Artist:Hannah Connolly Hometown: Los Angeles, California (via Eau Claire, Wisconsin) Latest Album:Shadowboxing Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Han, Hannah Banana, Hannah Montana, Hanny
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me?”
Most of the songs I’ve written and recorded so far have been very autobiographical and written from a first-person perspective. I often write songs as a way of processing my life and experiences. With my latest album, Shadowboxing, that was still very much the case, with the exception of the title track.
“Shadowboxing” was the first time I recorded and released an original song that felt like it may have been meant for someone else. I don’t think I was hiding behind a character necessarily, but it was the first time I felt a character surface within a song. It made me excited to lean further into that way of writing. I imagine my next record will draw more heavily on the concept of zooming out and drawing inspiration from the stories around me, rather than within me.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
One of my favorite shows to date was in Dublin, Ireland last fall. I was opening for my partner’s band, Young the Giant, and the crowd of over five hundred was the largest audience I’d played in front of in a while. I was a little nervous to be playing a more stripped down format opening for a rock band, but the second I stepped out on stage the crowd made me feel comfortable, supported, and excited. Looking out at that audience, being at peace in the moment and within my music was a feeling I’d dreamt of for a long time. To experience it in reality was surreal. That is a memory I am going to hold onto for a long time.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I first knew that I wanted to be a touring musician when I was a teenager and joined a pop punk band out of high school. We recorded an EP and self-booked a tour of the East Coast. Driving across the country in a van with friends, seeing new cities, and meeting new people was a highlight of my life up until that point. The minute we got home I wanted to go out and do it again. I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since and I feel so lucky to have returned to touring this year with my second album.
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
There are a lot of artists who have influenced me over the years, a lot of them being strong women with a clear message and powerful stage presence.
For me that list includes Dolly Parton, Brandi Carlile, Tracy Chapman, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Ani DiFranco, Hayley Williams, and Shania Twain, among others.
Watching these women move through the world was an inspiration to me both as a musician and a person. I hope to pay forward the same kind of positive impact they had on me, in whatever capacity that may be.
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
One thing I’ve recently started to realize about my mission is that I want to show up as my full self, powerfully and unapologetically, so that others feel comfortable doing the same.
I spent a lot of my life wrestling self-doubt and fearing the judgment of others. Watching some of my favorite artists take ownership of their art and story helped model for me how I could do that for myself in my own way.
As an artist I aim to be free enough in my expression that others can feel more comfortable showing up as themselves as well. It’s a constant learning process and I find new ways that this goal challenges me everyday, but I am really proud of the ways I’ve been able to grow in recent months with this in mind.
Aren’t Fridays the best day of the week? And no, not just because of the five-day work week, but really because it’s New Music Friday, of course!
This week, we’re featuring premieres like a thoughtful and introspective number from singer-songwriter Aisha Badru, a Bonnie Raitt cover from husband-and-wife bluegrass duo Benson with Keith Garrett lending lead vocals, a thoughtful track about cyclical national, cultural, and romantic traumas from Jessye DeSilva, and Lynne Hanson brings a new song about how some folks are just plain rotten.
There’s a little bit of everything for every kind of roots music fan, and if we do say so ourselves, You Gotta Hear This!
Aisha Badru, “Life to Live”
Artist:Aisha Badru Hometown: Yonkers, New York Song: “Life to Live” Label: Nettwerk Music Group
In Their Words: “‘Life To Live’ is a song deeply rooted in my personal journey. It explores the importance of introspection and understanding what truly brings us joy and fulfillment. For me, that meant leaving the traditional path of college to pursue music, even if it wasn’t initially supported by my family. This song isn’t just about following our dreams, it’s about the growth and self-discovery that happens along the way.” – Aisha Badru
Benson, “Louise”
Artist:Benson Hometown: Boiling Springs, South Carolina Song: “Louise” Release Date: March 22, 2024 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words:“We’ve always been big fans of Keith Garrett. He’s got such a warm vocal tone and always chooses a great way of delivering the song. We were excited to have him sing a couple and felt really lucky that he said yes.” – Kristin Scott Benson
“Back in the early 1990s, I heard Bonnie Raitt’s album, Luck of the Draw. After becoming a fan and going back to her earlier projects, I came across a live video with her version of ‘Louise.’ I always thought it would make a fun bluegrass song because of the chord progression and I think Keith and Dustin sang it great.” – Wayne Benson
Track Credits: Wayne Benson – Mandolin Kristin Scott Benson – Banjo Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar Tony Creasman – Drums Kevin McKinnon – Bass Keith Garrett – Lead vocal Dustin Pyrtle – Harmony vocals
Jessye DeSilva, “Gallows Tree”
Artist name:Jessye DeSilva Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts Song: “Gallows Tree” Release Date: March 22, 2024
In Their Words: “‘Gallows Tree’ is all about the ghosts of our traumas and our misdeeds and what happens when we leave things unsaid. In the U.S. particularly, I think there is a sickening and cyclical nature to the things we repress and rebrand in denial. White couples rent plantations as backdrops for their quaint country weddings where Black bodies were broken not so long ago. We refuse to learn from the mistakes of our parents and remain complicit in the face of brutal inhumanity. In ‘Gallows Tree,’ a pastoral scene of a romantic picnic is painted, where two lovers sip iced tea on a blanket beneath the shade of a tree, while something simmers unspoken just beneath the surface. This could easily be a song about love left to dry with the years, but the lovers are all of us who remain reticent with hearts tight as fists. And now a tire swings gently from the gallows tree.” – Jessye DeSilva
Track Credits: Music and lyrics by Jessye DeSilva and Alex Calabrese. Jessye DeSilva – Vocals, piano Alex Calabrese – Acoustic guitar, background vocals Joe Dunn – Producer, bass, electric guitar, banjo, percussion programming
Lynne Hanson, “Outlaw Lover”
Artist:Lynne Hanson Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Song: “Outlaw Lover” Album:Just A Poet Release Date: March 22, 2024 (single); May 24, 2024 (album) Label: Panda Cave Records
In Their Words: “Some people are just rotten to the core. For this song, I really wanted to paint a picture of the ultimate heartbreak artist, someone callous and uncaring who leaves a trail of victims in their wake. The kind of person your mother warned you to stay away from.
“It was a lot of fun to arrange this song in the studio. We chose an almost hypnotic groove to really give it a sexy, black-leather swagger, and the song hits its bad attitude crescendo with the nasty fuzz of Blair Michael Hogan’s guitar solo. I actually wrote this song by starting with the lyrics first, which is the opposite of my normal songwriting process. It was a real challenge to come up with the music, and I had three versions of the song before I finally settled on this one.” – Lynne Hanson
Track Credits: Written by Lynne Hanson.
Lynne Hanson – lead vocal Jim Bryson – acoustic guitar, electric guitars, piano, organ, mellotron Blair Michael Hogan – electric guitar, slide guitar Philippe Charbonneau – bass Marshall Bureau – drums
Jim Bryson – recording engineer Recorded at Fixed Hinge Studios, Stittsville, Ontario. Produced by Jim Bryson. Mastered by Phil Shaw Bova, Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, Ontario. Mixed by Jim Bryson, Fixed Hinge Studios.
Photo Credit: Aisha Badru by Jeffery Trapani; Benson by Sandlin Gaither.
Bob Hillman had a real thing going on in the early 2000s. He had made waves in New York City, rubbing shoulders with some of the finest songwriters of the era at places like Fast Folk and The Living Room. The singer-songwriter was creatively fulfilled, but not gaining the momentum needed to experience strategic growth in folk music. After opening a long list of dates for Suzanne Vega, Hillman decided it was time to step away and get back to business… school that is. He got his MBA in marketing and went on to hold a decent paying job for the next decade and a half, raising his family in the Bay Area.
After a layoff, Bob thought it was time to dig in again and started writing, recording, and performing. Since 2016, he’s released a couple of albums and an EP or two. The most recent is the mostly acoustic Downtown in the Rain. In our conversation, we talk about what it’s like to reignite his creative entrepreneurial musical spirit, how he used that energy in his corporate jobs, and also how he hopes to one day meet his singing partner on the EP, Maria Taylor.
Joe Pug will not engage in the left-brained vs. right-brained debate. His artistry and pragmatic business sense have lived in actual parallel through his music career. His songwriting and creativity are fueled by passion and result in dramatic and exciting songs, as on his new album Sketch of a Promised Departure. He’s stayed ahead of the curve and created an ecosystem where self-reliance, growth and business thrive especially with his latest venture, The Nation of Heat Vault, that has every album, podcast, and newsletter up behind a paywall. In our interview, we dig into his creative process, family life and artistic balance while creating his latest project.
The album was made on his own time at his new home studio, which he’s been working on for a decade. His reflection on having complete control over the music production is one of relief and joy in that he was able to take as long as he wanted. In this episode, we go through several songs on the album, remarking on songs like “Then the Rain,” which shines in its simplicity just like many songs of Lucinda Williams’, one of his biggest inspirations. We also talk about his journey into adulthood when he moved to Chicago, a chapter in his life he writes about in detail on the new album. He talks about what he hopes for his own young kids’ futures and how parenting has changed since he first became a dad seven or eight years ago. And of course, we talk about his fantastic podcast, The Working Songwriter, and how being an interviewer has changed his attitude about being the interviewee.
Despite her well-earned reputation as one of Nashville’s strongest songwriters and nuanced singers, Brandy Clark had gotten used to not hearing her name called at Grammy Awards ceremonies. Two years ago, her friend Brandi Carlile decided to do something about that. Carlile produced Clark’s fourth studio album, Brandy Clark, which earned five of the six nominations she got this year, upping her tally to 17 — one of which turned into her first win. Clark was honored for Best Americana Performance for “Dear Insecurity,” a duet with Carlile. After her win, Clark told a backstage interviewer, “Brandi is the reason why I made this record and why this song is what it is.”
But as Clark explained in an earlier BGS interview, the catalyst for that collaboration — her most personal, affecting work yet — was one of those Grammys she didn’t win.
So how did Brandi’s involvement come about?
Brandy Clark: The label wanted me to record two more songs for a deluxe version of Your Life is a Record. I had made that record with Jay Joyce, and he couldn’t do it. Tracy Gershon, a mutual friend of Brandi and I, said, “What if Brandi produced?” And Brandi was willing to do it. It was a really good experience, mostly because Brandi really follows her gut instinct, which is so amazing. I tend to overthink. And then “Same Devil,” which was part of that, ended up nominated at the next Grammys. We didn’t win, and she leaned over to me and said I looked really devastated. I didn’t remember feeling particularly devastated, but she said I just looked really sad, so she said, “Hey, buddy, we’ll get one. I’d love to do a whole record with you.” I was like, “Really?” And she said, “Yeah, I’ve thought about it. I think these things through when I get involved in a project; I think about the artwork, I think about everything. I’d see it as your return to the Northwest, because I’m from the Northwest.”
It was such a different experience for me, because Brandi’s an artist. I think producers lead with whatever their original instrument is; if they were a guitar player, they lead with that. If they were a songwriter, they lead with that. I’ve never worked with a producer that could sing to me what they heard, and also keep me from over-singing. And she wanted as many live vocals as possible. That was different for me. And she really challenged me to get to the heart of who I am as an artist. No producer’s ever asked me to make lyric changes; she said, “I just want to believe that you believe everything you’re saying.”
What’s an example of a lyric she asked you to change?
“Buried;” the second verse used to start out, “I’ll read ‘Lonesome Dove,’ I’ll start doing yoga,” and she said, “I don’t like that yoga line.” I was thinking, “I don’t care if you like it or not.” That was my first [reaction]. I said, “Why not?” She’s like, “Well, I just don’t believe that you do yoga.” I said, “I don’t.” She’s like, “Then it shouldn’t be in the song.” And she was right.
You do heartbreak songs so extraordinarily well. Even the ones that aren’t sometimes feel like heartbreak songs, because they’re so full of emotion. “Dear Insecurity” — to hear that coming from the perspective of two women who are both stars now, and yet it’s so believable — it’s not like two women just singing “Oh, yeah, we’re insecure,” you really believe it. That’s what’s so striking about all of your songwriting, but to be able to do that, and do it well, and to know that it doesn’t matter how big you get, you still experience that …
Oh, I have massive insecurities. I think everybody does. That’s why I think that song hits; to be human is to be insecure. And the more willing you are to admit those insecurities, the less they rule you. That song came from— I had gotten my feelings hurt. A really great friend of mine says insecurity is the ugliest human emotion; it’s what makes people do mean things. So I was trying to remember that on the way to my writing appointment that morning, because I wanted to get into a good headspace to write with someone I had never written with. When I was sitting in the car, I started to think about my own insecurities, and the things that they have messed up along the way for me. I thought, “Wouldn’t that be something, to write a letter to insecurity?”
Why did you and Brandi choose to duet on that song?
Well, going in, I never heard that song as a duet. The first day we were in the studio, she said, “What do you think about ‘Dear Insecurity’ being a duet?” I loved the idea; I heard it as a duet with a guy, because men have insecurities just like women do. She really wanted Lucinda Williams. Because we hadn’t secured anybody yet, she said, “I’ll sing the scratch [vocal], and then we’ll see about getting Lucinda in here.” So she started to sing, and we really got lost in it.
Brandi had also been pretty adamant that she didn’t want to be a feature on this record, because of producing it, and because we had done that other feature, [“Same Devil”]. She just didn’t want it to look like she was trying to get featured. But when it was going down, I could just feel this magic happening. When I listened to the board mix, I thought, “Oh, God, what am I going to do? I don’t want to hear anybody but her on this now.” I loved the way that our voices battled each other and melded together. So I said the next day, “Brandi, I really want it to be you.” And she was like, “Oh, that’s all you had to say.” It was perfect because we have similar insecurities. We’re around the same age, both gay, like, there’s insecurities in that. We’re very similar, and very different. And it just worked.
In what other ways did she influence or impact this album?
There were a couple of things that I’ll take with me forever. When she was asking me to make lyric changes, that really bothered me. It felt disrespectful to the co-writers to do that on the fly, and I told her that. I said, “These songs, none of them were just slapped together, because I don’t write that way.” No offense to anyone who does, I just have to put a lot of thought into songs for ’em to be good. And it took other people to write these songs that I respect and that put their heart and soul into this, too. And I like to be in service to the song. And she said, “Well, I understand that. I think this time, you need to be in service to the artist.” It put me in a different space as an artist than I’ve ever been in. I always come at things as a songwriter first. This record, I came at it as an artist first.
The other thing – and I’m so glad that I asked her this question, and that she answered it the way she did, because it makes me think differently; I’ve never worked with a producer on a record that I was a co-writer with. So they’re always, to me, the last writer on the songs. The positive is that they’re making choices based on what they feel when they hear them the first time, like a listener. …I always give a producer probably 18 to 24 songs, then I’m just too close to pick the 10 or 12. So she picked the songs that she thought should be on this record. When she gave me her list of what she really wanted us to dive into, I said, “Why did you choose those 10?” And she said, “Well, they were all great songs; but I chose the songs that I felt like you wrote in your bedroom.” That was such a great thing… it reminded me that when all of us picked up a guitar or pad of paper the first time, it wasn’t to impress anybody. It was to just get some emotion out that we could only get out through song.
There’s another song on here, “She Smoked in the House,” that I wrote about my grandma that I never thought would be on any record. I thought I was just writing it for me. People have responded so strongly to that song, it just helps me know I need to double down on me and what I’m feeling, instead of what I think people want to hear. That sounds really simple, but it’s easy to forget that if we’re feeling something, other people are gonna feel it. And if we’re not, nobody’s gonna feel it.
You once told me your mission was to write a classic like “Crazy.” While listening to this album and Shucked [the Broadway musical for which she and Shane McAnally co-wrote the music and lyrics], it occurred to me that you have. A song like “Friends,” that’s gonna be sung at thousands of weddings and graduations, and “Take Mine” and “Up Above the Clouds” and these other tracks… I kept thinking of the great Randy Newman tearjerker songs in Pixar films.
I’ve always thought “Up Above the Clouds” should be in one of those.
Totally! Are you working on that?
Yes. It makes me feel amazing that you feel like I have written a classic song like that. I’m going to hang on to that today, and then I’m going to let it go. Because what keeps me hungry as a songwriter is to think I haven’t.
You mentioned you might do something else with Brandi. Are you already talking about that?
No, but we clearly work well together and people like what we do. She’s a little bit like Shane for me; I feel like the sum of our parts is greater than two people.
I love that you’re all part of this connected group of people, especially women. I remember Allison Russell crediting Brandi with elevating her family out of poverty, and to be able to do that for so many people …
That’s a testament to Brandi. She’s on top of the world and she’s choosing to elevate other people; she said to me when she approached me about this, “You deserve to be in the same spot as me on festival posters. That’s what I want.” A lot of people have a scarcity mindset. She has an abundant mindset and wants to raise up the music of other people that inspires her. That inspires me to do the same.
My trajectory is on a really great path right now. And then I look to someone like her and think, “OK, where do I pay it forward? Where do I lift someone else up?” Because it’s really easy when you’re just grinding and trying to get your own star to rise, to not look around and think, “Oh, how can I help someone else?” But she really inspires me to do that.
This week, it feels a bit like musical spring has sprung, and new music is truly blossoming in our current edition of You Gotta Hear This – our once-weekly premiere round-up.
Below, you’ll find a new live performance video from the Bacon Brothers (Kevin Bacon and his brother, Michael), plus singer-songwriter Rachel Maxann has brought us a new track and video, “The Tides.” You’ll also enjoy songs from bluegrasser Darren Nicholson, southern rocker JD Clayton, a bespoke line dance from Buckstein, Rosy Nolan, string band Jake Leg, and a tribute to Mississippi John Hurt from the Tennessee Warblers. Don’t miss the latest edition in our Rootsy Summer Sessions series, too, featuring two original numbers by Jackson Scribner.
There’s so much good music to enjoy, You Gotta Hear This!
The Bacon Brothers, “Losing the Night”
Artist: The Bacon Brothers Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Song: “Losing the Night” Album: Ballad Of The Brothers Release Date: April 19, 2024 Label: Forosoco Music / Forty Below Records
In Their Words: “Sitting down with our co-writer, Casey Beathard, took me back to the early ’70s when I was a staff writer at Combine Music: Set a date and time, drink a lot of coffee, and crank out a song. Songwriters rule in Nashville and always will. Casey’s the top of the top. If you can listen to ‘Boys of Fall’ with a dry eye, then ‘Mister, you’re a better man than I…’ (Yardbirds.)” – Michael Bacon
“Yeah, writing with Casey was great. When we were cutting vocals, I kept returning to the recording we made on my phone as we wrote the song because I wanted to sing it like he did. The autoharp idea just came together at the last minute, but I think it’s pretty cool.” – Kevin Bacon
Video Credit: Bradley Wagner Audio Engineer: Juan Soria
Rachel Maxann, “The Tides”
Artist:Rachel Maxann Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee Song: “The Tides” Release Date: March 4, 2024
In Their Words: “‘The Tides’ is a soulful, folk love song that beautifully captures the ebb and flow of emotions in a relationship. With poetic lyrics and melodic acoustic arrangements, this heartfelt ballad explores the depth of love, drawing parallels to the rhythmic patterns of the tides. Each verse unveils a tale of connection, mirroring the gentle waves that bind two hearts together.” – Rachel Maxann
Buckstein, “Addicted to Love”
Artist:Buckstein Hometown: Denver, Colorado Song: “Addicted to Love” Release Date: March 8, 2024 Label: Rock Ridge Music
In Their Words: “When my producer brought this classic to me, I just assumed we’d be doing it for fun, never to be released. Robert Palmer is a TOUGH act to follow. Leave it to a damn good producer like Mr. E to bring out of the best in me. When he played me the rough cut, I got incredibly excited about where it was going. The production on our ‘Addicted to Love’ is some of my favorite I ever sang to, and I hope people consider it a fond tip of the hat to the late Mr. Palmer. He was a legend, and this song is timeless. Thank you for listening. I hope it’s as much fun for you as it was for us.
“P.S. We have a line dance. Check it out in the video while you listen (and there are dance instructions at the end of the video).” – Buckstein
Rosy Nolan, “One of Your Songs”
Artist:Rosy Nolan Hometown: Los Angeles via San Francisco, California Song: “One of Your Songs” Release Date: March 15, 2024 (single) Label: Blackbird Record Label
In Their Words: “‘One of Your Songs’ is a two-tempo song about a woman strung along by a two-timing man. In the first chorus, she protests, ‘Don’t play me like one of your songs,’ only to surprise him later when he becomes one of her songs.
“I was looking to write a song that oscillated between a high energy old-time tune and a traditional country two-step. I wanted the song’s tempo to reflect the extreme highs and lows of a tumultuous relationship.
“My dear friend, Dave, from Grand Ole Country Bunker suggested I shoot my music video at Sassafras Saloon, a bayou-themed bar in the heart of Hollywood. He produces widely-attended country showcases at the venue. It’s New Orleans meets Old West and contains an entire Savannah townhouse inside the bar. The townhouse was shipped out from Georgia and reassembled inside the venue. Word is that it’s haunted by several spirits. It was the perfect backdrop for the video, equipped with a balcony stage, old time relics, and a rotating bottle conveyer belt.
“Our friends, The Cowpokes from Nashville, performed that evening and they graciously allowed us to shoot the crowd shots during their performance. After a 10 hour shoot day, we were fortunate to have a lot of footage to work with.
“Jack Hackett and his crew were fantastic. I used to act when I was younger so it was a thrill to put the guitar down for a bit and get into character. Fellow cast members, Levi Petree and Frankie Lawson, made it easy and fun.” – Rosy Nolan
Darren Nicholson, “Ain’t No Sin”
Artist:Darren Nicholson Hometown: Canton, North Carolina Song: “Ain’t No Sin” Release Date: March 8, 2024 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “This is our raucous, tongue-in-cheek story of mountain folk separating sin from survival. I wrote this with Charles Humphrey III, and it’s even more ironic as I’m currently several years into sobriety myself. It is a fictional tale of people (The Baker Boys) who did what they had to do to provide for their families and communities. The moonshiner way of life was embraced and woven into so many rural circles. Heck, my dad made illegal whiskey to survive; and he made it for everyone from the grannies to the politicians to the preachers. In many cases, the quality of liquor and how it benefited both producer and consumer, was a point of pride for certain areas. What many people fail to realize is, historically, corn liquor production was a way for people to earn a living when times were hard, like during the Great Depression. Early on, it wasn’t a hobby so much as a way to supplement one’s income as a necessity.
“Where the ‘sin’ part comes into play is when one can acknowledge that whiskey by itself is not a sin, but rather the overindulgence or the behaviors resulting from too much to drink, which are viewed as sinful. This song speaks to the ones who find it most sinful; the ones who can’t control the distribution of it or profit from it. I hope all who listen have fun with this track. That’s the intention!” – Darren Nicholson
In Their Words: “‘High Hopes & Low Expectations’ tells a story about a young man who is searching for his better self and greener pastures. He finally has a chance and enough money to leave town for the big city, leaving behind his home and family. He meets an older gentleman that gives him a bit of free advice: ‘Live with High Hopes & Low Expectations.’ The perspective changes halfway through the song. The young man grows old and tells the listener that the old man who gave him advice long ago was right. Go live and live well with high hopes and low expectations. Life won’t always work out right but you’ll be able to sleep well at night.
“This is really a song to myself. It makes me think of leaving Arkansas for Nashville to make it in music. I love the song so much. I wanted the song to feel like a blend of James Taylor and Elton John. I think we got close. It tells a really cool story and I especially love the word choices in the lyrics. ‘Ferry ride for western skies,’ ‘Whiskey wisdoms poured over ice,’ ‘It feels like dark chocolate, honey butter, and hot coals in a cast iron stove in a library.’ Come on!! I cowrote the song with Kendell Marvel. He has become such a good friend and has been so kind to me as I have started my career. I think of myself as the young man in this song and Kendell as the older man giving me this sage advice. It felt like we were living out the song literally as we penned it. I am still learning to live everyday with ‘High Hopes & Low Expectations.'” – JD Clayton
The Tennessee Warblers, “Louis Collins”
Artist:The Tennessee Warblers Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Louis Collins” Release Date: March 8, 2024 (Mississippi John Hurt’s Birthday)
In Their Words: “We’ve been warblin’ this mournfully beautiful murder ballad for a number of years and thought it would be fun to release it in celebration of Mississippi John Hurt’s birthday. First recorded in 1928, the tune has become one of Hurt’s most popular and enduring numbers. Perhaps the juxtaposition of melancholy melody and murder is the reason?
“In 2012, I went on a road trip with photographer, Michael Rooney, to trace the Mississippi Blues Trail. We recently regrouped to pore over the images in search of one to represent Louis Collins’ grave to which the ‘angels laid him away.’ Unfortunately, not long after we settled on the photograph we received news that John Hurt’s home and museum in Avalon, Mississippi had burned down.
“We’d like to urge folks to donate to the Mississippi John Hurt Foundation so that they may rebuild a museum celebrating John Hurt’s kind presence, songs and one of a kind guitar style that continues to entertain and inspire all these years later.” – Adam Dalton
Jake Leg, “Fire on the Prairie”
Artist:Jake Leg Hometown: Lyons, Colorado Song: “Fire on the Prairie” Album:Fire on the Prairie Release Date: March 8, 2024
In Their Words: “‘Fire on the Prairie’ is the title track of our upcoming debut full-length album and we loved the energy we captured in the studio so much that we made it the first track on the record. I wrote ‘Fire on the Prairie’ when I was reflecting on a story I’d heard about some individuals whose entire lives seemed to revolve around the coming of the apocalypse, in a way that was almost romanticized. I found myself thinking about how growing up in an environment like that might impact a person and how they relate to the world. It’s a somewhat ominous song, thematically, and we aimed to reflect that musically with the sonic landscape of the song having sort of a looming sense of something unknown lurching toward you. I think Eric’s vocal performance on this one fits the song perfectly and the band plays with a sense of urgency that really drives it home.” – Dylan McCarthy
Rootsy Summer Sessions: Jackson Scribner
Last summer, flanked by roadside flowers and backgrounded by a softly cooing dove, singer-songwriter Jackson Scribner graced the videographers from I Know We Should with two beautiful, original songs. It’s the latest installment of our Rootsy Summer Sessions series, shot at Rootsy Summer Fest ’23 in Falkenberg, Sweden on the banks of the Ätran.
Scribner, who was born and raised in rural Texas, first performed “Front Porch Rain,” a track from his 2021 self-titled album, with backing vocals by his brother and duo partner, Levi Scribner. Jackson’s voice is soft, but confident as he sings, “Though I see it now/ watch for the weather, wanted to kill it to stay/ it’s a front porch rain…” a striking lyric beneath the summer Swedish sun. There’s certainly a familial quality to the harmonies, though Levi leaves plenty of breathing room, allowing Jackson’s lyrics to come forward.
Singer-songwriter Hannah Connolly, originally from Eau Claire, Wisconsin (the same as Justin Vernon and the Bon Iver crew!) has just released her second solo album, Shadowboxing. Written to reflect on musical and life transitions, it was recorded in beautiful Idyllwild, California, just outside of her new hometown of Los Angeles. While in that mountain town, Hannah reconnected with nature through hiking, finding joy in connecting with her friends and collaborators in music.
The process of making Shadowboxing, which was celebratory and fun, was crucial for Connolly’s mental health in music. Her debut album, 2020’s From Where We Are, centered around the trauma and healing she and her family faced after her little brother, Cullen, was killed by a drunk driver in 2015. Born with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Cullen was the life of the party and a bright light in every room he entered. Being able to process and mourn his loss through the making of her first record was not only extremely difficult, but also very necessary for Hannah. In our Basic Folk conversation, we talk about who Cullen was and how he continues to influence Hannah’s life and music. These days, Hannah is looking for the fun and lightness again, which is exactly what her little brother would want her to do.
Even though Connolly’s visual storytelling and folky roots are strong, they are no match for her love of emo music, which has influenced her since she was a teenager. She even performed, recorded, and toured in an emo band prior to “going solo.” Hannah gets into her emo past, her childhood stint in musical theater and, of course, cheese curds in this new episode of Basic Folk. She also gives us the all important updates on her wedding planning! She recently got engaged to Eric Cannata of the alternative rock band, Young the Giant. I’m so happy for Hannah, not only for her future marriage, but also for creating this joyful new album.
There’s a confidence and ease to Aoife O’Donovan‘s music making, brought forward throughout her career by her languid, tender, and emotive voice. Just as striking and crystalline as it is cozy and comforting, her voice is a truly iconic instrument in Americana, bluegrass, and new acoustic music. Still, as she readies her new solo album, All My Friends (out March 22 on Yep Roc), it feels as though O’Donovan is decidedly stepping into a new era of confidence and self-assuredness, devoid of any sense of desperation or flightiness or unfettered ambitions. There’s a steady, intentional march to the blossoming of her catalog and her artistry and it’s on full display on All My Friends.
The album was conceived as a sort of tribute to or reckoning with the cross-generational struggle for women’s rights, highlighting the passage of the 19th Amendment over 100 years ago and picking up that timeless mantle of ever-striding towards justice. It’s a perfect project to highlight during Women’s History Month; the intellectual and political messages within it are softened – though never outright whitewashed, revised, or sanitized – by O’Donovan’s perspective as a mother of a young daughter. With All My Friends, she is continuing her journey with another timeless tradition in string band music: the role of mother-activist-songwriter-composer.
One of the record’s lead singles, “Daughters,” was heralded in a press releases as “a meditation on the eternal quest for women’s rights and equality.” Meditative qualities might be the most tangible and original through line of O’Donovan’s songwriting, song collection, composition, and her vocal affectations – from as far back as her days with Crooked Still, or evidenced by the songs she brought to her supergroup trio, I’m With Her, with Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz. As on “Daughters,” O’Donovan more often than not opts for quiet-and-impassioned, subdued-while-soaring vocals. She’ll wrap you in the gauze and glitter of her one of a kind voice and, in doing so, prepare you ever so gently and kindly to receive the messages in her lyrics – however demonstrative or abstract they may be.
O’Donovan’s latest era of confidence is also well marked by her vast and varied resume of musical collaborations. Besides Crooked Still and I’m With Her, she’s released music with Goat Rodeo (Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile), Noam Pikelny, the Milk Carton Kids, Taylor Ashton, Donovan Woods, and so many more. In more recent months and years, she’s featured Allison Russell on a track (on 2022’s Age of Apathy), collaborated with mind-boggling guitarist Yasmin Williams and step-dancer Nic Gareiss on a stunning number entitled “Dawning,” and even “came back” to straight ahead bluegrass with a recent single feature on a Becky Buller track, “Jubilee.”
Her output is ceaseless, her art is prolific, but here – as in the new album, and across her discography – the hallmark of O’Donovan’s work isn’t volume, but intention. This is not breakneck, music industry ladder climbing, this is an artist deliberately expanding the universe of her music bit by bit, voice by voice, collaboration by collaboration. It’s part of why she’s such an effective voice and influence in control rooms, too. (Though her production credits are relatively few, they are mighty.) And it’s part of why, as you scroll through our Essential Aoife O’Donovan playlist, you’ll find as many surprising and eyebrow-raising selections as you will her mighty, familiar modern classics.
All My Friends – with appearances by The Knights, The Westerlies, Anaïs Mitchell, Sierra Hull, Pikelny, and more – is yet another demonstration of O’Donovan’s community, her central role within it, and her confidence in inhabiting that role wholly and completely. This is meditation without stagnation, orchestration without machinations, softness and tenderness, but with a steel spine. These are challenges to the status quo while knowing real progress is made with one foot placed in front of the other – and with many other footsteps following her own.
Throughout the month of March, as we highlight Women’s History Month, we’ll be celebrating the new album, All My Friends, and Aoife O’Donovan as our Artist of the Month. Stay tuned for a special “In Conversation” Artist of the Month feature to come later in March featuring an amazing artist and collaborator of O’Donovan, and we’ll also be dipping back into the BGS archives to resurface so many amazing songs, videos, articles, and stories that highlight the incredible music of Aoife O’Donovan.
This week, BGS readers enjoyed two brand new, exclusive sessions – one from our friends at Yamaha Guitars featuring JigJam guitarist Jamie McKeogh and the other featuring songwriter/filmmaker Scott Ballew, direct from last summer’s Rootsy Summer Fest in Falkenberg, Sweden.
But that’s not all, we also have a handful of excellent track premieres from songwriters and musicians like Louise Bichan, Alaina Stacey, and Lily Kershaw. It’s all right here on BGS and, honestly, You Gotta Hear This:
Louise Bichan, “Coldstream”
Artist:Louise Bichan Hometown: Orkney, Scotland will always be home, but for now it’s Cornish, Maine Song: “Coldstream” Album:The Lost Summer Release Date: March 4, 2024 (single); April 5, 2024 (album) Label: Adhyâropa Records
In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Coldstream’ for my aunt and uncle and all of my cousins in Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland. Uncle Syd grew up playing the fiddle, but it was never cool at the time – he hid the fact that he did! Nowadays, he writes songs and plays a lot of tenor guitar, among other things, and it’s always a joy to visit Aberdeenshire and play a few tunes with him.” – Louise Bichan
Track Credits: Louise Bichan – fiddle Ethan Setiawan – mandolin Brendan Hearn – cello Conor Hearn – guitar Produced, engineered, and mixed by Ethan Setiawan. Mastered by Peter Atkinson.
In Their Words: “This is the first song I wrote with my now bandmate and writing partner, Sam Gyllenhaal. First co-writes are sort of like first dates: You go in with hope & expectations and sometimes you find true love, and sometimes it crashes and burns and becomes a great story to tell later. Luckily, I found true songwriter love with Sam. I was trying to create new starts and say yes to new things, so I went into our first write and opened my heart to the possibility of a new beginning. Sam met me there 100%. I think it came out in this song – the desire to make a fresh start, to have a do-over, and to be the best version of yourself that you can be. Of course, you can’t go back in time. With every epiphany comes the mistake that gave it to you in the first place.” – Alaina Stacey
Track Credits: Written by Alaina Stacey & Sam Gyllenhaal. Alaina Stacey – Vocals, background vocals Josh Hunt – Drums & percussion Todd Lombardo – Acoustic guitar, high strung guitar Matt Pierson – Bass Dustin Ransom – Keys, background vocals Evan Redwine – Electric guitar, programming, engineer, mixing, producer
Video Credits: Tiffany Roberts – Female lead Caleb Shore – Male lead Directed, Produced, Edited and Colored by Rob Bondurant.
Lily Kershaw, “Americandream”
Artist:Lily Kershaw Hometown: Los Angeles, California Song: “Americandream” Label: Nettwerk Music Group
In Their Words:“As I started to resurface from years of prolonged depression in my 20s, a friend one day was telling me about her American dreams. When she asked me what mine were, I told her I didn’t have any. She couldn’t believe that I didn’t have dreams of things I wanted to do in my life. I mean, I loved writing music and sharing it with people, but after battling with depression for so long, there was no place I wanted to go or thing I wanted to do. I had sort of given up. I wrote this song after having this conversation with her that very night. I was in the midst of recording my upcoming album, so I brought it in the next day to the studio finished, and it fit the album perfectly. I love the optimism at the end. I was really singing that to myself… the idea that it’s not too late, and I can still have dreams and live them.” – Lily Kershaw
Yamaha Sessions: Jamie McKeogh
It was early fall when we met with JigJam guitarist Jamie McKeogh just outside of Nashville, Tennessee to capture this brand new, exclusive Yamaha Session.
For his first selection, McKeogh picked up his gorgeous custom Yamaha acoustic guitar and performed “Streets of London,” a song written by Ralph McTell and popularized in bluegrass circles by Tony Rice. McKeogh laughs as he plays through a handful of takes of the tune, trying to remember the order of the verses and hoping he’ll do Rice and McTell justice with his slightly Celtic-infused rendition. His voice is warm and cozy, accompanied by free and tender transatlantic flatpicking that references Rice as often as it explores brand new sonic territories. “Streets of London” shines with McKeogh’s – and JigJam’s – classic treatment, processing American roots music through a Celtic and Irish bluegrass lens.
Last summer in Falkenberg, Sweden, videographers from I Know We Should shot a series of gorgeous sessions during Rootsy Summer Fest ’23, peeling off from the festival with artists from the lineup to capture intimate recordings of fleeting live performances. For the latest in our Rootsy Summer Sessions series, singer-songwriter and filmmaker Scott Ballew performed two songs on the banks of the Ätran overlooking the historic Tullbron bridge and fly fishermen stalking their quarry in the fast flowing water.
“Alright, I’ll try a river song…” Ballew says, introducing an original with a perfect subject for the setting. The selection is “Tent Song” from his 2021 critically-acclaimed debut album, Talking to Mountains. He continues with “Blue Eyes,” from 2022’s follow up to Talking toMountains, entitled Leisure Rodeo.
On an auspicious Leap Day and the final day of February we want to bid adieu to our Artist of the Month, Willi Carlisle – and as it happens, he’s dropped a brand new music video as if to celebrate the occasion. Shot by Mike Vanata of the hugely popular series Western AF, the performance is tender and haunted, finding redemption – as his entire new album, Critterland, does – in the dark shadows under which so many marginalized and oppressed people and their stories are willfully hidden by our society. He sings:
“Oh I lost friends to heroin Plenty more to loving them Strung out on the highway like we couldn’t read the signs Now that I am older And burn a little colder I know how to read between the lines…”
Carlisle doesn’t just know how to read between the lines, he knows how to locate and place entire universes in their gray, amorphous no-man’s-lands – territories all too familiar to the kind of folks who have faced the social and political issues he sings about. Critterland is a gorgeous, cattywampus, hodge-podge of songs, subjects, and stories, pinned together with whimsy and Carlisle’s poetic way of viewing the world. As BGS contributor Steacy Easton put it in their Artist of the Month feature on Carlisle and Critterland, “Carlisle is at his best when limning complex networks of historical figures, news, what is called ‘traditional music,’ contemporary poetics, and the natural world. He is a lyric poet, in the most classical sense.”
On “When the Pills Where Off,” those skills are on full display. Carlisle takes a well-worn country music trope – the genre’s everlasting relationship to substances and their abuse and misuse – and grounds it not only in reality, but in the working class, in the very real, embodied human beings whom he references throughout the song’s lyrics. This is not a song venerating or valorizing drugs as a signifier of authenticity, of “outlaw” country, of legitimacy, whether artifice or genuine. It decries the titular pills, but more than that, it decries the society and culture that requires them.
Carlisle’s music is complicated, nuanced, and resplendent. It offers as deep an intellectual reckoning as its listeners are willing to engage in. Still, there’s an ease to Critterland and its songs. No matter how powerful or indelible these songs’ stories or messages are, they are each, first and foremost, excellent, singable, lovable songs. That they offer so much insight and so much heart, wrapped up in intelligence, subversiveness, and thoughtfulness is simply a bonus.
Photo Credit: Madison Hurley
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