Tag: premiere

STREAM: Christopher Jones, ‘Bach: The Goldberg Variations’

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Artist: Christopher Jones
Hometown: Morgantown, West Virginia
Album: Bach: The Goldberg Variations
Release Date: May 7, 2021

Editor’s Note: Christopher Jones is director of the Appalachian Music Ensemble, a performing group at West Virginia Wesleyan College. He got his start, however, in the classical world. He holds a bachelor’s degree in cello performance, and a master’s and doctorate degree in music composition from West Virginia University. For his newest project, he has reworked Bach’s iconic Goldberg Variations for mandolin, banjo, and guitar.

In Their Words: “This project is something that I had thought about for a long time. Not necessarily that I wanted to record it myself, but that it was something that I really wanted to hear. When everything shut down last year and the world was upended, I made a split-screen video of the ninth variation, and then the second, and realized I might as well do a studio recording of the entire thing. I think I turned to this piece as something that had that satisfying and comforting sense of order and normalcy, even though the scope of the whole thing can feel chaotic. Each variation is an exercise in perspective, begging the question of ‘How many different ways can I look at the same problem?’ It was a lens to try and make sense of things.” — Christopher Jones

Photo credit: Lauren Smith

LISTEN: Amy Helm, “Sweet Mama”

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Artist: Amy Helm
Hometown: Woodstock, New York
Song: “Sweet Mama”
Album: What the Flood Leaves Behind
Release Date: June 18, 2021
Label: Renew Records/BMG

In Their Words: “‘Sweet Mama’ was written by the wonderful Steve Salett and features killer harp by the one and only Phil Cook. This track is a rock and roll cut made for you, with love, in Woodstock, New York!” — Amy Helm

Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz

WATCH: Rachel Baiman, “No Good Time for Dying”

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Artist: Rachel Baiman with Atwood Quartet and Kyshona
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “No Good Time for Dying”
Album: Cycles
Release Date: June 11, 2021
Label: Signature Sounds

In Their Words: “Of all the songs on the record, this one felt the most cinematic, production-wise. Perhaps because I see this as the real story (of my late grandmother) playing out in my head each time I sing it. That’s why it seemed so fitting to collaborate with Atwood Quartet for this special live version of the song. Ben Plotnick wrote the incredible string parts, which both mimic and enhance the original album production. Kyshona was an artist I thought of immediately for the vocal harmonies, because of the quality of her voice and general spirit as a human. I was really grateful that she was up for it! After a year in which we’ve all had to face so much tragic death, this song feels like a reckoning of sorts, and a moment to process and hope for better in the future. I also want to give a special thanks to my neighbor Mike Malkiewicz for letting us transform and use his beautiful backyard stage.” — Rachel Baiman

Photo credit: Gina Binkley

LISTEN: Angela Autumn, “Sowin’ Seeds”

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Artist: Angela Autumn
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee (originally from Zelienople, Pennsylvania)
Song: “Sowin’ Seeds”
Album: Frontiers Woman
Release Date: June 4, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Sowin’ Seeds’ is the oldest song on the record; I wrote it in 2017. It explores the could-be life of the musician; one of imagined ease, free from sacrifice. Once, after a show, a construction worker asked that I play this song again. It was in Pittsburgh, a town full of blue-collar workers. The chorus is a reference to the African American spiritual, ‘Working on a Building,’ which was recorded and later popularized by The Carter Family. The song features Nate Leath on fiddle, Keagan Justice on banjo, Mickey Justice on mandolin, and Kate Haldrup on drums.” — Angela Autumn

Photo credit: Dana Kalachnik

LISTEN: Shay Martin Lovette, “Parkway Bound”

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Artist: Shay Martin Lovette
Hometown: Boone, North Carolina
Song: “Parkway Bound”
Album: Scatter & Gather
Release Date: May 14, 2021

In Their Words: “This song is a tip of the hat to the Blue Ridge Parkway that runs from Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the western edge of North Carolina near Cherokee, to Shenandoah National Park at Rockfish Gap. I consider myself lucky to live near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Boone, North Carolina, and find myself in constant awe of the landscape that this region offers. In ‘Parkway Bound,’ I wanted to capture the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the dead of winter. To me, the hiking trails and scenery in this area offer a means of escape from the confines of normal life and as I got further along in the writing process, I was drawn to the imagery of someone leaving their troubles behind and setting out for the Parkway as I have done so many times. The music could be said to be influenced more by great narrative writers like Norman Blake and Slaid Cleaves than your standard folkies, but there’s a little Townes Van Zandt and Gram Parsons in there.” — Shay Martin Lovette

Photo credit: Julianna Liegel

LISTEN: Maia Sharp, “Things to Fix”

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Artist: Maia Sharp
Hometown: Nashville, TN (originally Los Angeles, CA)
Song: “Things to Fix”
Album: Mercy Rising
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Label: Crooked Crown

In Their Words: “When I moved into my place in Nashville in 2019 (from California where I had lived all my life) there was, of course, a list of things to fix or upgrade or just tailor to my taste. This was all while I was trying to process the end of my 21-year marriage. I knew there were things I said that I wish I hadn’t and things I should’ve said that I didn’t. I wasn’t sure how to fix that yet so instead I painted a room and then another room, I replaced locks and hinges and repurposed picture frames, you get the idea. I brought this situation as a song idea to my co-writer, Noah Guthrie (who has a great version of the song on his new album) and we saw it all the way through. Eventually I did get to say the better things to my ex and we are lifelong friends but in the meantime I had the cleanest house ever.” — Maia Sharp

Photo credit: Emily Kopp

LISTEN: Beth Whitney, “I Go”

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Artist: Beth Whitney
Hometown: Leavenworth, Washington
Song: “I Go”
Album: Into The Ground
Release Date: May 28, 2021
Label: Tone Tree Music

In Their Words: “In the 1960s, my grandparents started a tradition in our family called ‘the 9-day Backpack’ that continues in different forms to this day. I’ve joined about five of these and to tell the truth, I do not backpack gracefully. Mosquito and horse fly bites turn into big welts. I’m blistered from boots and bright pink from the sun… but as the wilderness takes me in, it starts to heal me somehow and I come into focus.

“I wrote this one with Gina Belliveau and Brittany Alvis at a songwriting retreat some friends and I hosted in the mountains. The assignment was to write a song inspired by one of our favorite poems, ‘The Peace of the Wild Things,’ by Wendell Berry. These two were a joy to write with and are both featured in the recording.” — Beth Whitney

Photo credit: Eratosthenes Fackenthall

LISTEN: Ted Russell Kamp, “Lightning Strikes Twice”

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Artist: Ted Russell Kamp
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Lightning Strikes Twice ”
Album: Solitaire
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Label: PoMo Records

In Their Words: “I wrote this one in Nashville last year while I was on tour with Duff McKagan. We had a day and a half off so we got together and started talking about Billy Joe Shaver and wrote this one in his style. I started out with the cool intro riff and we wrote a cool classic story song. It was originally going to be a honky-tonk song but as I got thinking about the record I decided to rework and make it the first bluegrass song on any record of mine. I played all the instruments and then sent it to Don Gallardo and he added his harmony vocal.” — Ted Russell Kamp

Photo credit: Karman Kruschke

LISTEN: Brandon Jenner, “Life for Two”

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Artist: Brandon Jenner
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Life for Two”
Album: Short of Home EP
Release Date: June 11, 2021
Label: Nettwerk

In Their Words: “After a show in Copenhagen, Denmark, I was approached by a woman who felt inspired enough to tell me about how much my music meant to her. As always, I was very humbled by her kind words. She would go on to ask an unexpected favor of me. Little did I know, her confidence in me and my songwriting would change my life forever. She told me that she was diagnosed with a health issue that was sure to end her life within a few years and that she was struggling with the fact that she would be leaving her young children behind to navigate life on their own. She asked me if I would write a song about her experience. I gladly accepted and began thinking about this new song right away. For me, the direction for the song was to write a letter, from her perspective, about what she would want her children to know before she passes. A letter filled with comforting words and some advice on how she thinks their lives would be best lived. ‘Life for Two’ became the title and I hope this song brings some comfort to those who are going through personal loss in their own lives.” — Brandon Jenner

Photo credit: Cassy White

LISTEN: Stash Wyslouch, “Lord Protect My Soul”

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Artist: Stash Wyslouch
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Lord Protect My Soul”
Album: Plays and Sings Bluegrass Vol. II
Release Date: April 30, 2021

In Their Words: “Everything on Plays and Sings Bluegrass Vol. II is a product of years of experimentation with traditional bluegrass. Instead of giving this Bill Monroe classic the four-part gospel treatment, I thought it would be fun to contrast the original melody and lyrics with an onslaught of polytonal backup melodies played in unison. In bluegrass I tend to gravitate towards the gospel flavors, and in my own music I tend to gravitate towards the ‘absurd’ and unexpected. This track exemplifies those two worlds colliding. Accompanying me on the unified front of polytonal backup is Duncan Wickel (fiddle), Max Ridley (bass), and Sean Trischka (drums).” — Stash Wyslouch

Photo credit: Mariel Vandersteel