Tag: singer songwriter

LISTEN: Grace Pettis, “Paper Boat” (Feat. Mary Bragg)

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Artist: Grace Pettis
Hometown: Lives in Austin, Texas; grew up splitting time between Alabama/Georgia
Song: “Paper Boat” (featuring Mary Bragg)
Album: Working Woman
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Label: MPress Records

In Their Words: “I literally dreamed up ‘Paper Boat.’ In my dream, I was in the audience at a Shawnee Kilgore show, and Shawnee was playing this strange, perfect gem of a song called ‘Once I Was a Paper Boat.’ The ceiling was decorated with paper boats on strings, and as Dream Me was soaking it all in, she had that desperate and frustrated feeling you get when you hear a song that is so good that you absolutely can’t stand it. I remember thinking in the dream that ‘Once I Was a Paper Boat’ perfectly explained something deep and true inside of me. It’s a coming of age song. It’s about girlhood. It’s about trying to fit in and learning the act. And the way it feels when we lose our innocence. Being a girl feels like being strong and fragile at the same time.

“In the studio, my producer Mary Bragg made the song into one of the only ballads on the album. We brought in our friend Kira Small to add some piano, which gave it elegance. But what really makes it work is Mary’s backup vocals. Her harmonies are sort of breathy and hummy, and singsongy. They take up just the right amount of sonic space, without overpowering the lead vocal, so that the song still has that vulnerable, raw thing to complement the lyric.” — Grace Pettis

Photo credit: Nicola Gell

WATCH: Last Year’s Man, “Still Be Here”

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Artist: Last Year’s Man
Hometown: Eugene, Oregon
Song: “Still Be Here”
Release Date: April 30, 2021

In Their Words: “I wrote this song after a conversation with Ben Allen. Ben is a really fantastic composer and musician who recently started a sync agency in Vancouver, Washington. We talked about me writing something for his company that walked the line between burdened and hopeful and this song is what came almost immediately. I think we’re all eager for life to get back to what it was in some way or another and this is a love song built out of the idea that it will.

“For the video, I spent hours on archive.org not really knowing what I was searching for. It was dumb luck stumbling on these public domain videos from the 1930s and 40s. I started with a clip just to see and the music happened to line up with the dancing for a moment and it felt really beautiful. I pieced it together from there and was surprised by the wide range of emotion I felt from watching people dance in these old movies along with my song. It’s one of those happy accidents.” — Tyler Fortier, Last Year’s Man

Photo credit: Tyler Fortier

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: 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

Artist of the Month: Allison Russell

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Allison Russell has already made an exceptional impression in roots music — first in the duo Birds of Chicago, then as a member of Our Native Daughters. Now with her new album Outside Child, she’s putting her own story front and center. Whether she’s singing in English or French, Russell’s voice feels like satin, comfortable and cool. Yet she weaves some of the most painful memories of her formative years in Montréal into the fabric of her Fantasy Recordings debut.

Special guests on the album include the McCrary Sisters, Ruth Moody, Erin Rae, and Yola. Upon revealing the project, Russell wrote, “This is my first solo album. It is acutely personal. It was hard for me to write, harder still to sing, play, and share. Also a relief. Like sucking the poison from a snake bite. Thanks to the supreme empathy, musicality, kindness, sensitivity, and humour of each artist who brought these songs to life with me, the recording process became — by some mystical alchemy –joyous and empowering…. Eased by loving communal laughter as much as shared tears.”

Specifically pulling from the childhood trauma she experienced at the hands of her stepfather, she adds, “This is my attempt at truth and reconciliation and forgiveness — a reckoning and a remembrance. This is my attempt to be the hero of my own history, despite the shame that has been my closest and constant companion all these years.”

We are proud to present Allison Russell as our BGS Artist of the Month for May. In the days ahead, look for a new performance video, an exclusive interview (read part one here)(read part two here), and a sleek style shoot with this singular artist, who now calls Nashville home alongside her partner JT Nero and their young daughter. Discover more of her musical journey with our BGS Essentials playlist.

Photo credit: Marc Baptiste

LISTEN: Carsie Blanton, “Mercy”

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Artist: Carsie Blanton
Hometown: Philly (via New Orleans and Virginia!)
Song: “Mercy”
Album: LOVE & RAGE
Release Date: April 30, 2021
Label: So Ferocious Records

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Mercy’ for my husband Jon, who I’ve been with for thirteen years. My early experiences of love were a mixed bag; what seemed like love was often more about control. Through Jon, I found out that love can be a gentle force that allows us to become more ourselves. Once I discovered that, I was able to envision a whole world of love; a world that’s less about control and more about compassion.” — Carsie Blanton

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

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

WATCH: Josephine Johnson, “Where I Belong”

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Artist: Josephine Johnson
Hometown: Savannah, Georgia
Song: “Where I Belong”
Album: Double High Five EP
Release Date: April 16, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Where I Belong’ is inspired by characters from those Patrick O’Brian British Navy novels set during the Napoleonic wars. Love and high seas adventure, to be sure. Andrew Sovine and I recorded the song in hopes of paying homage to the ethos and spaciousness of Daniel Lanois. Andrew plays electric leads, slide guitar, and Omnichord over my acoustic guitar. Mike Kapitan adds subtle keys and did the final mix and master. Alison Davis, a crew of local Savannahians, and I filmed the video in 18 hours all in one day on Tybee Island and Thunderbolt, Georgia.” — Josephine Johnson

Photo credit: Bailey Davidson

WATCH: John Splithoff, “Steady”

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Artist: John Splithoff
Hometown: New York, New York
Song: “Steady”
Album: All In
Release Date: April 23, 2021

In Their Words: “I felt a lot of doubt about making music and was stuck creatively when I wrote ‘Steady.’ The words came from a place of gratitude for the people who keep me grounded and have helped me get through just about anything. Checking in with friends and family through everything was key to staying inspired and encouraged this last year. Shooting this video outside Savannah, Georgia, on a summer evening accompanied by crickets made for a really peaceful night.” — John Splithoff

Photo credit: Lauren Jones