Lead singer and songwriter of the bluegrass adjacent Trampled by Turtles, Dave Simonett is a talented musician and a great outdoorsman. From the small town of Mankato, Minnesota, to the vibrant music scenes of Duluth and Minneapolis, Dave shares his upbringing in a musically inclined, nature-loving family shaped by the sounds of church hymns and classic rock. He opens up about his dual passions for music and the great outdoors, recounting his experiences with pheasant hunting and conservation efforts in Minnesota. He also reflects on the parallels between the camaraderie found in hunting and playing music, emphasizing the importance of trying new things and embracing the unknown. Follow as we delve into the evolution of Trampled by Turtles’ unique sound, described as a “butterfly’s heartbeat,” and trace the band’s journey from traditional bluegrass to their own distinct style.
In our Basic Folk conversation, Dave also talks about the challenges and rewards of maintaining artistic integrity in the music industry while balancing creative growth with commercial pressures. He shares insights on his band’s latest project Always Here, Always Now, a dual EP featuring recordings by both Trampled by Turtles (Always Here) and his solo project, Dead Man Winter (Always Now). He wrote five songs and instead of picking a band to record the tracks, he handed them over to both bands to do what they will to the music. The results are very cool to listen to side by side. The episode wraps up with a fun lightning round, where Dave reveals his dream supergroup and favorite hunter orange accessory (gotta be safe out there!).
Love Your Mind, the new album from Boston/Toronto-based band Twisted Pine, is a delicious exploration of joy, growth, and self-love, packaged into tight grooves and soulful vocals. The quartet – which features Dan Bui, Kathleen Parks, Anh Phung, and Chris Sartori – is beloved for its genre-bending approach to acoustic music; they continue to defy expectations with their mandolin, fiddle, flute, and bass instrumentation.
What I noticed most about this new record, besides its refreshing positivity (in this economy?!), was the seamlessly collaborative sound. In discussing this in a BGS interview with the entire band, they explained that they’ve taken these past years to hone their collective voice as a group. With this new album, they felt that they had found that voice.
Together, we all agreed that the name “Twisted Mind(s)” might be more appropriate for the band at this point. Below is our conversation, where we cover Love Your Mind and the joy within it, the inspirations found in jamming, how flute fits in at bluegrass festivals, and so much more.
I love the amount of joy and uplift that comes through this album; it’s rare among Americana albums in this day and age. Is that feeling something that the band gravitates to organically? Or was it a choice you made specifically about this project?
Kathleen Parks: I think that happened pretty organically. Some of the songs started coming out of the post-COVID era. “After Midnight,” for example, was written after the first Ossipee [Valley Music] Festival in person after the pandemic and I tried to capture the joyful feeling of being around each other again. … Some of the album started in that appreciative state.
Dan Bui: I would add that throughout the album some subjects are a little bit more somber – there’s a theme of personal growth and learning through hardship and dealing with things like anxiety, making mistakes, and learning from them – but it’s always viewed through a positive lens, and musically, certainly, it is more of an upbeat fun vibe. That’s what we try to put out into the world and bring to our shows in general.
I love that song, “After Midnight (Nothing Good Happens).” Can you tell me more about that one?
KP: I was deciding not to party one night and [was] walking to my tent … listening to the roar of fiddle tunes and good times being had. I was like, “Oh my god that sounds so fun, but I also have two sets to play tomorrow.” My dad used to say that title phrase to me as a kid. He was also a musician who toured a lot so I always thought, “Cool people stay up super late.” My dad was like, “No, nothing good happens after midnight.”
Your fans have been starving for a new Twisted Pine record. What have you all been working on in the four years since your last release?
DB: Releasing our last record [Right Now] in 2020 was a huge challenge. We had to pivot and we weren’t able to do what we wanted to do, performance-wise, for a couple of years. So by the time we were able to get out there, we kind of went “all in” on touring and working on our live show. Before the pandemic, we had only really been playing with Anh for a short time, about six months. Since she lives in Canada, it was impossible to get together in person for a very long time.
Chris Sartori: Even getting into the studio with Anh for Right Now, it felt like we were just starting to figure out how that might work. These past couple of years have been really about ironing out the sound we had envisioned as a quartet and getting it to a place where we could write for that sound.
Anh Phung: It felt like with the 2020 record I was injected into a band that already existed, but Love Your Mind came from a place of more foundational collaboration. I was truly a part of the band before we got in there and recorded.
KP: I also feel like on this new album we had more time to discuss, “How do we want this song to sound?” We brought in players like Ethan Robbins, Ali McGuirk – just because we could. We had time and space and we weren’t being rushed into anything.
I also wanted to ask you about the “A Beautiful Phase (90’s Song).” Is it a ’90s song to you? Or is it just referencing nostalgia for the ’90s as “a beautiful phase”?
KP: For some reason, it ended up in the voice memos with that title. For me sonically, it very much has a “Bitter Sweet Symphony” vibe and I always see chrome when I sing it – that really, really specific blue chrome color, which I remember as a child.
Yes! I had that nail polish!
KP: Yep. It’s kind of looking back on a younger self, talking to a younger self. … For me, it’s about the missed opportunities with being a musician. You miss a lot of time with your family or family events [and] the song is almost apologizing for that.
DB: That song was one of the more collaborative ones. We had these early writing sessions at Kathleen’s where we got together and just jammed to see what came out. … There was this one section that turned into the chorus of that song. At one point, Chris and I were sitting around and decided, “Let’s just build this around this moody section.” We worked with that and kind of introduced a verse and this idea of having it modulate to a bunch of different keys. We roughed out a structure and that was what the lyrics were written over. When we went into the studio it was fresh – a lot of choices were happening in real time. It was cool to have it just come together like that.
Do you write a lot from jamming?
KP: It is a mix of jamming and melodic ideas. The final product is usually the outcome of playing the song down with a lot of different grooves and ideas, seeing what fits, and what we can pull off.
DB: One example is “Green Flash.” Kathleen was playing this 12-string electric guitar and this melodic idea kind of popped out and we decided to make something out of that sound.
That song also features Jerry Douglas. How did that happen?
KP: We had seen him at Earl Scruggs Music Festival and he said, “If there’s any way I can help, just let me know…” So, when that song started coming together, we were like, “We should ask Jerry to be on this!” In the studio we made this video asking if he would play on this song and sent it to him – and he said sure!
AP: Jerry has the exact style for it. I feel like the tune has the vibe of Strength In Numbers, so he fits perfectly.
OK, this question is specifically for Anh: What has your experience been like being the “flutist at the bluegrass festival?”
AP: Honestly, by the time I was playing with Twisted Pine, it was a pretty soft landing, because a lot of the work building my credibility in the scene came before that. Even going to IBMA, I was expecting a lot of pushback, but it has been pretty shocking how welcoming people have been. I think the initial expectation was pretty low. People were skeptical of how I, playing a flute, would work within this band, so when they hear it and it’s going well, it has even more of an effect!
Can you tell me about the actual recording of the album?
DB: I think a big part of the sound of the record should be credited to our co-producer, Dan Cardinal. We have worked with Dan on every record that we’ve done and he’s just someone who understands what we’re going for. He does a great job at capturing the organic sound of our instruments, but is also very creative and able to augment the sounds of our band … subtly and sometimes not so subtly. His choices make the recording sound a little bit bigger, wider and deeper. He was really valuable in that way. A lot of the songs were new, still being worked out, and he had some great third party observations.
KP: He’s good at placing sounds so that you feel them, but you’re not suddenly met with this random out-of-place soundscape in an otherwise acoustic recording.
That’s something I loved about the record. Even though you’re genre-bending, the sound is still so acoustic, where I imagine it would have been easy to add drums and synths, etc. Were there specific records you were referencing for production?
CS: I think each track has its own inspiration. Like “Start/Stop” is very Motown, “Chanel Perfume” is going more for an Aretha “Rock Steady” thing; each track we approached as kind of its own world.
Okay, last question, what does the title, Love Your Mind, mean to you?
CS: That sort of reared its head after we were finished recording and [after] looking back at what themes had emerged. We kind of identified that as a common thread that ties the record together, even though sonically it goes in all of these directions.
KP: For me, it means that whatever state you’re in – dark or frantic – you have to just try to look at yourself from someone else’s point of view and love yourself completely through all the stages.
AP: This is kind of riffing on a different idea, but I also think of Love Your Mind as – it’s common knowledge that our band has been hard to identify genre-wise, and I think that even though this album has a mixture of genres the sound that came out of this album is kind of unified in the way that the four of us play together. Twisted Pine is the four of our minds together, so the magical chemistry is loving our minds.
(Editor’s Note: Want more Twisted Pine? Check out our Basic Folk episode on the group featuring an exclusive interview with fiddler Kathleen Parks. Listen and subscribe here.)
It’s a wall-to-wall picture show this week in our premiere round-up! Pop some popcorn, grab some Mike & Ikes, sit back, and enjoy our quintuple feature of new music videos and live sessions from bluegrass, country, and string band artists and groups.
First, the Burnett Sisters Band showcase a lonesome and heart-wrenching number, “Sorrow, Grief and Pain,” with familial harmonies and songwriting by guitarist Geary Allen. Then, we have Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms performing “Most Lonely Day,” a track from their brand new album, Gold in Your Pocket, that keeps our lonesome, introspective, and emotive video trend going. That vibe is artfully maintained next by bluegrass outfit Wilson Banjo Co., who bring their music video for “Black Wedding Dress” featuring a brand new singer for the group, Brandi Colt.
To cap this week’s collection, we have two final installments for two video series we’ve been running for the last few weeks here on BGS. Our partner series of AEA Sessions with our friends at AEA Ribbon Mics concludes with a handful of songs by singer-songwriter Zach Meadows, and Rachel Sumner wraps up her Traveling Light Sessions with a performance of “Radium Girls (Curie Eleison),” the standout track from her recent album, Heartless Things.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show right here on BGS! You gotta see this – and of course, You Gotta Hear this!
The Burnett Sisters Band, “Sorrow, Grief and Pain”
Artist:The Burnett Sisters Band Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee Song: “Sorrow, Grief and Pain” Release Date: October 10, 2024 Label: Pinecastle Records
In Their Words: “You get ‘Sorrow, Grief and Pain’ when you combine hard-driving traditional bluegrass with Marty Robbins-style country music. When folks would ask us what we were working on, we simply called it a ‘Bluegrass Western.’ Written by our very own guitar player Geary Allen and born at lightning speed, the song tells a story of lost love with a perilous end. The triple fiddles carry the protagonist through a whirlwind of emotions as Anneli Burnett’s piercing lead vocal strikes at the heart of anybody with ears to listen. We loved working with Rebecca Jones on the making of this music video and she did a fantastic job at bringing the song’s emotion alive in her work. We hope our listeners enjoy hearing and watching ‘Sorrow, Grief and Pain’ as much as we enjoyed making it.” – Geary Allen, songwriter, guitar
Track Credits: Geary Allen – Guitar, banjo, harmony vocals Anissa Burnett – Fiddle, harmony vocals Anneli Burnett – Fiddle, mandolin, lead vocals Sophia Burnett – Bass Dan Boner – Fiddle
Video Credit: Rebecca Jones
Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms, “Most Lonely Day”
Artist:Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms Hometown: Orcas Island, Washington Song: “Most Lonely Day” Album:Gold in Your Pocket Release Date: November 15, 2024 Label: Free Dirt Records
In Their Words: “Have you ever had one? This song is written as a cautionary tale and is reflective on how things could be bad. Some of these experiences I’ve had, some of them I don’t want to have, as I have already watched my friends go through them. Be thankful for the good things that you have in your life and for the things that are working well.” – Caleb Klauder
Track Credits: Caleb Klauder – Vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar Reeb Willms – Vocals, acoustic guitar Joel Savoy – Fiddle Chris Scruggs – Tic tac bass Walter Hartman – Drums Dirk Powell – Piano
Video Credits: Filmed by Beehive Productions at the Floyd Country Store in Floyd, Virginia. Recorded live by Joe Dejarnette.
Wilson Banjo Co., “Black Wedding Dress”
Artist:Wilson Banjo Co. Hometown: Westminster, South Carolina Song: “Black Wedding Dress” Release Date: October 22, 2024 Label: Pinecastle Records
In Their Words: “‘Black Wedding Dress’ was a great lead single for the new lineup of Wilson Banjo Co. and for the EP releasing in January. The storyline maintains the dark, edgy undertone that our unique brand of bluegrass has had for the last ten years, while also providing a wide open platform for our fresh new vocalist to the band, Brandi Colt, to show off her range.
“Avrim Topel wrote such a compelling story song and the band had a blast recording and performing it for the video. I couldn’t be happier with the way the band members have dialed in to each other, the music and show just feel next level. We really hope y’all will enjoy it as much as we do!” – Steve Wilson
Track Credits: Steve Wilson – Banjo Jaime Carter – Bass, harmony Brandi Colt – Vocal Andrew Crawford – Guitar Adam Bachman – Resonator guitar Darren Nicholson – Mandolin
Video Credits: Bonfire Recording Studio
AEA Sessions: Zach Meadows, Live at Americanafest 2024
Artist:Zach Meadows Hometown: From Orlando, Florida; currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee Songs: “Three White Crosses,” “Cardinal Song,” “Marianne,” “Texas Two Step”
In Their Words: “Since moving to Nashville, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with some incredibly talented folks. Having just put out my debut record, Road to Nowhere, getting the chance to share some of my journey through music with AEA and play a bit of the album live with Brandon Bell in the room, who was absolutely so instrumental in helping to bring this record to life, was truly a one-of-a-kind experience.” – Zach Meadows
Artist:Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts Song: “Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)” (Traveling Light Sessions) Album:Heartless Things Release Date: November 21, 2024 (video); May 10, 2024 (album)
In Their Words: “‘Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)’ is based on a true, terrible piece of United States history – one that I didn’t learn about in any history book. It tells the story of the Radium Girls, young factory workers poisoned by the very material they were told was safe, and their courageous fight for justice. The title juxtaposes scientific progress with a plea for mercy, tying the legacy of Marie Curie to the tragic consequences of her discoveries.
“Performing this song with Traveling Light keeps the arrangement stark and intimate to let the haunting resonance of the story come through. This video is particularly special to me, because I had the chance to play a guitar that one of my songwriting heroes, Josh Ritter, has used to record many of his own epic story songs. It felt like a beautiful connection to the power of storytelling.” – Rachel Sumner
Artist:Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts Song: “Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)” (Traveling Light Sessions) Album:Heartless Things Release Date: November 21, 2024 (video); May 10, 2024 (album)
(Editor’s Note: Over the last few weeks, BGS has premiered a new series of live performance videos from singer-songwriter and band leader Rachel Sumner. Today’s video marks the end of our series together. Watch more from the Traveling Light Sessions here.)
In Their Words: “‘Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)’ is based on a true, terrible piece of United States history – one that I didn’t learn about in any history book. It tells the story of the Radium Girls, young factory workers poisoned by the very material they were told was safe, and their courageous fight for justice. The title juxtaposes scientific progress with a plea for mercy, tying the legacy of Marie Curie to the tragic consequences of her discoveries.
“Performing this song with Traveling Light keeps the arrangement stark and intimate to let the haunting resonance of the story come through. This video is particularly special to me, because I had the chance to play a guitar that one of my songwriting heroes, Josh Ritter, has used to record many of his own epic story songs. It felt like a beautiful connection to the power of storytelling.” – Rachel Sumner
Track Credits: Rachel Sumner – banjo, lead vocals Kat Wallace – fiddle, harmonies Mike Siegel – bass, harmonies
Video Credits: Engineered by Zachariah Hickman. Filmed by Lindsay Straw. Mixed by Rachel Sumner. Mastered by Dan Cardinal. Video edited by Rachel Sumner.
For New Music Friday, we’ve got a healthy handful of new videos, tracks, and releases from your favorites artists in folk, country, bluegrass, old-time, and beyond.
Don’t miss new songs like Penny & Sparrow’s single “Jeopardy” and Helene Cronin’s take on mortality and togetherness, “Visitors.” Also, bluegrass outfit Seth Mulder & Midnight Run bring a Yellowstone-inspired cowboy number, “Looking Past the Pain (The Cowboy Song).” LA-based singer-songwriter Leeann Skoda debuts “Easy” in our round-up, as well, a new track with plenty of grit – and ’90s rock influences.
Plus, we’ve got a bevy of new music videos! Andy Leftwich performs an instrumental rendition of the gospel classic, “Talk About Suffering,” with an excellent trio. Check out the Hannah Connolly-crafted special live performance for “Worth the Wait,” a song from her most recent album, Shadowboxing. And old-time multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Evie Ladin picks “Walking Up Georgia Row” with fiddler Kieran Towers, celebrating her upcoming project, Ride the Rooster 2.
That’s not all, either! Earlier in the week, the second-to-last installments of the AEA Sessions (featuring Tony Arata this time) and Rachel Sumner’s Traveling Light Sessions (featuring her original “3000 Miles”) premiered on BGS. So you can check out those great performances below, too, and watch for the final edition in each series next week.
All of that musical goodness is right here on BGS – and You’ve Gotta Hear This!
Hannah Connolly, “Worth the Wait” (Live)
Artist:Hannah Connolly Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin Song: “Worth The Wait” (Live Performance) Album:Shadowboxing Release Date: November 8, 2025
In Their Words: “‘Worth the Wait’ is a song about time, distance, and love. This video was captured last fall in Vienna, when my husband Eric and I were able to be on tour together. I was opening a few shows for his band Young the Giant’s tour and our friend and the band’s photographer, Lupe Bustos, filmed it when we had the afternoon off at the hotel. This song came out of missing Eric while he was on tour, so it was special to be able to capture it while we were traveling together. I’m grateful we were able to record a version of it in such a natural, unplugged form.” – Hannah Connolly
Video Credit: Filmed by Guadalupe Bustos.
Helene Cronin, “Visitors”
Artist:Helene Cronin Hometown: Dallas, Texas / Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Visitors” Album:Maybe New Mexico Release Date: November 29, 2024 (single); March 7, 2025 (album)
In Their Words: “I got together to write with Cameron Havens and Ben Roberts last year. Ben had the idea of ‘Visitors.’ I immediately loved it, because I like songs that tell the truth. That truth being, we all got here the same way, we’re all leaving the same way, and it’s what we do with the time in between those events that’s most important. How do we treat each other? How do we care for this ‘place made of stardust and gold’ where we’ve landed? What really matters: possessions, time, relationships?
“But the song avoids being preachy, speaking from a level playing field. No one is above anyone else. ‘We all got a seat at the table, pull up a chair, there’s room for plenty more.’ I like the inclusiveness of that; it’s an invitation I want to be part of.
“When I sing this song, I envision a huge, ever-expanding supper table where all are welcome, none are left out in the cold. Shouldn’t we just remember our manners? Wipe your feet and c’mon in!” – Helene Cronin
Track Credits: Helene Cronin – Lead vocal Bobby Terry – Acoustic guitar, pedal steel Paul Eckberg – Drums, percussion Matt Pierson – Bass Charlie Lowell – Mellotron, keys Caitlin Anselmo & Matt Singleton – Background vocals Mitch Dane – Production, engineering, mixing David Diel – Production assistant Sputnik Sound, Nashville – Studio Mastered by Kim Rosen, Knack Mastering.
Evie Ladin & Kieran Towers, “Walking Up Georgia Row”
Artist:Evie Ladin featuring Kieran Towers Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland to Oakland, California Song: “Walking Up Georgia Row” Album:Riding the Rooster 2 Release Date: November 19, 2024 Label: Evil Diane Records
In Their Words: “Six years and one pandemic to the day since Riding the Rooster came out – my popular first edition of clawhammer banjo/fiddle duets with 17 different fiddlers around the country. Riding the Rooster 2 features 17 new and different fiddlers, from old-time stars like Bruce Molsky and George Jackson to bluegrass maven Laurie Lewis, Cajun master David Greely, and excellent fiddlers known deeply in their old-time subcultures around the world.
“Having released many records of my original songs, this project sits firmly in the wheelhouse of my upbringing and ongoing community. My favorite thing in this milieu is to sit down with a fiddler and launch fast into some crooked tune I’ve never heard. Every cell kicks in and the experience is much like I imagine riding a rooster to be – visceral, in the moment, somewhat off-the-chain. ‘Walking Up Georgia Row’ is a raging duet with London fiddler Kieran Towers, recorded in a cow pasture at the Crossover Festival in England. Kieran and I met at Clifftop in West Virginia, playing in the very early morning hours before he had to head back to the UK, and it was a joy to reconnect a few years later, and invite him to be a part of this record. Also, this tune and the album are being released while I’m on a packed two-week tour of the UK, with only one fiddler, Sophie Wellington.” – Evie Ladin
Andy Leftwich, “Talk About Suffering”
Artist:Andy Leftwich Hometown: Carthage, Tennessee Song: “Talk About Suffering” Release Date: November 15, 2024 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “Life can deliver some hard blows and no one is exempt from troubles and trials. We read in Matthew 11:28 where Jesus said, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ He offers us peace in the middle of our storm and a confidence knowing we don’t have to walk through it alone. As bad as it can seem sometimes, there is always something to hold onto. We talk about suffering here below, but let’s keep following Jesus.” – Andy Leftwich
Track Credits: Andy Leftwich – Fiddle, mandolin Byron House – Upright bass Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar
Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, “Looking Past the Pain (The Cowboy Song)”
Artist:Seth Mulder & Midnight Run Hometown: Sevierville, Tennessee Song: “Looking Past the Pain (The Cowboy Song)”” Album:Coming On Strong Release Date: November 15, 2024 (single); Spring 2025 (album) Label: Rebel Records
In Their Words: “I had just finished binge-watching Yellowstone and felt inspired to write a cowboy song. However, I wanted the song to feel personal and unique and the best way to do that was to draw from my own experiences with a touch of imagination. Growing up in North Dakota, I spent a lot of time around horses, training with my grandfather, competing in 4H and horse shows. After college, I moved back to North Dakota and worked at a camp as a horse trainer and ranch hand. That experience rekindled my passion for working with horses – a passion that almost became my career instead of music. So, it only made sense that I would eventually write about that lifestyle. Once I had a solid foundation for the song, I knew it had potential but I wanted it to be perfect. I reached out to my good friend Seth Waddington from The Waddington Brothers. He helped me refine it, giving the lyrics that old-school cowboy feel I was after.” – Seth Mulder
Artist:Penny & Sparrow Hometown: Florence, Alabama / Waco, Texas Song: “Jeopardy” Album: Lefty Release Date: November 15, 2024 Label: I Love You / Thirty Tigers
In Their Words: “‘Jeopardy’ is about knowing someone perfectly. It goes beyond tracking their needs & preferences & peccadillos. It grows into a kind of loving memorization where you can almost see the future. Whether it’s romantic, friendly, or familial, there’s something gorgeous about that kind of ‘knowing someone.'” – Penny & Sparrow
Leeann Skoda, “Easy”
Artist:Leeann Skoda Hometown: Los Angeles, California / Phoenix, Arizona Song: “Easy” Album:Now I See Everything Release Date: November 15, 2024
In Their Words: “I channeled some anger into this song. When I wrote it, I was feeling resentful of the time and energy I’ve spent trying to be easygoing because I thought it was the only acceptable way for me to be in the world. It’s how so many women feel or have felt. There’s this dichotomy because the song feels “easy” and almost light to me. I think it came out that way because it’s cathartic and freeing to put these feelings into music. Like a lot of my songs, there is plenty of ’90s rock influence in this one.” – Leeann Skoda
Track Credits: Leeann Skoda – Vocals, guitar Brad Lindsay – Guitar Nick Bearden – Bass Ed Benrock – Drums Brian Whelan – Background vocals Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Andy Freeman at Studio Punchup! in Nashville. Background vocals recorded by Aaron Stern at Verdugo Sound. Mastered by Gentry Studer.
AEA Sessions: Tony Arata, Live at Americanafest 2024
Artist:Tony Arata Hometown: Savannah, Georgia Songs: “When I Remember You,” “Here I Am,” “The Dance,” “Getting Older”
In Their Words: “My hometown is Savannah, Georgia, but I grew up on nearby Tybee Island, which I always claim as my hometown. Jaymi and I have been in Nashville since 1986.
“The shoot was done in one of my favorite places I’ve ever worked – Bell Tone Studios in Berry Hill (Nashville, Tennessee), and could not have been easier nor more relaxed. I know I met you, Julie, for the first time that day, but you made me feel like an old friend. And though I’m not a gear-head, the mics were super cool! Thank you for making and representing great stuff. And I love Roger Nichols, my only hope is that he never realizes how talented he is, because he might be hard to live with! He is a truly brilliant musician/engineer/producer/human.” – Tony Arata
Artist:Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts Song: “3000 Miles” (Traveling Light Sessions) Album:Heartless Things Release Date: November 14, 2024 (video); May 10, 2024 (album)
In Their Words: “‘3000 Miles’ is an autobiographical song that traces my journey from the deserts of California to Boston, the place I now call home. Growing up, the Mojave felt confining to me and I always sensed that I’d need to leave to find myself. This song is a rambler’s road song, shaped by years of searching. However, it took the stillness of lockdown to finally finish it – when I couldn’t travel anywhere. That pause gave me the chance to look back and make sense of all the miles I’d put behind me.” – Rachel Sumner
Artist:Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts Song: “3000 Miles” (Traveling Light Sessions) Album:Heartless Things Release Date: November 14, 2024 (video); May 10, 2024 (album)
(Editor’s Note: BGS is excited to premiere a new series of live performance videos from singer-songwriter and band leader Rachel Sumner. Over the last few weeks, BGS readers have enjoyed three live song performances of tracks pulled from Sumner’s latest album, Heartless Things, and performed by her touring trio, Traveling Light. Stay tuned for the final installment coming next week.)
In Their Words: “‘3000 Miles’ is an autobiographical song that traces my journey from the deserts of California to Boston, the place I now call home. Growing up, the Mojave felt confining to me and I always sensed that I’d need to leave to find myself. This song is a rambler’s road song, shaped by years of searching. However, it took the stillness of lockdown to finally finish it – when I couldn’t travel anywhere. That pause gave me the chance to look back and make sense of all the miles I’d put behind me.” – Rachel Sumner
Track Credits: Rachel Sumner – banjo, lead vocals Kat Wallace – fiddle, harmonies Mike Siegel – bass, harmonies
Video Credits: Engineered by Zachariah Hickman. Filmed by Lindsay Straw. Mixed by Rachel Sumner. Mastered by Dan Cardinal. Video edited by Rachel Sumner.
Hot off the heels of Twisted Pine’s latest release, Love Your Mind, Kathleen Parks is here to dig into her uncelebrated polka origins. Daughter of renowned trumpetist Eric Parks, the younger Parks grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley in a very creative family (her mother was also a dancer and the one who made Kathleen practice all the time). She started young on the violin and was surrounded by her dad’s polka music, as he was a member of Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra, which my dad (also a polka-head) calls “the top polka band revered by all polka bands.” Parks even sat in with the band as a teen, when she would occasionally fill in for their violinist. She fully embraced her strong Irish roots not only in music, but also dance, which she calls her second love. After accepting a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, she started meeting and jamming with bluegrass musicians in the area, especially at the Cantab Lounge, famous for its weekly bluegrass night. This is where her new band Twisted Pine scored a residency and started building a following.
On the group’s new record, Kathleen is the de facto lead singer, which she’s just fine with. She also explains the band in one phrase: “Let’s see what happens.” That philosophy is definitely present on the new record, which is filled with wild vocal performances and sees the band operating at its highest level.
In our Basic Folk conversation, we explore the mental health themes highlighted in “Funky People,” a song about how difficult it can be to take care of yourself on the road and the relief you find in people you meet. Plus, we cover “After Midnight (Nothing Good Happens)” and finally find out what time one should go to bed at a bluegrass festival. It’s always earlier than you think.
Our next artist on Out Now is Morgan Harris, solo artist, old-time guitarist, and member of the Tall Poppy String Band (with Cameron DeWhitt and George Jackson). Her new solo album, Alone Will Tell, is a reflective work featuring twelve tracks.
Harris reinvents this collection of traditional tunes with a stark, raw, emotive sound. Traditional music toes a line between preserving the sounds (and sometimes the values) of the past while embracing the innovations of the future. In our interview, we talk with Harris about that central conflict in traditional music, where many individuals feel the need to “uphold tradition” – which often can be used as justification for discrimination.
This is Harris’ first release as a transgender musician. Alone Will Tell honors traditional music while illustrating innovation and transformation. We are proud to feature Morgan Harris on Out Now.
Why do you create music? What’s more satisfying to you, the process or the outcome?
I don’t know if there’s a reason I make music, other than “I like it” – it’s both as simple and as enormously complicated as that implies. I guess it’s the process that I find most satisfying, by which I mean the parts where I’m actively learning, creating, and collaborating. I’m not very good at sitting back and appreciating what I’ve created (though I’m trying to get better at that). Even as the process can be frustrating and confusing at times, and it can be tempting to think, “I’ll be satisfied if I can just finish this project,” I try to remind myself that the act of making is what I’m in it for. That’s where I ultimately find the most meaning.
You play in a trio as well, Tall Poppy String Band. How does it feel to release this album as a solo act? How does the intimacy of your solo work differ from the collaborative energy of playing in a group?
Releasing a solo record definitely feels more vulnerable! In Tall Poppy String Band I have the luxury of having two incredible musicians to support me and lend their energy, but when it’s just me, there’s no one else to lean on and nowhere to hide. Having said that, it also allows me to delve into certain aspects of my playing more deeply than I could otherwise. I love the sense of space that becomes possible when playing solo and not having to be heard over other instruments means I can really use the full dynamic range of the instrument.
You’ve mentioned that this album was shaped by “long familiarity and patient questioning.” Could you share more about what that process has been like for you, both musically and personally?
Most of the tunes and songs on this album have been with me for a while, but they’ve only taken shape very gradually. I think that’s because I’ve allowed myself to be more patient with the material – rather than rushing to pigeonhole it based on how I think it (or I) ought to sound. I’ve felt more able to let it develop in its own time, slowly uncovering what feels like the most honest and rewarding approach for me to take. And, I think I partly have my gender journey to thank for that. So much of my transition has involved a parallel kind of process, of learning to resist jumping to quick conclusions about myself (based in anxiety and internalized expectations) and trusting that in doing so, I would gradually get better at tuning in to something deeper, more elusive.
What does it mean to you to be an LGBTQ+ musician?
Queerness (and particularly trans-ness) can still be a rarity in trad music, meaning it’s easy to feel isolated in those spaces, especially when one is first considering coming out. But there is a small community out there of wonderful, welcoming queer trad musicians. I want to do my part to nourish that community and to help make queerness in these spaces not just feel like a possibility, but a given.
Also: while old-time music is a rich and beautiful tradition, it can tend to attract the type of person who links it to some imagined “simpler” past of traditional values, when people neatly and happily fell into their prescribed gender and social roles – while ignoring how such systems required, and still require, savage enforcement in order to exist.
Who are your favorite LGBTQ+ artists and bands?
I’m continually inspired by many amazing queer musicians in the old-time world, such as Jake Blount, Tatiana Hargreaves, Rachel Eddy, and Cameron DeWhitt, just to name a few. On a completely different note, I think Lena Raine’s music is incredible – her soundtrack to the video game Celeste means a lot to me.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
“Give it time.” Suddenly realizing a few years ago that I might be trans, and all the questioning and experimenting that followed, was extremely scary and destabilizing. I often found myself anxious to quickly come to some kind of decision about what it all meant, to restore some small sense of stability. It was so helpful to be reminded in those times that I didn’t need to have the answers immediately. It takes time and practice to learn to listen to who you are, and to deconstruct the toxic stuff you’ve internalized about yourself. Even the uncertainty itself becomes more familiar with time. I took comfort in the idea that, whatever the result, I was undoubtedly doing something out of love and care for myself.
What would a “perfect day” look like for you?
Maybe hanging out at a swimming hole with my partner and our dog, thrifting something cute, getting hazelnut gelato, and playing old-time tunes all night with my best music pals from around the country. If I could somehow combine all of these, that would be pretty hard to top.
What are your release and touring plans for the next year?
I’m looking forward to touring solo in 2025 and sharing the music on this record with more people! And as usual I’ll be playing shows with my group Tall Poppy String Band. We also have plans to record a new album together next year, so I’m really excited for that.
When you wake up in a world where hatred and fascism have been resoundingly endorsed by so many of your neighbors and fellow citizens, how do you proceed? That question becomes even more daunting at its second or third or umpteenth asking.
Yes, music will play a vital role over the next handful of years, as we continue the fight for justice, self-determination, and agency for all people, in the U.S. and around the world. But music, the arts, and creativity won’t be enough to save us. They won’t be an end-all, be-all solution to the political and cultural hurdles we will have to clear in the near future.
This is a moment that calls for so much more. Solidarity, first and foremost – the idea that, at the beginning or end of the day, all we have is each other – and community, organizing, and advocating for each other will be essential. Mutual aid will be more necessary than ever. Putting our own privilege on the line in order to protect and ensure safety for those more marginalized than ourselves is the task immediately at hand. Showing up – yes, for our country, but more importantly, for our friends and neighbors – is the very next step. Literally and figuratively.
Still, the soundtrack we will all write, that we will all curate, that we will all partake in while opposing the craven and hateful policies being proffered by our would-be dictator will be a powerful tool. Music – especially roots music, country and bluegrass, blues and old-time, folk with a lowercase and capital F, and more – are traditions steeped in populism, in worker’s rights, in justice, in standing up for the downtrodden and beleaguered. There are no better genres for this exact moment. There are no betters artists, musicians, and songs than those in and made by our very community.
BGS and Good Country include in our mission a commitment to intentionally crafting a roots music space, a bluegrass- and country-centered universe, where everyone is welcome, regardless of identity, background, nationality, ethnicity, disability, class, or belief system. We are determined to continue that work, to be a place where – hopefully – anyone and everyone can feel seen, heard, safe, and valid in their love for and appreciation of all things roots music.
As we summon courage for the work ahead and lean on our community, here are eight songs perfect for this exact moment in history, to hold up as we remind ourselves our goals are the same at the end of this week as they were at the beginning: liberty, agency, and self-determination for all. – TheBGS & Good Country Team
“Mercy Now” – Mary Gauthier
A modern Americana classic, singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier shared “Mercy Now” on social media very early on Wednesday morning, after the news broke that Trump had won another term. It spread quickly on social media with many a repost and reshare. The message here, of mercy applied broadly, universally, and without qualification, is more than timely. It’s evergreen.
“Crisis” – Aoife O’Donovan
Connecting our current struggle to those of past generations is exactly how we continue to put one foot in front of the other, despite setbacks and losses and despair. Aoife O’Donovan’s latest record, All My Friends, is a perfect intergenerational connecting of the dots, centering women, girls, and femmes, and shines a light on the non-linear track that leads to victory. We know we will continue to return to this music over and over in the future, as a balm and a catalyst for progress.
And, as our friends at Basic Folk reminded us yesterday, Aoife’s and Dawn Landes’ episode of the podcast – which focuses on their similar albums centering women, feminism, and women’s issues – is an incredibly timely re-listen. Find that episode here.
“Sun to Sun” – Alice Gerrard
Looking to our roots music elders in this moment is exactly what we all need! Alice Gerrard’s most recent album, Sun to Sun, and certainly its title track, indicate a kind of perseverance and long view that we all could take on as we face the uncertain future.
With a loping, almost marching rhythm, there’s a grounded, realistic, and convicting approach here on “Sun to Sun.” While we all talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, the problems we face continue unabated and unchallenged. What will we do besides talk?
While we talk another fool goes and buys a gun…
“Listen” – Kyshona
Speaking of talking… why don’t we take a turn at listening? The challenge has been set by Kyshona, a powerful and restorative singer-songwriter and activist who channels her ancestors, connects generations, and builds community with every note and every word sung. Originally released in 2020, “Listen” is just as encouraging now as it was then, and just as indelible in its striving for a better, more compassionate world. Media, social media, and the internet all incentivize us to speak, to center ourselves, to prefer “me” and “I” over “us” and “we.” Let’s maybe listen more, instead. Especially right now.
“Beautiful” – Sam Gleaves
Appalachian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sam Gleaves – who was raised in southwest Virginia but now lives in eastern Kentucky – released one of the most quietly and emphatically radical queer country and old-time albums of this year, Honest. “Beautiful” is the collection’s stunner, a track about how there’s endless beauty, mystique, and life lessons to be drawn from the ways we’re all different from each other. Through the lyrics, you see the world from the eyes of a young Gleaves, singing about sights and sounds unfamiliar and foreign to a boy from the mountains, loved and cherished by his family and shown that love without question.
Seeing beauty in our differences? What a way to live…
“The Numbers” – Mipso
THE ECONOMY! THE ECONOMY! THE ECONOMY!
What about those of us for whom this economy has never worked well or fully functioned? What about the millions who can’t make ends meet right now, under blue or red presidents? From their 2023 album, Book of Fools, Mipso turn over this very question, examining how and why “The Numbers” could be soaring – hiring numbers, the stock market, crypto values, Tesla market cap – while so many are still struggling day to day.
“Put No Walls Around Your Garden” – New Dangerfield
From Black string band supergroup New Dangerfield – which features Jake Blount, Kaia Kater, Tray Wellington, and Nelson Williams – “Put No Walls Around Your Garden” is an Americana-tinged old-time number, written by Kater, with a collectivist stance and a solidarity through line. There may be instincts in the near future to revert to an “every man for himself” sort of survival strategy, but the only way we’ll get through is together. Rather than hoarding, walling ourselves off, retreating, or recoiling, now is the time to throw open our garden gates and welcome each other in. Share our abundance, work through our scarcity and lack, and care for each other’s needs – big or small.
“Trees” – Laurie Lewis
Consider the trees. Consider the birds, the rivers, the oceans, the saguaro, the pikas, the whooping cranes. Did their realities change between Tuesday and Wednesday? Is the world any less or more likely to burn, to flood, to be blown away by hurricanes and tornadoes now than on Monday? Sadly, no. The march towards climate apartheid continues entirely unfettered, regardless of who holds the White House.
Laurie Lewis, a bluegrass forebear who has carried the mantle of climate justice for her entire life, embodies trees in the title track of her latest album. She and her band show how the fight for justice – climate justice, racial justice, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant rights – is a fight not measured by human lifespans and human time, but against earth’s clock. The trees will continue to watch, waiting, for us to either figure it all out or to fail at our mission.
We must not fail. The work continues and we’ll be working – and singing – alongside you all, the entire way.
Artist:Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts Song: “Head East” (Traveling Light Sessions) Album:Heartless Things Release Date: November 7, 2024 (video); May 10, 2024 (album)
(Editor’s Note: BGS is excited to premiere a new series of live performance videos from singer-songwriter and band leader Rachel Sumner. Over the next four weeks, BGS readers will enjoy four live song performances of tracks pulled from Sumner’s latest album, Heartless Things, and performed by her touring trio, Traveling Light. Watch the next installment here.)
In Their Words: “‘Head East’ is our next release from Heartless Things (Traveling Light Sessions). It has an extra special place in my heart, because it was the first song I ever wrote. Thirteen years ago, I moved to Boston from the Mojave Desert in California (where I grew up) and felt such a connection with the city and a feeling of possibility that I got there – a feeling I didn’t find in my hometown. This song was a plea to my younger brother to get out and find his good fortune elsewhere, just as I had.
“For this song, Kat Wallace trades her fiddle for the tenor guitar, and Mike Siegel adds a sublime third-part harmony that makes the chorus feel like heaven. ‘Head East’ has had many lives and arrangements, but this one is quite possibly my favorite.” – Rachel Sumner
Track Credits: Rachel Sumner – banjo, lead vocals Kat Wallace – tenor guitar, harmonies Mike Siegel – bass, harmonies
Video Credits: Engineered by Zachariah Hickman. Filmed by Lindsay Straw. Mixed by Rachel Sumner. Mastered by Dan Cardinal. Video edited by Rachel Sumner.
Photo Credit: Bri Gately
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