanan


Photo Credit: Geraldine Smyth

WATCH: The Wandering Hearts, “Still Waters”

Artist: The Wandering Hearts
Hometown: England
Song: “Still Waters”
Release Date: October 26, 2023
Label: Chrysalis Records

In Their Words: “‘Still Waters’ is a conversation between the head and the heart and the separate choices we make on behalf of them. We try to see clearly enough to make a firm decision either way, only to discover that there is a rippling series of consequences whatever the outcome. Writing and recording this song, we gave the rhythm a feel of lapping waves to capture the sense of the push and pull of the tides, to mirror the push and pull of the inner conflict.” – The Wandering Hearts


Photo Credit: Stewart Baxter

WATCH: Hildaland, “The Selkie of Sule Skerry”

Artist: Hildaland
Hometown: Portland, Maine
Song: “The Selkie of Sule Skerry”
Album: Sule Skerry
Release Date: October 25, 2023 (single); November 3, 2023 (album)
Label: Adhyâropa Records

In Their Words: “‘The Selkie of Sule Skerry’ is an old folk tale of which there are many versions. We love a rendition sung by Kris Drever in the band Fine Friday on their 2002 record, Gone Dancing. We took inspiration from this, wrote our own melody, and had a lot of fun with the arrangement. Ethan played both mandola and the electric mandocello on this one, we worked up a string arrangement together, and had Dan Klingsberg record some double bass for us, and Sam Kassirer laid down some synth.” – Louise Bichan


Photo Credit: Louise Bichan

LISTEN: Nora Jane Struthers, “Life Of A Dream”

Artist: Nora Jane Struthers
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Life Of A Dream”
Album: Back To Cast Iron
Release Date: October 27, 2023

In Their Words: “Co-written with my husband Joe Overton, this song is an inquiry into our own dreams and how our season of life shapes and reshapes those dreams. I think the pandemic gave most people a new perspective on their dreams… in many cases redefining them. My dream of building a family has taken a front seat for the past few years and as I think about what this song means to me right now, I realize that I am standing on a precipice: We are planning our final embryo transfer and if it takes, that means 3.5 more years of living in baby-world. If it doesn’t, we’re only a few years away from having two kids in school and all of the ‘free’ time that comes along with that. What will I do if I am in fact leveling-up and out of the baby-mom season of my life? Pour all my day-light hour energy into writing? Can I refocus on touring on weekends and summers? What is the dream now?” – Nora Jane Struthers


Photo Credit: Bree Marie Fish

LISTEN: Carley Arrowood, “Moondancer”

Artist: Carley Arrowood
Hometown: Newton, North Carolina
Song: “Moondancer”
Release Date: October 27, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Moondancer’ tells the story of a Cherokee girl who sneaks out at night and is obsessed with capturing a wild white horse. I started writing it one evening several years ago after looking for arrowheads in my Mamaw’s garden, ironically around this time of year. As that chilly breeze blew, the line, ‘Her longing echoes on the breeze, but it never finds relief,’ just took root in my mind, and the girl’s repetitious, hopeless calling is what shaped the chorus and the rest of the tune. Eventually she learns to just love the horse she names from afar, but the deep longing in her heart still lingers as she realizes Moondancer can never be hers. I’m so grateful to Daniel, Nick, Tabitha, Jeff, and Tony for lending their talents, and to Jim and Clay for producing and mixing what has become one of my favorite tunes on my upcoming record.” – Carley Arrowood

Track Credits:

Carley Arrowood – fiddle, vocal
Daniel Thrailkill – acoustic guitar
Jeff Partin – acoustic bass, Dobro
Nick Dumas – mandolin
Tony Creasman – drums
Tabitha Benedict – banjo


Photo Credit: Laci Mack Photography

WATCH: Jaime Wyatt, “Althea”

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

WATCH: Sully Bright, “Appalachia” (Live in Appalachia Video Series)

Artist: Sully Bright
Hometown: Forest City, North Carolina; currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Appalachia”
Album: Darling, Wake Up
Release Date: October 13, 2023

(Editor’s Note: Over six weeks, singer-songwriter Sully Bright will premiere a series of four live performance videos shot in the mountains of North Carolina. Watch each installment every other week right here on BGS.)

In Their Words: “I got the idea for the song ‘Appalachia’ on my drive back home to North Carolina from Nashville. Driving the Blue Ridge Mountains is one of my favorite things to do, especially in the fall. The North Carolina mountains are my favorite place in the world; they are home to me. That’s what I wrote this song about: ‘Home is what you make of it, and darling you’re mine.’

“This is one of my favorite videos we captured in North Carolina. We recorded it on a river near Roan Mountain. There couldn’t be a better place to sing the song than in a cold mountain river in Appalachia. I hope you enjoy the video and check back for the next one in two weeks.” – Sully Bright


Photo & Video Credit: Seth and Jenna Herlich, Wonderfilmco