Artist: Kristen Grainger & True North
Hometown: Salem, Oregon
Song: “She Flies With Her Own Wings”
Album: Ghost Tattoo
Release Date: June 19, 2020
In Their Words: “I wrote this for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (I served for two years as her communications director), as well as Elizabeth Warren, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and every other woman working to make the world better and doing it her own way.” — Kristen Grainger
Photo courtesy of Hearth PR
Artist: Full Cord Bluegrass
Hometown: Grand Haven, Michigan
Song: “Downtown”
In Their Words: “Most bluegrass songs are written with bucolic images, mountain hollers, and a country living context. I wanted to write a song about that same-minded person visiting a city. While the lyrics portray this, so can the music with its unconventional chords and rhythms. The rhythmic mandolin chordal riff for ‘Downtown’ was born out of an inspiration from the mandolin rhythm giant, Sam Bush, while the chords in the bridge are inspired by Steely Dan. … a blend of bluegrass and the city type chord progression. Portland, Oregon, where I lived for 13 years, is the ‘Downtown’ subject and declares my love-hate relationship with the city. That feeling of energy, sights and sounds of a vibrant environment come in to play with this one. This is something we can all understand…” — Brian Oberlin, Full Cord Bluegrass
Photo credit: Chantal Roeske
Artist name: Monte Warden and the Dangerous Few
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Martini”
Album: Monte Warden and the Dangerous Few
Release Date: June 19, 2020
Label: Break A Leg Records
In Their Words: “As we first started playing shows, new fans would come up and enthusiastically ask, ‘What do you call this music?!’ We described is as ‘martini music.’ My wife Brandi suggested we write a big, fun up-tempo ode to the martini, so we rode over to Floyd Domino’s house and all did our best to just get the hell outta this song’s way. It’s one of those rare little gems that seemed to write itself. That line ‘country club mosquitoes’ had us all goin’ nuts. I can count on this song to always deliver a musical shovel-to-the-face at any gig.” — Monte Warden
Photo credit: Sean Mathis
Artist: Philippe Bronchtein
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “I’ll Let the Steel Do the Crying”
Release Date: June 5th, 2020
In Their Words: “I wrote ‘I’ll Let the Steel Do the Crying’ shortly after relocating to Nashville. I was putting in marathon practice sessions on my steel guitar, so it was always on my mind. While commiserating on the phone with an old friend, I made the joke in passing that I didn’t have to cry as long as I had my pedal steel to do it for me. He lit up and said, ‘That’s a song.’ I finished writing it that night. It features my good friend Asa Brosius on the pedal steel.” — Philippe Bronchtein
Photo credit: Monica Murray
Artist: Wood Belly
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Gone Are the Days”
Album: Man on the Radio
In Their Words: “‘Gone Are the Days’ is a project we’ve been working on, well, for a lifetime. The video features some of Wood Belly’s childhood home movies interlaced with moments from the last few years playing music across the country. We wanted to pay homage to our roots and express our undying gratitude to the people that helped us get to where we are and will go. There’s a clip towards the end of a couple of our moms hugging during our set in Telluride, Colorado, which pretty much sums up the whole idea. Much love to everyone who made us who we are.” — Chris Weist, Wood Belly
Photo credit: Emily Sierra Photography
Artist: Cold Chocolate
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Gone”
Album: Down the Line
Release Date: June 26, 2020
In Their Words: “‘Gone’ was the last track we wrote for the album and will be the final track on it. Of all the songs off the new record it actually has the most similar of a vibe to our previous recordings, tapping into that high-energy bluegrass feel that we love. But we really ended up fusing a lot of genres within this short song, stretching from bluegrass and hillbilly country to disco funk. The song started out in rehearsals as an upbeat country groove with some simple, cheeky lyrics, and we immediately gravitated toward its playfulness. When we brought it into the studio, Sam Kassirer, who played keys on the record, threw this cool gospel organ on top which heightened the intrigue of the song tenfold. We’re delighted by how it all came together and psyched for its release!” — Ethan Robbins and Ariel Bernstein, Cold Chocolate
Photo courtesy of Cold Chocolate
Artist: Distant Cousins
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Angelina”
Album: Here & Now
Release Date: June 5, 2020 (single); June 26, 2020 (album)
Label: Jullian Records
In Their Words: “A few months back, B.C.E (Before Coronavirus Era), we rented out one of our favorite studios for the day and we recorded and filmed it all — nine songs in the day. The vibe in the room was really special. All day long, our musician friends kept coming and going to lend their special talent to our music. It’s hard to believe that that was just a few months ago. Now it all feels like a dream. Certain songs ask for a feeling of intimacy and ‘Angelina’ felt like it needed just that. We found a quiet moment somewhere towards the middle of the day while no one else was around and in the dimly lit room, the song almost played itself. We are very pleased with the result and love how our director, David Schlussel, captured that sense of intimacy that the song represents to us.” — Distant Cousins
Photo credit: Ehud Lazin
Artist: Crandall Creek
Hometown: Moundsville, West Virginia
Song: “This Heart of Mine”
Album: Headed South
Release Date: May 15, 2020
Label: Bell Buckle Records
In Their Words: “The song ‘This Heart of Mine’ is a coming-of-age ballad about acceptance and moving on when love doesn’t work out as planned. Crandall Creek works together as a team to write, record, and arrange our bluegrass music style, which has become a crossover, acoustic country style. Lilli Gadd, who is singing lead, really knocks it out of the park when it comes to delivering a song. Our harmonies are our own, it almost feels like a family band, but we are not… we are just connected musically.” — Jerry Andrews, Crandall Creek
Photo credit: Bruce Winges
Artist: Mark Olson & Ingunn Ringvold
Hometown: Joshua Tree, California
Song: “Black Locust”
Album: Magdalen Accepts the Invitation
Release Date: June 5, 2020
Label: Fiesta Red Records
In Their Words: “I moved to the desert in ‘95 and bought a cabin that had been abandoned in the Landers earthquake. There was a water tank for delivered water, a pretty porch and a lot of stray debris in the yard — plus a number of broken aquariums scattered throughout the landscape!
“To make the place livable I hired a local legend by the name of John Edwards. He was a very talented carpenter and mind reader of the natural fauna and flora that live and grow in that high UV environment. One of his many lessons that stuck with me was his method of planting trees in the desert. Suffice it to say, the process of defeating the terrible raging Mojave’s desert sun with prized cool-down trees is rather complicated and labor intensive — and even requires some plumbing and trenching skills to redirect gray water lines.
“On many occasions, John proclaimed that the fruitless mulberry tree was the best for fast growth and significant shade — and that the black locust was an acceptable alternative. To prove his point he took me over to his family home to see his pride and joy: a giant Yucca Valley mulberry that covered his entire front yard, house and half the street.
“The black locust tree is in my mind the subject of this song because of the knowledge that was passed on during that not-forgotten reconstruction project. The black locust grows wild in the Owens Valley along the stream beds where we go camping in the summer to escape the heat. The general outlook of the song is one of starting a new life, building from scratch and hoping it all works out for the best.” — Mark Olson
Photo credit: Sandra Goodin
Artist: Lowland Hum
Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia
Song: “This Will Be Our Year” (The Zombies cover)
Album: Singing Other People’s Love Songs
Release Date: June 5, 2020
In Their Words: “‘This Will Be Our Year’ by the Zombies grabbed us immediately with its simplicity and unfettered sweetness, not to mention its intuitive melodies and positive energy. We chose to record our version as simply as possible, with closely mic’d, bare vocals and simple nylon string guitar. At the time when we recorded it, we were feeling all kinds of optimism and excitement about what the year might hold for us, having just put the finishing touches on our recording studio, and feeling more adjusted than ever to life out in the countryside.
“Obviously there have been some unexpected turns since then. When we scheduled the release of this song, we had no idea the entire world would be in the midst of a pandemic, and all of the fear, financial strain and pain of isolation that has ensued. We had no idea our nation would be reeling from yet another wave of murders, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and now David McAtee and others as police continue to employ the use of military weapons on protestors. To release a song entitled ‘This Will Be Our Year’ at such a time as this feels perilously incongruous at best with where the nation is at, where we are at personally, and offensive at worst.
“Before the past few weeks we thought to ourselves, ‘Well, this is not the year we imagined when we recorded this song, but maybe there are things in store for us and others who are suffering, which we couldn’t have chosen or anticipated had all gone according to our ideal plans.’ At this point we hope that this is a year when things really begin to change. Perhaps this will be the year when people like ourselves, who have long been sympathetic to the cause of justice for black and brown people in America but haven’t taken the time to learn how to properly engage and act toward a better future, might finally buckle down and discern how to step up as allies. Perhaps this year will mark a turning point for many, that will start our nation down a road resulting in lasting and true change. We hope. — Lauren and Daniel Goans, Lowland Hum
Photo credit: Tristan Williams
