WATCH: The Barefoot Movement, “Let It Out”

Artist: The Barefoot Movement
Hometown: Oxford, North Carolina
Song: “Let It Out”

In Their Words: “This song seems to have fallen out of the sky. Tommy and I were really inspired by the show ‘Daisy Jones & the Six.’ It made us want to tap into our rock roots a bit. Tommy wrote the music in his head one night when he was falling asleep. He actually imagined it written out in notation so he would be able to remember it in the morning. When he played it for me, it was just a musical idea, chords and melody. I tweaked it a bit and tried to discern what the chords made me feel so I could find a lyrical direction, which was an interesting process, because usually for me, lyrics always come first. What came out was kind of a battle cry, for all who fight a war with anxiety and depression.

“We know how important it is not to bottle things up, but what happens once we’ve let it out? I think the song is asking if we can process all our feelings in a healthy way and move on, rather than sitting in our sadness. The song ended up being the perfect title track, because not only are we expressing some really vulnerable emotions, we’re also literally ‘letting out’ a lot of previously unreleased songs and pulling back the curtain a bit on mine and Tommy’s story, which has always been at the center of our music, though we have been hesitant to draw attention to it before now. And in giving ourselves the freedom to let it out, we feel we’re being more true to our authentic selves, musically and personally, and it just feels right.” – Noah Wall


Photo Credit: K Hammock Photography

LISTEN: Dallas Ugly, “Big Signs”

Artist: Dallas Ugly
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Big Signs”
Release Date: September 8, 2023

In Their Words: “I wrote this song as I was having a reckoning about a sense of stagnation — in my life and personal growth. Nothing was bad, but nothing was great either, and I knew it was time to blow my life up a little and make some space for new things.

“Sonically, we all had The Beatles song ‘Two of Us’ very much in our ears when we were working on the arrangement, and Dominic Billett slipped right into that vision with his drumming. Owen’s dog gets a production credit, as he chose to ring his dog bell right as we were trying to find the perfect sound to complete the chorus. He has been immortalized in the track.” – Libby Weitnauer


Photo Credit: Betsy Phillips

LISTEN: The Handsome Family, “The Oldest Water”

Artist: The Handsome Family
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Song: “The Oldest Water”
Album: Hollow
Release Date: September 8, 2023
Label: Loose Music

In Their Words: “The world’s oldest water resides miles down a Canadian mine. It is 2 billion years old and teeming with life. What better to sing about?” – Rennie Sparks


Photo Credit: Jesse Littlebird

LISTEN: Tray Wellington Band, “Moon In Motion 1”

Artist: Tray Wellington Band
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Song: “Moon In Motion 1”
Release Date: September 1, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I often equate music and nature as one in one, as music is a constant movement that is always progressing forward through time. With this idea in mind, I thought one thing that always moves around us, like music, is the moon. I thought what a better way to progress in my music than channel this idea of continuous movement? That’s where the idea for ‘Moon In Motion 1’ came from, and the song is meant to convey these emotions. This is the first part of a three part movement that will be on my upcoming album.” – Tray Wellington


Photo Credit: Rob Laughter

WATCH: Tom Heyman, “The Mission Is On Fire”

Artist: Tom Heyman
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Song: “The Mission Is On Fire”
Album: 24th Street Blues
Release Date: October 6, 2023
Label: Bohemian Neglect Recording Works

In Their Words: “I have lived on the Eastern end of 24th Street in San Francisco’s Mission District around the corner from SF General Hospital for more than 20 years now. I work at a bar near the corner of Mission and 22nd Street and a number of years ago (pre-pandemic), there were a series of devastating fires on Mission Street — two of them practically next door to my workplace, and another about three quarters of a mile south at 29th Street. Fires in a densely-populated city full of attached wooden houses are scary enough, but add in the scarcity of affordable housing, the simmering resentments around the huge influx of tech workers, and the white-hot real estate market and the overall effect was pretty unsettling.

“The phrase, ‘The Mission is on fire’ popped into my head and I knew there was a song there. I chased it down until I thought I had it. Around the time that I wrote it, I had another record coming out that it wasn’t really right for, but I knew that it was going to fit squarely into the group of songs that made up my new record, 24th Street Blues. It seems that San Francisco is in the news often these days and is struggling with all the things that an awful lot of cities are struggling with, but I deeply love my neighborhood – and most days I find it difficult to imagine living anywhere else.” – Tom Heyman


Photo Credit: Lauren Tabak

LISTEN: Alex Leach, “Summer Haven”

Artist: Alex Leach
Hometown: Greeneville, Tennessee
Song: “Summer Haven”
Release Date: September 1, 2023

In Their Words: “I couldn’t be more excited to release this brand new one written by my wife Miranda and I. It’s a feel-good song about holding on to the last days of summer with good friends, camping in the mountains, and making everlasting memories with the ones you love. It’s also very special to me, as we recorded it at the late great Steve Gulley’s Pinnacle Studio in Campbell County, Tennessee. Steve was a huge mentor to me as I began getting into the music business, and his engineer/bandmate, Bryan Turner, has since taken over the studio and graciously allowed us to come in and cut this one. It will be the first nationally distributed single recorded there since Steve’s passing in 2020. I hope it brings you back to the mountains and the crisp, late summer air, the songs around a campfire, and the full moon surrounded by stars above. No matter when or where you listen from, I hope Summer Haven will take you into the mountains for a night you’ll never forget.” – Alex Leach


Photo Credit: Miranda Leach

LISTEN: Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road, “Crooked As You Go”

Artist: Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road
Hometown: Deep Gap, North Carolina
Song: “Crooked As You Go”
Album: Crooked As You Go
Release Date: September 1, 2023 (single)

In Their Words: “‘Crooked As You Go’ is a lively song with its musical roots in the fiddle tune tradition we grew up in. The lyrics outline a simple truth learned in early adulthood, that life is neither straightforward nor predictable. It’s not a journey in a straight line, rather a crooked path filled with twists and turns. As touring musicians, we can all relate to this through the eyes of the industry we operate in, but the implication rings true for many folks in many different situations. In the end, these unexpected adventures, trials, and sidetracks are often the most beautiful parts of the journey as one reflects on the path that led them to the present moment.” – Liam Purcell


Photo Credit: Craig Etchison

LISTEN: Carrie Newcomer, “Potluck”

Artist: Carrie Newcomer
Hometown: Bloomington, Indiana
Song: “Potluck”
Album: A Great Wild Mercy
Release Date: August 28, 2023 (single); October 13, 2023 (album)
Label: Available Light Records

In Their Words: “Writing and recording this song felt like a magical collaboration with of some of my favorite musicians on the planet to work with creatively (Jim Brock, Brittany Haas, Paul Kowert, Jordan Tice, Gary Walters, & Siri Undlin). ‘Potluck’ was co-written with a luminous new writer Siri Undlin from Humbird. We were both musing one day about the spirit of Midwestern pitch-in gatherings. Essentially, you choose to trust whatever people bring to the table. In times when there seems to be so much distrust and division, a potluck is still a place where we welcome one another with a bit of grace and humor, a place where we still meet folks right where they are — with all their joys and sorrows, quinoa, kale, chocolate cake, and deviled eggs.” – Carrie Newcomer


Photo Credit: Jim Krause

LISTEN: Sister Sadie, “Willow”

Artist: Sister Sadie
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Willow”
Release Date: August 25, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “When I first heard ‘Willow’ I could hear us doing it. I could hear Jaelee slaying this tune, vocally. I could hear this funky groove that came to life in the studio. It’s got a deep pocket and has been a crowd favorite on tour this summer. This Ashley McBryde-penned tune has become one of my favorite Sadie songs EVER!” – Deanie Richardson

“Sister Sadie is the best thing that ever happened to this song. I wrote it on an afternoon where damn near everything was going wrong. Deanie and the girls tore it UP and gave it the best life a song can have! Jaelee Robert’s voice could sing somebody back to life, I swear.” – Ashley McBryde

“When I first heard ‘Willow,’ I knew it would absolutely fit Jaelee’s voice — and boy, was I right! What an incredible song that was written by Ashley McBryde! The energy in the studio when we cut it was palpable. When we play a show now, I can’t wait ’til we get to ‘Willow’ in the set. It’s as much fun to perform live as it was to record it! It rocks!” – Gena Britt


Photo Credit: Eric Ahlgrim

WATCH: Nicolette & The Nobodies, “Rodeo”

Artist: Nicolette & The Nobodies
Hometown: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Rodeo”
Release Date: August 24, 2023
Label: Art Haus

In Their Words: “I gave up on being a musician a long time ago. I let some negative thoughts knock me down and keep me down. That if I wasn’t good enough then, I’d never be. ‘Rodeo,’ the song and video, is about how I got back up again. The night I walked into that karaoke, sang some songs and met my band – that was the first step to bringing me back to doing something I truly loved.” – Nicolette Hoang


Photo Credit: Dzesika Devic