Tag: Video premiere

You Gotta Hear This: The Infamous Stringdusters, Courtney Hartman, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Happy Friday! There’s plenty of new music to enjoy this week in our latest edition of You Gotta Hear This, our regular roundup of upcoming and just-released tracks and videos.

Kicking us off, innovative banjoist Wes Corbett (who currently tours with Sam Bush) shares the second single from his upcoming album, Drift. “Eagle Harbor” was inspired by the vibe and structure of Jackson Browne’s music and the picturesque ferry ride to Bainbridge Island in Washington state, where Corbett grew up. Guitarist, poet, and singer-songwriter Courtney Hartman is returning with new music as well; this time it’s a lush and whimsical neo-folk song co-written with Ana Egge about how being a mother and raising a child transformed the way she saw everything around her. It’s set to an intimate and cozy new music video you’ll love to watch.

New Mexico-based artist and songwriter Michael Rudd will release a new track, “Not Today,” next week and below you can find a preview of the number. It contemplates war, history, loss and their legacies; Rudd was spurred to write “Not Today” by the many wars ongoing today, especially in Gaza, and by his recent travel to Germany, Poland, and to visit monuments of the Holocaust.

Lauren Morse is ready to get you dancing with her new track and music video. “Let that Fiddler Fiddle” is a message we can certainly get behind. Inspired by Nashville’s ever-popular Honky Tonk Tuesday, it’s a two-stepping song sonically found where country and bluegrass meet – and perfect for toe-tapping or hip-swaying (or both). Trey Hedrick brings us a very enjoyable bluegrass track as well; “Passing Through” began to come together while Hedrick was out west and longing for the hills of home. With a talented roster of pickers and musicians on the song, Hedrick says it’s “a self reminder to go, to try, and to not leave the important things undone.”

Rounding us out, a group we’ve loved and collaborated with for a very long time, The Infamous Stringdusters, have a brand new single and a video to go with it. “Dead Man Walking” was written by Jeremy Garrett and Larry Keel. Don’t be fooled by the title, this is a song of uplift and positivity, set to the grooving and gritty style of bluegrass we all know and love from the Dusters.

It’s another stellar collection this week, if we do say so ourselves, and You Gotta Hear This!

Wes Corbett, “Eagle Harbor”

Artist: Wes Corbett
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Eagle Harbor”
Album: Drift
Release Date: September 15, 2025 (single); October 3, 2025 (album)
Label: Adhyâropa Records

In Their Words: “As a kid, Jackson Browne was playing around the house a lot so that music has always filled me with a sense of warm nostalgia. As an adult I’ve realized how gorgeous his music is and how profound of an impact I think it’s had on me as a musician. ‘Eagle Harbor’ is a reflection of this both in vibe and in structure – wide warm sounds, open space, and what I hope is a strong melody. It’s named after the main harbor on Bainbridge Island where I grew up, which looks particularly beautiful during golden hour as you approach on the ferry with the Olympic Mountains as the backdrop. This group of musicians is an absolute dream to make music with! With so much emotional depth and their masterful touches as a bedrock it has become one of my favorites on Drift. I feel so lucky and honored to have the chance to cut this track with them.” – Wes Corbett

Courtney Hartman, “Bright Eye”

Artist: Courtney Hartman
Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Song: “Bright Eye”
Album: With You
Release Date: September 17, 2025 (video); August 27, 2025 (single); November 14, 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “I began writing ‘Bright Eye’ the first summer after my daughter was born. Loving her transformed the way I saw everything around me and I found myself surprised by the joy of seeing our life through her eyes. I believe that this is what love does: love of any kind changes how and what we see. It lets the light in.

“Ana Egge is a favorite songwriter of mine, she has a wonderful way of articulating melodies. I sent her an early version of the song and we finished it together. ‘Bright Eye’ also features harmonies from my dear friend and fellow Eau Claire artist and mother, Sarah Elstran (The Nunnery).

“I wanted the video for the song to give a real sense of the spirit behind With You – the community, the care, and the laughter. The album came about during a season of heaviness, but the women who co-wrote the songs with me, along with the friends who recorded them, truly helped to carry me through.” – Courtney Hartman

Track Credits:
Courtney Hartman – Voice, guitars, songwriter
Ana Egge – songwriter
The Nunnery – Harmony vocals
Ben Lester – Synth, pedal steel
S. Carey – Drums, piano, synth
Shane Leonard – Percussion
Zoe Guigueno – Electric bass

Video Credits: Filmed by Kyle Lehman, edited by Erik Elstran.

Trey Hedrick, “Passing Through”

Artist: Trey Hedrick
Hometown: Wilkesville, Ohio
Song: “Passing Through”
Album: Sing, Appalachia
Release Date: September 19, 2025

In Their Words: “‘Passing Through’ started with my time living out West. I went out there looking for adventure, and I found it – mountains, open skies, and a pace to life that felt more open. But even then there was always a pull toward home, toward the hills. The song is about moving through places and seasons, chasing what you need to see while you can. It’s also about how all of us are just passing through in life, and how easy it is to get stuck only talking about the things we want to do. I’ve never wanted to live that way. That’s where the line ‘I ain’t afraid of dying, just the things I never did’ comes from. It’s a self reminder to go, to try, and to not leave the important things undone.” – Trey Hedrick

Track Credits:
Trey Hedrick – Lead vocal, acoustic guitar, songwriter
John Mailander – Fiddle
Ethan Ballinger – Mandolin
Frank Evans – Banjo
Phillipe Bronchtein – Piano
Jamie Dick – Drums
Rhees Williams – Bass
Maya De Vitry – Harmony vocals

The Infamous Stringdusters, “Dead Man Walking”

Artist: The Infamous Stringdusters
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee and Colorado
Song: “Dead Man Walking”
Album: 20/20
Release Date: September 19, 2025 (single); January 2026 (album)
Label: Americana Vibes

In Their Words: “I had this idea about a pitiful character that needed to snap out of their life and take a bigger view of everything before it was too late. I kept having Larry Keel’s voice in my mind as I worked through the melody of the song a bit, so I sent him a verse or two and he sent me back some. His lyrics were awesome, uplifting, and on the positive side. In a few sessions, we came up with what feels like a powerful chorus and a cool hook. It felt so natural for Dusters to make this one as country as we could and I just hope it resonates with everyone who listens, as it did with Larry and me as the songwriters.” – Jeremy Garrett

Video Credits: Directed and edited by Jack Gould at Ninja Video Production.
Craig Babineau – Second camera

Lauren Morse, “Let That Fiddler Fiddle”

Artist: Lauren Morse
Hometown: Jackson, Michigan
Song: “Let that Fiddler Fiddle”
Album: The Sweetest Sound (EP)
Release Date: September 12, 2025 (video/single); January 2026 (EP)

In Their Words: “I wrote this song after a Nashville Honky Tonk Tuesday. I was being spun around by a man old enough to be my grandpa at the American Legion and I thought, ‘This is so much more fun than my date was the previous night.’ I immediately wanted to write a song folks could two-step to and that’s what I set out to do. Playing it out around Music City, I was always getting compliments on how it felt like nostalgic country music. It is the best feeling in the world to see the intention for the song to be played out in a music video with the same people who inspired it! I think it’s a real special song people get excited about and can’t help but clap or dance along.” – Lauren Morse

Video Credits: Directed by William Gawley.
Produced by Michelle Robertson, Charlotte Avenue Pictures.
Director of Photography – Wayne Taylor with Giovanni Gotay
Drone pilot – Wayne Taylor
Edited/color – Color Synch Visuals

Michael Rudd, “Not Today”

Artist: Michael Rudd
Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Song: “Not Today”
Album: Ways of the World
Release Date: September 26, 2025 (single), February 27, 2026 (album)
Label: Invisible Road Records

In Their Words: “‘Not Today’ is about the legacy of war, both for the vanquished and the ‘victor.’ In a time when wars seem to be everywhere, the song considers not just the impact on those fighting now, but also on generations to come. ‘Not Today’ is from the perspective of a man who has lost everything – his family, his home, his land – but not the knowledge of who he is. It was most directly inspired by the war in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank, as well as my visit last year to Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, and Auschwitz. As an American Jew who grew up with the cornerstones of Israel, Jewish ethics, a knowledge of historical antisemitism, and the specter of the Holocaust, I wonder how future generations will process the current war and the influence it may have on how they see themselves and the world.” – Michael Rudd

Track Credits:
Michael Rudd – Vocals, electric guitar
Pat Malone – Electric guitar
Mark Clark – Drums
Brant Leeper – Hammond organ
Asher Barreras – Electric bass
Kelly Kuhn – Backing vocals

Photo Credit: The Infamous Stringdusters by Daniel Milchev; Courtney Hartman by Michelle Bennett.

You Gotta Hear This: The Foreign Landers, Rachel McIntyre Smith, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

You Gotta Hear This! We’ve got bluegrass, Americana, folk, and so much more for you in our weekly roundup of new music and premieres.

Kicking us off, Western North Carolina bluegrass greats Balsam Range dust off an old track, “Virginia Girl,” from member Caleb Smith’s archive solo album for their own rendition – with a special “vintage” banjo solo added in. From just down the mountains in upstate South Carolina, bluegrass and roots duo the Foreign Landers share their lovely new song, “Smell the Rose,” which reflects on the good, simple gifts we all receive while walking through life (if we’re open to receiving them!).

Elsewhere in our collection, another folk-Americana duo, Oliver the Crow, return with new music for the first time in a few years, offering a new video for “Burn It Down,” a song about finding redemption in starting over, starting fresh. And Rachel McIntyre Smith – who has been sharing a mini-series of cover song performance video collaborations on BGS over the past few weeks – unveils an impeccable cover of Kacey Musgraves’ “Slow Burn” with fellow artist Sammi Accola joining in.

Don’t miss Natalie Del Carmen singing “El Cortez,” an energetic country-folk song about spending time with her father and the rarity of still enjoying first-time experiences as an adult, when such firsts are much more common as a child. You’ll also hear singer-songwriter Jared Dustin Griffin fingerpicking and growling through “Shovel,” a new track that meditates on sacrifices and all you can gain from the labor of putting yourself aside.

Bringing us vibey indie roots rock, Liam Kazar contemplates “The Word The War” on his new single from his upcoming album, Pilot Light. You can watch the video for this musical exploration of loneliness and the journey (rather than the destination) below. And finally, from all the way across the globe, the High Street Drifters of Melbourne, Australia, introduce their down-under bluegrass to BGS with “Words for Leaving,” a song about distance, longing, and goodbyes – sweet and bittersweet.

It’s a stout collection this week and we’re excited for you to get to it. You know what we say every time– You Gotta Hear This!

Balsam Range, “Virginia Girl”

Artist: Balsam Range
Hometown: Haywood County, North Carolina
Song: “Virginia Girl”
Release Date: September 5, 2025

In Their Words: “In 2013, I was putting together some tunes for a solo album. Patton Wages was my first call to help me with his killer banjo playing. I first met Patton at Everett’s Music Barn in Suwanee, Georgia, around 2005 and I immediately was a fan. We became friends and stayed in touch. He became Balsam Range’s first call if Marc Pruett ever needed to miss a gig and Patton always filled Marc’s great picking with greatness of his own.

“I wrote ‘Virginia Girl’ in March of 2013 and it was slated to be on my solo album along with “God Knows,” “The Touch,” a few more originals, and a few standards. Patton, Aaron Ramsey, Adam Steffey, and Nicky Sanders helped me create the album. I’ve sat on the tune and the album since 2013, frequently revisiting it when Balsam Range needed a tune to add to one of our albums, but ‘Virginia Girl’ has remained unused for 12 years… until now! Balsam Range recut the tune and I had an idea to see if we could fly Patton’s original banjo cut from 2013 to our new 2025 cut and it worked flawlessly, as if it were meant to be. Our engineer Clay Miller at Crossroads Studios in Asheville, North Carolina, worked his magic and did such an awesome job! Patton, I’m honored that you agreed to this and I’m honored to be your friend! We hope you enjoy ‘Virginia Girl.'” – Caleb Smith

Track Credits:
Caleb Smith – Acoustic guitar, lead vocal
Tim Surrett – Upright bass, harmony vocal
Patton Wages – Banjo
Marc Pruett – Banjo
Don Rigsby – Fiddle, harmony vocal
Alan Bibey – Mandolin

Natalie Del Carmen, “El Cortez”

Artist: Natalie Del Carmen
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “El Cortez”
Album: Pastures
Release Date: September 12, 2025 (song); November 7, 2025 (album)
Label: Torrez Music Group

In Their Words: ‘”El Cortez’ was written for my dad, so I knew early on that I had to get it right. Last holiday, I gambled with him in Vegas for the first time at the El Cortez Hotel. It was such a fun time together. When you’re young, your first experiences go over your head because everything is a first. But then you become an adult and the pool of opportunity to have first experienced memories gets smaller. I have more respect for my parents now than I ever could have understood as a kid. It’s about getting familiar with all the ways you feel rich in life that really don’t involve money.” – Natalie Del Carmen

Track Credits:
Natalie Del Carmen – Vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo
Nick Antonelli – Bass
Amelia Eisenhaeur – Fiddle
Jordan Ezquerro – Organ
Tanir Morrison – Drums, percussion
Amelia Eisenhauer – Percussion

The Foreign Landers, “Smell the Rose”

Artist: The Foreign Landers
Hometown: Travelers Rest, South Carolina
Song: “Smell the Rose”
Release Date: September 12, 2025

In Their Words: “‘Smell the Rose’ was written with our good friend Danielle Yother as a reflection on the good gifts we’re given in this life – things like music shared with friends, laughter around a campfire, sunsets, or driving down a beautiful highway with the windows down. Those moments are full of beauty, but they also slip away with time. In writing this song, we wanted to capture both the joy and the ache of that truth. For us, it points to something deeper: a reminder that while all good things here fade, they’re signposts that lead us to the one source of lasting love and beauty – God himself. Our hope is that this song encourages listeners to savor those fleeting gifts while also looking beyond them to the greater hope we have in him.” – The Foreign Landers

Track Credits:
Tabitha Agnew Benedict – Lead vocals, guitar, banjo
David Benedict – BGVs, mandolin
Danielle Yother – BGVs
Julian Pinelli – Fiddle
Nate Sabat – Bass

Jared Dustin Griffin, “Shovel”

Artist: Jared Dustin Griffin
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Song: “Shovel”
Album: The Perseverance of Sisyphus
Release Date: September 26, 2025
Label: First City Artists

In Their Words: “‘Shovel’ was born in the heat of July 2020, my hands fumbling through unfamiliar fingerpicking patterns until the song unearthed itself. The melody came slow, like digging through hard earth, and the lyrics followed in a single, fevered afternoon. It’s a meditation on sacrifice – how we bury parts of ourselves for something greater and the toll that takes. In the shadow of calvary this song wields its own blade, turning over the soil of belief and what it costs.” – Jared Dustin Griffin

Track Credits:
Jared Dustin Griffin – Guitar, harmonica
Heather Little – Harmonies
Fergal Scahill – Fiddle, mandolin
Nathan Alef – Piano
Matt Greco – Piano, organ
Dave Campbell – Banjo
Frank Swart – Bass
Derrick Phillips – Drums

The High Street Drifters, “Words For Leaving”

Artist: The High Street Drifters
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Song: “Words for Leaving”
Release Date: September 3, 2025

In Their Words: “‘Words for Leaving’ began its life at a lonely bus station in between where I was headed and who I was saying goodbye to. We wanted the track to carry that bittersweet feeling, balancing lyrical tenderness with the bluegrass pulse moving you down the road. Every instrument is a part of the dialogue, echoing the goodbyes we say to loved ones knowing that loving someone always carries the possibility of losing them. Being in Australia, so far from much of the rest of the world and with so much distance between places and people, gives this track a weight I think a lot of people will connect with. The push and pull between heartache and hope.” – Justin Vilchez, mandolin

Liam Kazar, “The Word The War”

Artist: Liam Kazar
Hometown: Chicago-raised, Brooklyn-based
Song: “The Word The War”
Album: Pilot Light
Release Date: November 7, 2025
Label: Congrats Records

In Their Words: “I can’t say I know exactly what the word is, what the war is. Utter loneliness at the mountain top, perhaps? Not that I’ve ever been there. Something close to knowing and loving the path, not the destination. Poor sleepless queen and her sleepless nights alone, but whatever, that’s her problem. Get me to the riff!” – Liam Kazar

Video Credits: Directed, produced, and edited by Austin Vesely.
Kevin Veselka – Director of photography
Featuring Emily Neale.

Rachel McIntyre Smith, “Slow Burn” featuring Sammi Accola (Honeysuckle Friend Sessions)

Artist: Rachel McIntyre Smith and Sammi Accola
Hometown: Oliver Springs, Tennessee
Song: “Slow Burn”
Latest Album: Honeysuckle Friend (Deluxe)
Release Date: September 10, 2025 (video); June 27, 2025 (deluxe EP)

In Their Words: “I have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Sammi Accola at writers rounds over the years, but we had never hung out one-on-one until this recording. I truly felt like we became friends during this session. I think that’s evident in the video. We got lost in the groove of this Kacey Musgraves classic and had so much fun with it. This is the final video in the three-part series with BGS as part of You Gotta Hear This, but the Honeysuckle Friend Sessions continue on my YouTube channel!” – Rachel McIntyre Smith

“I love how naturally it came together – Rachel and I had a completely different song in mind, but the moment I saw the Kacey Musgraves vinyl on her living room wall and we started talking about the mutually loved album, the choice felt easy. ‘Slow Burn’ is just the best – gorgeous, full of harmonies, and somehow both light and grounding. In the middle of a hectic week, it was the perfect song to play. A reminder to slow down, appreciate the people in our life, and laugh at lines like, ‘Grandma cried when I pierced my nose,’ relishing our twenty-something years. I love collaborating with Rachel and celebrating the power and simplicity of a great lyric.” – Sammi Accola

Video Credits: Filmed and edited by Rachel McIntyre Smith.

Watch more Honeysuckle Friend Sessions on BGS here and here.

Oliver the Crow, “Burn It Down”

Artist: Oliver the Crow
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Burn it Down”
Album: A Feather in a Hurricane
Release Date: September 5, 2025 (single); November 28, 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Burn it Down’ is a song about starting over – a song about building something great and how that sometimes means taking down whatever’s in its place. To illustrate this point, this is my fourth rewrite of a song using this same chorus. Over many years of scratching out verses and starting over, my life itself became a bunch of fresh starts. Maybe this is what led to the final version you hear today – one of the more stripped-back and bare songs from an album of mostly larger, fuller production.” – Ben Plotnick

Track Credits:
Ben Plotnick – Fiddle, songwriter
Kaitlyn Raitz – Cello
Anthony da Costa – All other sounds, producer

Video Credit: Kaitlyn Raitz

Photo Credit: the Foreign Landers by Nicole Davis; Rachel McIntyre Smith and Sammi Accola courtesy of the artists.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Josh Rinkel, West Texas Exiles, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Sit back and relax and enjoy a New Music Friday roots music picture show, right here on BGS! It’s wall-to-wall music and performance videos in this week’s roundup.

Starting us off, Roman Alexander’s new album, Midwest Calling, is available today, so we’re celebrating the occasion with his new music video for “Way Over You.” Built on strong mainstream country sounds, the track showcases how the entire project is built on an indelible sense of self, on acceptance, and firm home ties. In bluegrass, Kentuckian picker and singer-songwriter Josh “Jug” Rinkel debuts a new performance video for “I’m Only So Good At Being Good,” an original song about overcoming addiction and facing down temptation time after time. With just a guitar and a voice, it’s gorgeous-and-simple bluegrass at its best – down-to-earth and moving, too.

West Texas Exiles call on Kelly Willis to share lead vocals on “Division,” which they’ve paired with a gentle fingerpicked melody and a very fun and charming stop-motion music video inspired by a Wes Anderson sort of aesthetic. The harsh realities of a long-term relationship coming to a close have never looked so cute, but this song will gut you – or give comfort – all the same. Singer-songwriter Pete Droge brings us a gauzy, kaleidoscopic video for “Fade Away Blue,” the title track for his new album (out today) featuring lead guitar by Rusty Anderson. Steeped in azure and cerulean, there’s a tenor of hope and looking ahead in the alt-folk twang and open guitar tuning.

Plus, Rachel McIntyre Smith continues her Honeysuckle Friend Sessions with her pal Duke Jones. The pair perform a cover of Zach Bryan’s “Oklahoma City” to celebrate McIntyre Smith’s recent deluxe EP and the robustly talented community of musician, artist, and creator friends that surrounds her. It’s the second installment from the series we’ve shared here (see the first edition here) and we’ll continue in a couple of weeks with another video from the Honeysuckle Friend Sessions.

Pop some popcorn and enjoy the pictures – You Gotta Hear This!

Roman Alexander, “Way Over You”

Artist: Roman Alexander
Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
Song: “Way Over You”
Album: Midwest Calling
Release Date: August 22, 2025
Label: Twelve6 Entertainment

In Their Words: “Midwest Calling is about knowing who you are no matter where you go. It’s about carrying a sense of home through breakups, long nights, and big dreams – the moments that shape you, but also test you. No matter how far I’ve wandered or how much life has shifted, there’s always a part of the Midwest that pulls me back, grounding me in where I come from and reminding me why I started chasing this dream in the first place. It’s both a comfort and a compass – a voice that whispers you can grow, you can change, you can hurt and you can hope, but you’ll always belong to something bigger than yourself.” – Roman Alexander

Video Credits: Directed and edited by Sean O’Halloran.
Coloring by Sam Aldrich.

Pete Droge, “Fade Away Blue”

Artist: Pete Droge
Hometown: Bainbridge Island, Washington
Song: “Fade Away Blue”
Album: Fade Away Blue
Release Date: August 22, 2025
Label: Puzzle Tree/Missing Piece Records

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Fade Away Blue’ in an open tuning, DADGAD. There is a melody inherent in my acoustic rhythm part that was not speaking through the track once we added drums and bass. So we enlisted Rusty Anderson from Paul McCartney’s band on lead guitar to bring those phrases to the forefront. His tone, pocket, and feel are impeccable. He also added the slide guitar and an additional rhythm part in the chorus. Listen carefully and you’ll hear him add a nice Beatles chord on the last note. I guess after working with Sir Paul for all those years, that stuff is bound to rub off.” – Pete Droge

Rachel McIntyre Smith, “Oklahoma City” featuring Duke Jones (Honeysuckle Friend Sessions)

Artist: Rachel McIntyre Smith and Duke Jones
Hometown: Oliver Springs, Tennessee
Song: “Oklahoma City”
Latest Album: Honeysuckle Friend (Deluxe)
Release Date: August 27, 2025 (video); June 27, 2025 (deluxe EP)

In Their Words: “Duke and I both made our Whiskey Jam debut on the same night! His artistry really stuck out to me and I knew that I wanted to invite him to be part of my ongoing series, the Honeysuckle Friend Sessions. This song was suggested by Duke and for good reason! No one can cover a Zach Bryan song better than him. I’m grateful that BGS partnered with me to release this session. Keep an eye out in two weeks for the final video in this series with BGS as part of ‘You Gotta Hear This.’” – Rachel McIntyre Smith

“This song was one of the songs that inspired me to start singing and playing guitar. I’m thankful Rachel let me join her in this performance! Truly a special song for a special moment.” – Duke Jones

Track Credits:
Duke Jones – Vocals, guitar
Rachel McIntyre Smith – Vocals

Video Credits: Filmed and edited by Rachel McIntyre Smith.

Watch another Honeysuckle Friend Session on BGS here.

Josh Rinkel, “I’m Only So Good At Being Good”

Artist: Josh Rinkel
Hometown: Mount Eden, Kentucky
Song: “I’m Only So Good At Being Good”
Album: Live from Reverb and Echo Studio
Release Date: August 22, 2025
Label: Reverb and Echo

In Their Words: “‘Only So Good At Being Good,’ at its core, is a song about overcoming addiction. About a year into being sober, I started wondering how long I could actually keep it going, how long could I continue to make good decisions and say no to constant temptation. Recognizing your weaknesses is an essential part of overcoming them. That’s what ‘Only So Good At Being Good’ was for me. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to co-write this song with the legendary Jim Lauderdale and he recorded it on his most recent bluegrass album, The Long And Lonesome Letting Go.” – Josh Rinkel

Video Credits: Carter Brice

West Texas Exiles, “Division” featuring Kelly Willis

Artist: West Texas Exiles
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Division” featuring Kelly Willis
Album: 8000 Days
Release Date: August 22, 2025 (video); May 2, 2025 (single); September 12, 2025 (album)
Label: Floating Mesa Records

In Their Words: “‘Division’ dissects some harsh realities that come with ending a long-term relationship. Hopeful beginnings can unravel to expose a bitter end. Adding Kelly Willis as a counterpart lead vocal really brought home the split screen feeling of the song:

It’s the division
I’ll take the couch, you sleep wherever
Division
I’ve learned there’s no such thing as forever
Division
A storage unit full of tainted memories
And things you deem unworthy for the next part of life…

“As we were finishing this song, the production was really giving Wes Anderson-esque feels. The idea to make a stop-motion video of a house building itself then being torn apart, but the ‘stifling vines’ just felt like a natural and fun way expand upon the emotion and vibe of the song. Callum Scott-Dyson makes award-winning art and absolutely nailed the vision we had for the video.” – West Texas Exiles

Track Credits:
Marco Gutierrez – Lead vocals, guitar
Kelly Willis – Lead vocals
Daniel Davis – Guitar, keys, BGVs
Eric Harrison – Bass, BGVs
Colin Gilmore – Mandolin, BGVs
Trinidad Leal – Drums

Photo Credit: Josh Rinkel by Dan Deurloo; West Texas Exiles with Kelly Willis by Ramon Meija.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Katie Boeck, Ben Garnett, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

You’ve reached the end of the week and, for your reward, we’ve collected a superlative handful of brand new videos, visualizers, and songs from roots music spheres.

Kicking us off, actor and indie-folk singer-songwriter Katie Boeck puts yearning “almost-love” in the spotlight with “Dust.” It’s a lovely, contemplative track that showcases that Boeck is equally at home in indie-tinged Americana as she is on a Broadway stage. Continuing in a similar context, with tender harmonies and fingerpicking as a sound bed Canadian folk duo Ocie Elliott also consider the messy, uncertain, shifting sands of loving someone and the circular nature of giving of yourself to another in that most intimate way.

Guitarist and composer Ben Garnett announced his upcoming sophomore album earlier this week. Kite’s Keep arrives in October, heralded here with the first single, “Look Again,” and a live performance video of the bustling, prismatic track featuring Brittany Haas on fiddle and Ethan Jodziewicz on bass. It demonstrates the consistently thoughtful and outside-the-box approach Garnett takes in crafting solo acoustic guitar music that bridges jazz, bluegrass, new acoustic, and more.

The Far West, Los Angeles-based country strutters, tapped Dave Alvin as a guest for their brand new track, “Hope I Don’t Bleed.” Dropping next week on August 22, you can get a sneak preview of the vibing, psychedelic LA-canyons-via-swampy-bottoms tune below. And, wrapping us up, singer-songwriter Jon LaDeau draws inspiration from a long New York City to Bristol, Tennessee, drive with “East Tennessee Wrecker.” He’s joined by Emily Jackson on the new single and performance video, which features a lovely stripped down version of the track, unadorned and shining.

Whatever your favorite flavor of country, folk, and roots music, there’s something for you to enjoy herein. You Gotta Hear This!

Katie Boeck, “Dust”

Artist: Katie Boeck
Hometown: San Luis Obispo, California
Song: “Dust”
Release Date: August 15, 2025

In Their Words: “‘Dust’ came out of the ache of almost-love – the kind where someone lingers near your heart, but never fully arrives. I was thinking of the tortoise and the hare, but as a metaphor for emotional pacing between two people. It began as an ultimatum, but ended as an acceptance of what is – without clinging to what could’ve been. I recorded it with Shane Leonard (Anna Tivel, Humbird), a producer I’ve long admired, at his studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, live to tape, which was my first experience in that setting. Creatively, it was also an exercise in letting something be what it was in that moment, without all the modern temptations and expectations of perfection.” – Katie Boeck

Track Credits:
Katie Boeck – Vocals, guitars, songwriter
Joe Westerlund – Drums
Pat Keen – Bass
Paul Brandt – Keys
Shane Leonard – Drums, producer, mixing, mastering

Video Credit: Bella Mazzola, Twin Lantern Productions

Ocie Elliott, “By The Way”

Artist: Ocie Elliott
Hometown: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Song: “By The Way”
Album: Bungalow
Release Date: August 15, 2025 (single); October 24, 2025 (album)
Label: Nettwerk Music Group

In Their Words: “‘By The Way’ is a song about the beautiful mess of loving someone – choosing love not just in spite of challenging dynamics, but because of them. It’s a recognition that no matter how fleeting and uncertain the unfolding of a story may be, love is the constant that it always circles back to. The song was written after many months away on tour and it was one of the first melodies and chord progressions that came to me once I delved back into writing. Sometimes songs take a while to come into being, but this was one of those tunes that arrived almost fully formed.” – Jon Middleton

The Far West, “Hope I Don’t Bleed”

Artist: The Far West
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Hope I Don’t Bleed” featuring Dave Alvin
Album: Everything We Thought We Wanted
Release Date: August 22, 2025 (single); September 26, 2025 (album)
Label: Blackbird Record Label

In Their Words: “I’d been kicking this one around for years, but could never find the arrangement I wanted to suit the lyrics. Aaron, Robert, and Brian really found the swampy vibe I couldn’t seem to. The bass puts this right in the pocket it needed to be, and having Dave Alvin tear a white-hot solo through it made it complete.

“Dave played this solo though my amp, which is a special little factoid for me. The amp is now blessed. My little Fender only has a volume and tone knob, and I used to tape the volume knob down at shows because the vibration of the amp would cause it to turn itself up as it rattled. I took the tape off in the studio. Dave likes things loud and either the amp turned itself up to 10 or he did, either way each take got louder.

“You can hear the amp being pressed to its absolute limit. I know he’s blown some bigger amps on stage, I was surprised my little amp survived. A few months after he laid down this solo, I saw him at the Astro Diner and mentioned we were listening back and ‘we think the amp turned itself up on you during the session’… he just looked at me and said, ‘No it didn’t.’ Anyway, this one is simply about being afraid of experiencing pain at death.” – Lee Briante

Ben Garnett, “Look Again”

Artist: Ben Garnett
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Look Again”
Album: Kite’s Keep
Release Date: August 12, 2025 (single); October 10, 2025 (album)
Label: Padiddle Records

In Their Words: “‘Look Again’ is the first track on my sophomore studio album, Kite’s Keep. The album title loosely refers to this idea of a child’s inner world – a dreamscape where each song represents a different vignette of imagination.

“With ‘Look Again,’ I wanted the music to feel prismatic. As if to suggest an imaginative universe emerging from an ordinary one. I was interested in exploring, in musical terms, the idea that perception is never fixed. Like the old saying goes, ‘You never step in the same river twice’ – one also never sees the same thing twice. Any time we return to anything, it’s always different, with all things constantly in motion.

“On top of this, I had the immense joy of working with two musicians I deeply adore: Brittany Haas on fiddle and Ethan Jodziewicz on bass. Their performances brought the track to life in ways I couldn’t have imagined.” – Ben Garnett

Track Credits:
Ben Garnett – Guitar
Brittany Haas – Fiddle
Ethan Jodziewicz – Bass

Video Credits: Tessa Cokkinias – Cinematography
Ben Garnett – Video

Jon LaDeau, “East Tennessee Wrecker”

Artist: Jon LaDeau
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Song: “East Tennessee Wrecker” featuring Emily Jackson
Album: Chateau LaDeau
Release Date: August 22, 2025
Label: Adhyâropa Records

In Their Words: “‘East Tennessee Wrecker’ is a song that has been picking at me for a long time. Several years ago, I was traveling with my band from Brooklyn, NY to Bristol, TN to play at the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion. It’s about a 10-hour drive and for some reason our navigation system was counting down the hours until we arrived at East Tennessee Wrecker. We didn’t know what that was, but discovered upon arriving in the area that it was a towing service that I believe has since changed names. For some reason that title got imprinted in my mind and as time went by the structure of a song began to reveal itself.

“I recorded the guitars, bass, and drums in my studio in Brooklyn and when the music felt right, I was lucky to have Emily Jackson come by and sing a duet with me to tie it all together. We sang together live into one mic and that’s what you hear on the album. I brought this version of the song to David Butler and he fleshed out the arrangement by adding a second drum set, a drum machine, and some sparse keyboard stuff. I’m really happy with how this one came out and I feel lucky that D. James Goodwin was available to really bring the performances we captured to their full sonic potential by mixing and mastering.

“At the heart of the song it’s really just acoustic guitar and vocals, so I wanted to capture a stripped down version as well. Aaron Cassara filmed Emily and I singing it at The Scratcher here in the East Village, NYC. I’ve been very fortunate to work out a lot of my songs here over the years during their Sunday night music series so it felt natural to capture a version of the song in the same way you would hear it live in a room that means so much to me. This song seems to reinforce the feelings of connection I have to my community. I hope that it lifts up anyone who gives it a listen.” – Jon LaDeau

Photo Credit: Katie Boeck by New Norm Studios; Ben Garnett by Natia Cinco.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Jack Schneider, Elexa Dawson, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Bluegrass and folk, Americana and country – it’s another excellent serving of new music in our weekly roundup!

Beloved long-running bluegrass group Lonesome River Band have a new single out today, “Square Dance Friday Night,” which you can hear below. Written by LRB member and artist-songwriter Jesse Smathers, it’s the perfect track for New Music Friday whether or not a square dance is in your future – and of course, one should be. You’ll also find a preview of an upcoming track from singer-songwriter Elexa Dawson, “Roots Grow,” in our collection. Drawing on connections to land and ecology, it’s a string-Americana examination of the cycles of life; it readily shows how and why Dawson can often be found on the folk charts.

Don’t miss Kentucky’s Nicholas Jamerson joined by Rachel Baiman on his new song, which drops today. “How Sunday Feels” is more than apt in its vibey, grooving observations of toxicity and duplicity in religion and belief systems. Impeccable guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jack Schneider, who’s a delightful collapser and combiner of genres and eras, also debuted a new single this week as well.  Check out”Stone’s Throw Away,” a Barbara Keith cover that fits Schneider – and his upcoming album, Streets Of September –downright perfectly, shining with an indie-folk gilt.

We also have a special video treat this week, as we’re picking up and sharing a few performance videos from singer-songwriter Rachel McIntyre Smith from her Honeysuckle Friend Sessions series, which has been running on her social media and YouTube channel since October. Starting today and continuing over the next several weeks, we’ll share a series of three Honeysuckle Friend Sessions by McIntyre Smith and her musical friends and collaborators celebrating her recent EP. This edition features Smith in duet with Rebecca Lee Daniels offering a lovely rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors.”

Wherever you like your roots music to grow, there’s always a superb song just a stone’s throw away in our weekly roundup. You Gotta Hear This!

Elexa Dawson, “Roots Grow”


(Click to listen)

Artist: Elexa Dawson
Hometown: Emporia, Kansas
Song: “Roots Grow”
Album: Stay Put
Release Date: August 15, 2025 (single); September 12, 2025 (album)
Label: Turns Out Records

In Their Words: “‘Roots Grow’ is a celebration of the cycles of life. It can’t be all ‘love and light’ all the time. When times get hard, I look to the world around me, to the trees and animals, and I see lots of things that thrive in darkness. I think we can channel that energy and get through the dark times facing us with the help of the tree folk, who are a lot older and smarter than we are.” – Elexa Dawson

Track Credits:
Elexa Dawson – Vocals, acoustic guitar
Melissa Tastove – Vocals, shaker, djembe
Peter Oviatt – Vocals, shaker, claps, Juno 6 Polyphonic synth, banjo
Kelby Kimberlin – Bass
John Depew – Claps, mandolin
Sarah Bays – Melodica

Nicholas Jamerson, “How Sunday Feels” featuring Rachel Baiman

Artist: Nicholas Jamerson
Hometown: Prestonsburg, Kentucky
Song: “How Sunday Feels” featuring Rachel Baiman
Album: The Narrow Way
Release Date: August 8, 2025 (single); September 12, 2025 (album)
Label: Cloverdale

In Their Words: “This song was inspired by some keyboard warriors who use religion as a weapon of condemnation, rather than a tool of liberation from their own ego. Universally, I hope anyone who’s using their beliefs, whether religious, political, or philosophical, as a shield to judge and harm others will hear this song and maybe stop and think before speaking so critically about others.” – Nicholas Jamerson

Track Credits:
Nicholas Jamerson – Vocals, acoustic guitar, songwriter
Rachel Baiman – Fiddle, vocals, songwriter
Josh Oliver – Electric guitar, organ
Steve Haan – Bass
Mark Raudabaugh – Drums

Lonesome River Band, “Square Dance Friday Night”

Artist: Lonesome River Band
Hometown: Floyd, Virginia
Song: “Square Dance Friday Night”
Release Date: August 8, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Square Dance Friday Night,’ written by our bandmate Jesse Smathers, is a story of years gone by in rural America. Growing up in the 1970s, I played so many square dances and gatherings attended by the unique characters described in this song. So many friendships were built in the VFW halls and community centers that lasted forever. Music and dancing was the main source of entertainment for working class folks and it was the way to end the week with celebration!” – Sammy Shelor

“The tie between playing music and dancing is a huge part of the culture along the Appalachian mountains. Growing up, I remember cutting my teeth playing music for dancers at local venues along the North Carolina/Virginia line. It has always been a beautiful community event. ‘Square Dance Friday Night’ is your invitation to a night full of fun and tells of some of the interesting characters you may meet while there.” – Jesse Smathers

Track Credits:
Sammy Shelor – Banjo
Jesse Smathers – Acoustic guitar, lead vocal, songwriter
Mike Hartgrove – Fiddle
Adam Miller – Mandolin, harmony vocal
Kameron Keller – Upright bass
Rod Riley – Electric guitar

Rachel McIntyre Smith, “Coat of Many Colors” featuring Rebecca Lee Daniels (Honeysuckle Friend Sessions)

Artist: Rachel McIntyre Smith with Rebecca Lee Daniels
Hometown: Oliver Springs, Tennessee
Song: “Coat of Many Colors”
Latest Album: Honeysuckle Friend (Deluxe)
Release Date: August 13, 2025 (video); June 27, 2025 (deluxe EP)

In Their Words: “Rebecca Lee Daniels is one of my favorite singer-songwriters, so I was thrilled when she agreed to be part of my series, the Honeysuckle Friend Sessions. Since moving to Nashville, she has become one of my closest friends in the music scene. We chose this song because we are both East Tennessee girls who love Dolly Parton. I think we recorded this in just one or two takes, because it’s such a go-to song for both of us. I’m so excited for BGS to partner with me on three sessions in this series. Keep an eye out in two weeks for another Honeysuckle Friend Session right here on BGS as part of ‘You Gotta Hear This.'” – Rachel McIntyre Smith

“It’s so meaningful to sing with one of my closest friends and collaborators – on my favorite Dolly Parton song, no less! Rachel and I share a common thread with Dolly in that we’re all three Appalachian women raised in the foothills of East Tennessee. As an artist who writes and releases Appalachian- and bluegrass-centric music, being featured in BGS is more meaningful than I can put into words and I’m so grateful to Rachel for the opportunity!” – Rebecca Lee Daniels

Track Credits:
Rebecca Lee Daniels – Guitar, vocals
Rachel McIntyre Smith – Vocals

Video Credit: Filmed and edited by Rachel McIntyre Smith.

Jack Schneider, “Stone’s Throw Away”

Artist: Jack Schneider
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Song: “Stone’s Throw Away”
Album: Streets Of September
Release Date: August 6, 2025 (single); September 19, 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “My mission as a singer-songwriter is not to just perform my own compositions, but to preserve the music that inspires me, especially the hidden gems that deserve to find their way out into the world.

“Discovering Barbara Keith, who wrote and originally performed ‘Stone’s Throw Away,’ was serendipitous. I was in New York record-shopping with guitar historian Maple Byrne and it was he who stumbled upon a copy of Barbara Keith’s self-titled record. He insisted that I check it out, so I bought it at his recommendation. When I listened, it was almost spiritual how deeply Barbara’s songs moved me, specifically ‘Stone’s Throw Away,’ because of the line, ‘Georgia never looked so good as it does in Tennessee.’ Every now and then someone else’s words align with your own lived experience and this song is a perfect example of that for me.

“Recording it on my new record was also serendipitous. I had made a 4-track cassette demo of this song at one point, purely for my own amusement, and when my producer Matt Andrews (Gillian Welch, Dawes) came across the demo in a folder, we put it in the mix. Matt, never having heard the original version, liked how well it connected to the narrative theme of the other songs we’d selected. I am thrilled with how it turned out. Above all I am just hopeful to be able to draw more people’s attention to the music of Barbara Keith. She is incredible and I hope this version of her song does it the justice that it deserves.” – Jack Schneider

Track Credits:
Jack Schneider – Electric guitar, lead vocal
Camille Thornton – Electric guitar, vocal harmony
Wendy Moten – Vocal harmony
Dominic Billett – Drums
Jared Manzo – Bass
Matt Andrews – Organ

Photo Credit: Jack Schneider by Annie Loughead; Elexa Dawson by Lifeleak Visuals.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Sunny Sweeney, Hannah Delynn, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Somehow we’ve already arrived at August!? How did that happen? At any rate, there’s no better way to kick off the month than another brand new edition of You Gotta Hear This.

This week, we have a small but mighty collection of country and folk. Just a couple of days ago husband-and-wife duo Alyssa & Wayne Brewer announced an upcoming album, Lonesome & Blue, slated for release in September. To celebrate the announcement, they dropped the title track and lead single and for our roundup they’re sharing its accompanying music video for the first time. Watch below.

Plus, singer-songwriter Hannah Delynn gives a sneak preview of “Jealousy,” her third and final single from her upcoming September release, Trust Fall. Out next Friday, the number was produced by Maya de Vitry and is anchored by emotive piano, exploring the depths and catacombs of often squashed emotions.

To wrap things up, Texan country veteran Sunny Sweeney releases her new album Rhinestone Requiem today, so we’re spotlighting an as-yet-unreleased track, “Find It Where I Can,” that’s twangy, honky-tonkin’, and rocking and rolling, too. Congrats on the new LP, Sunny!

It’s all right here on BGS – and You Gotta Hear This!

Alyssa & Wayne Brewer, “Lonesome & Blue”

Artist: Alyssa & Wayne Brewer
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Lonesome & Blue”
Album: Lonesome & Blue
Release Date: July 31, 2025 (single); September 12, 2025 (album)
Label: Sony/Orchard

In Their Words: “‘Lonesome & Blue’ is our first original offering as A&W Brewer. This song is our interpretation of a classic country tune written in our modern-day time. It’s a forbidden love, sad country song that was written to closely mirror the tumultuous relationship of George Jones and Tammy Wynette. In the video, we not only act out the tune as the characters, ‘Lonesome’ & ‘Blue,’ but also act out the characters’ daydream fantasy of being together as shiny country music stars. In the end, because of life, it doesn’t work out.” – Alyssa & Wayne Brewer

Track Credits:
Alyssa Brewer – Vocals
Wayne Brewer – Acoustic guitar, vocals
Gary Brewer – Electric guitar
Tom Killen – Pedal steel
Mason Brewer – Drums

Video Credits:
Director of Photography: Kevin Bryan, Visual Poet Studios
Dave Santiago – Bartender
Alyssa Brewer – Video editing, production
Wayne Brewer – Executive producer

Hannah Delynn, “Jealousy”

Artist: Hannah Delynn
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Jealousy”
Album: Trust Fall
Release Date: August 8, 2025 (single); September 5, 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Jealousy’ is a journey through emotional alchemy, I’d say. It’s certainly a vulnerable one and when Maya suggested we put it on the record, I was admittedly a little scared!

“So often, I think we shy away from difficult emotions because they feel shameful. They’re hard to look at, definitely – but I believe that beneath any feeling, even those which are seemingly abhorrent or benign, is an innocent desire. There is a deep chasm of pain with gold waiting within it. If we can just push past the discomfort, we can find what we’re really looking for. It’s a freeing reframe.

“Perhaps the feeling of jealousy, deep down, is a desire to be seen and recognized, to feel we belong. Who doesn’t want that? Instead of getting curious, however, we often bury or project these things in unhelpful ways, creating distance instead of closeness with ourselves and with others. Jealousy isn’t about what anyone else has; it’s about what we already have inside –we’ve simply lost sight of it.

“Following it as a sort of internal compass can connect us with that desire underneath, to recognize ourselves instead of seeking it elsewhere. It can free us from comparison and allow us to embrace our own light and celebrate the light of the other luminous creative beings all around us. (That’s everyone). Besides, the glory of a night sky is billions of stars beaming back at us… What fun would there be in seeing only one single light shining up there all by its lonesome?

“I’m so grateful to my dear, brilliant friends Alex Wilder and Lizzy Ross for sharing their bright light with us all. Alex created the beautiful piano parts within the song. I love, so very much, that the harmonies were a spontaneous unfolding between us three friends who love singing together. Also, it says quite a lot about Clare that we could write a song about jealousy together. The trust, the openheartedness, the non-judgment… may we all be that kind of friend and collaborator to one another. This whole team is bursting at the seams with bright, beautiful stars. Making this with them feels like I made a wish and it’s coming true.” – Hannah Delynn

Track Credits:
Hannah Delynn – Vocals, guitar, harmonies, songwriter
Alex Wilder – Piano, harmonies
Lizzy Ross – Harmonies
Clare “Lollies” Reynolds – Songwriter
Maya de Vitry – Producer
Ethan Jodziewicz – Engineer

Sunny Sweeney, “Find It Where I Can”

Artist: Sunny Sweeney
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Song: “Find It Where I Can”
Album: Rhinestone Requiem
Release Date: August 1, 2025
Label: Aunt Daddy Records

In Their Words: “‘Find It Where I Can’ is about that ache you get when love turns cold and you start looking for warmth anywhere you can find it. It’s not about being reckless… it’s about being human. I heard Jerry Lee Lewis’ version of this song at a time when I had just gotten out of a long relationship filled with lonely nights – not single, just lonely. There’s a specific kind of ache that comes from loving someone who stopped reaching for you a long time ago. This song doesn’t point fingers. It just says, ‘Hey, I’m still here, and I still need something real. If you can’t give it to me, I’ll find someone who will.’ It’s really just a line in the sand.” – Sunny Sweeney

Photo Credit: Sunny Sweeney by Nash Nouveau; Hannah Delynn by Betsy Phillips.

BGS 5+5: Grain Thief

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Grain Thief
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Latest Album: House of the Dog (out August 1, 2025)

Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?

We’ve sort of faced the “genre-bending” thing throughout our career, so by now you’d think we’d have a good idea of how to summarize ourselves and our music. The beauty is, though, that we don’t really have to put ourselves down for a genre for anything more than maybe a drop-down menu or an intake form.

We’re from Boston, Massachusetts, an area that’s not typically known for its bluegrass scene (think Aerosmith, Dropkick Murphys, and Marky Mark). But through playing together in the early stages, we landed on this instrumentation that would be typical for a bluegrass band. So, does that make us a bluegrass band? Not really.

We welcome our individual musical backgrounds into our collective creative process. Alex (fiddle) went to school for classical music while Mike (bass) played drums in a punk band. Zach (mandolin) grew up in the PNW old-time scene while Patrick (guitar) studied English and developed a knack for songwriting. Tom (resonator) is a hell of an electric guitar player and is ready at the drop of a hat to play any iconic lead guitar riff that you might’ve just made reference to. We’re a mess. Sometimes, it’s a beautiful one.

What this all translates to is that we have a wide range of musicality within our crew and we allow all of that into our creative process and see what we come up with. Sometimes that could be called bluegrass or maybe even derivative of classical. Sometimes it’s lyrically poignant while other times it’s an angsty punky notion. Sometimes it’s, “This bridge kind of sounds like Weezer!” Thankfully this process has allowed us to grow a wide audience and allows for opportunities that are inside and outside of the bluegrass genre.

What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?

We’re a group of friends who are all just about the same age, so we’ve all grown up along the same cultural timeline – regardless of the fact that we all first met in our 20s. When we’re making any kind of cultural references together, whether satirically or literally, things generally land with the other band members. We all watch similar series and movies and someone might make a reference from childhood that’s stood the test of time. Other times we’re in the van looking for things to talk about and someone asks, “Hey have you seen Dune 2 yet?” while the odd-man-out immediately goes straight to “earmuffs” mode.

We’ve got hobbyist photographers and not-so-hobbyist visual artists within the group, so we share our work and inspirations with each other which leads to art direction brainstorming for band projects (album art, merch, etc). Many of us enjoy literature and some of us can barely read music. Not bad! While we haven’t necessarily organized the thought before, we certainly draw inspiration from other art forms and that spills into our music and our relationships together as bandmates.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

Prior to making a record we generally go away for a few days (as much as time allows for) while we are on a break from playing shows to take a creative writing retreat. This has taken place now before our albums Gasoline (2020) and House of the Dog (2025), which are the two from our catalog of the past few years that are complete original compositions. This time together allows us to get away from the outside world and work distraction-free and it allows a significant amount of time for creative collaboration or to bring works to the group for arranging. This time together also acts as an opportunity to share meals together, check in, strengthen friendships, and generally just appreciate the role that we collectively play in each others’ lives.

If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?

Sadly we all have other jobs, too. Yay music industry life of 2025! Among us are skilled computer programmers, web developers, carpenters, general contractors, bartenders, sound engineers, CAD engineers, teachers, and more. Is anybody hiring for those positions? It’s literally no rest for the wicked. Yet here we are and we are grateful that there is still a place for being a professional musician in our lives at all.

We try to really make it count when we get to do this, and it has never felt like something that we have to do.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

We’ve all got excellent taste in both food and music, so it’s going to be hard to pick a single pairing that would apply for all of us. Sometimes we can’t all even decide on the same place to eat on the road. But, I’ve got two words that are abundantly clear with this one: “Jerry” and “Dogs.” So, probably a night of grilling hot dogs to the soundtrack of Grateful Dead bootlegs.

Photo Credit: Lead image by Toan Trinh; alternate image courtesy of the artist.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Andy Leftwich, Vickie Vaughn, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

You know what you need? You need a roundup of brand new roots music!

In this edition of our weekly collection, Andy Leftwich kicks us off with a frequent fiddle contest selection, “Tom and Jerry,” giving an appropriate Texas swing treatment to the classic tune. It draws from his childhood growing up performing and competing at contests. A couple of Leftwich’s labelmates on Mountain Home Music are included below, as well. North Carolina’s Unspoken Tradition call on Danny Paisley, Jason Carter, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes to guest on “I’ll Break Out Again Tonight.” Below, the group’s bassist Sav Sankaran gives us some insight on who inspired their cover of the track and how they chose their special guests. Plus, bassist and singer-songwriter Vickie Vaughn, also on Mountain Home, releases her most vulnerable original track to date, “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday.” Written with Deanie Richardson, who produced Vaughn’s upcoming solo debut, it’s a song about grief, loss, and how life always marches on.

In a similar sonic space to our bluegrass selections, Old Crow Medicine Show have pitched in for John McCutcheon’s upcoming album that pays tribute to the seminal 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers Convention to mark the year of its 100th anniversary. The album, Long Journey Home: a Century After the 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers Convention, was produced by McCutcheon and features an incredible varied roster of artists and pickers rendering songs that pay homage to the important East Tennessee gathering. OCMS perform “Whatcha Gonna Do with the Baby,” which McCutcheon has set to photos from the album’s star-studded recording sessions.

Also below you’ll hear Amanda Pascali combine cultures and sounds from Sicily and the American South on “Amuri,” a brand new song from her upcoming album, Roses and Basil. It’s a delightfully cross-genre track, with touches of cumbia, Latin folk, Texas, Sicily – of course – and beyond. You won’t want to miss new music from Queen Bonobo (AKA Maya Goldblum), either. “Waiting Tables” is the indie-alt-folk artist’s Saturn Return song, about manifesting success and chasing dreams.

It’s a lovely collection of new songs and videos and you know what we’re gonna say… You Gotta Hear This!

Andy Leftwich, “Tom and Jerry”

Artist: Andy Leftwich
Hometown: Carthage, Tennessee
Song: “Tom and Jerry”
Release Date: July 25, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “This song brings back so many memories for me. I grew up competing in fiddle contests all around the southern region of the United States where I met some of the best fiddlers of our day and was introduced to the style of Texas fiddling. ‘Tom and Jerry’ is an anthem and you’ll hear it played in just about every fiddling contest and Texas jam session there is. This arrangement is a development of those experiences and pays homage to my upbringing, reminding me of where I started. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get when you play these tunes with those incredible passing chords along with the Texas swing feel. It’s just so much fun!” – Andy Leftwich

Track Credits:
Andy Leftwich – Fiddle, mandolin
Byron House – Upright bass
Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar

Old Crow Medicine Show, “Whatcha Gonna Do with the Baby”

Artist: Old Crow Medicine Show
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Whatcha Gonna Do With the Baby”
Album: Long Journey Home: a Century After the 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers Convention
Release Date: August 1, 2025 (single); September 5, 2025 (album)
Label: Appalseed

In Their Words: “Old Crow Medicine Show probably wouldn’t be a band if it weren’t for the time we spent around Johnson County, Tennessee, in the late ’90s. It was there that we learned to love the plain affairs of simple living in the hills, where country music was born. Fiddlers like JB Grayson were an early inspiration to us and the legend of the 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers Convention loomed large, even 75 years later. Now 100 years have passed since this, the first of the big national old-time music conventions, and we are mighty proud to have played a role alongside the great John McCutcheon in bringing this album to fruition.

John first approached me a year ago with the exciting news that he was embarking on a tribute to the Mountain City Fiddlers convention, the event that was so instrumental to the development of the Upper East Tennessee region’s identity as the national headwaters for hillbilly music. I immediately jumped in headfirst, bringing along Old Crow as the first act to sign up for the project. Many of the recordings we helped John make at our own Hartland Studio in East Nashville and now we are honored to finally be able to express our gratitude to Johnson County, Tennessee, an inspirational community for our band.” – Ketch Secor

“I first heard about Mountain City, Tennessee, as a teenager just beginning to play the banjo. I heard the Folkways album Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s and it changed the way I thought about the banjo and music as a whole. When I was finally lucky enough to get to Mountain City – doing a concert – I realized how important this little town and its heritage was. When the centenary of the 1925 fiddlers convention was rolling around, I called a bunch of my musical pals and invited them to join me in celebrating this event and, at the same time, benefit the fledgling arts center the town had started. My only request of the musicians was: Don’t make these museum pieces. Own them. I want to hear your fingerprints all over the music. And it turned out way cooler than I ever imagined.” – John McCutcheon

Amanda Pascali, “Amuri”

Artist: Amanda Pascali
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Song: “Amuri”
Album: Roses and Basil
Release Date: July 23, 2025 (single); September 12, 2025 (album)
Label: Amanda Pascali & the Family/Missing Piece Records

In Their Words: “‘Amuri’ is the first song off my new record, Roses and Basil. The song opens the album with a Leonard Cohen-esque guitar part and a stanza of ancient Sicilian verse: ‘Amuri, amuri, chi m’hai fattu fari? M’hai fattu fari ‘na granni pazzia.’ (‘My love, my love, what have you made me do? You’ve made me go mad.’) These centuries-old lines, interpreted by many artists over time, tell the story of someone so overtaken by love that they forget the way to the church. In my version, that sense of losing the path becomes a metaphor for drifting away from what once felt like absolute truth, all in the name of love.

“The song quickly shifts from that quiet opening into a vibrant cumbia rhythm, inspired by the Latin sounds I grew up with in Texas. A spaghetti western-style electric guitar, 1960s and ’70s Italian lounge piano and vibraphone, and the figure of the priest reimagined as a Southern preacher man all come together to bridge my two worlds: Sicily and the American South.

“Though ‘Amuri’ borrows its opening from the past, the song itself is entirely my own. It sets the tone for the album: anchored in tradition, but reimagined for today. How strange and beautiful that something so old can still feel so relatable.

“The album was recorded at Niles City Sound in Fort Worth, Texas. The day before we recorded this song, my producer Robert Ellis came over to the place where I was staying, with a second-hand nylon string guitar he had bought that very same day. He sat at the table with me at golden hour and as the sun shone through the windows, he played the song in a way that resembled Leonard Cohen’s ‘Master Song.’ The wheels started spinning at that moment.” – Amanda Pascali

Track Credits:
Amanda Pascali – Vocals, songwriter
Robert Ellis – Piano, vibraphone, guitar, prodcuer
Jordan Richardson – Drums, percussion
Aden Bubeck – Bass

Queen Bonobo, “Waiting Tables”

Artist: Queen Bonobo
Hometown: Sandpoint, Idaho
Song: “Waiting Tables”
Release Date: August 1, 2025

In Their Words: “‘Waiting Tables’ is my Saturn Return song. It’s about envisioning how I want my life to be and letting go of all that’s not serving me. I’ve been in the service industry since I was 14 years old and this song is my slightly sassy and soothing way of manifesting success in my music career. We all deserve safety, peace, and for our dreams to be actualized.” – Queen Bonobo

Track Credits:
Maya Goldblum – Guitar, vocals, producer
Joe Kaplow – Drums, percussion, engineer
Joel Ludford – Stand-up bass
Kyle Knadinger – Pedal steel
Neil Burns – Keys

Unspoken Tradition, “I’ll Break Out Again Tonight” featuring Danny Paisley

Artist: Unspoken Tradition
Hometown: Western North Carolina
Song: “I’ll Break Out Again Tonight” featuring Danny Paisley
Album: Resilience
Release Date: July 25, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘I’ll Break Out Again Tonight’ was one of the first bluegrass songs I ever learned, largely inspired by the captivating rendition of the song by Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass. It has long been one of my favorite old country ballads to sing and to honor my Mid-Atlantic bluegrass roots and collaborate with Danny on this song is a dream come true. Danny is my all-time favorite bluegrass vocalist, and has been an inspiration to me since I was a child. I’m so excited to have Unspoken Tradition’s version of this classic out in the world, and even more excited to share the track with my bluegrass hero!” – Sav Sankaran

Track Credits:
Audie McGinnis – Acoustic guitar
Sav Sankaran – Bass, lead vocal, harmony vocal
Tim Gardner – Fiddle, harmony vocal
Zane McGinnis – Banjo
Ty Gilpin – Mandolin
Danny Paisley – Lead vocal, harmony vocal
Jason Carter – Fiddle
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes – Fiddle

Vickie Vaughn, “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday”

Artist: Vickie Vaughn
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday”
Release Date: July 25, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I was having lunch with Mama at a Mexican restaurant in Paducah, Kentucky, one day about three months after my father’s unexpected passing. In her charming and sneaky lil way, she wiggled the fingers of her left hand past the chips toward me. (She’s always had a soft/sweet way of breaking strange news to me and my brother.) I saw that her wedding ring was off, a final signal to me, my brother, and her that life goes on after tragedy. The whole situation struck me so much that I had to write this song with Deanie Richardson about the day we found out Mama took her ring off.” – Vickie Vaughn

Track Credits:
Vickie Vaughn – Upright bass, lead vocal
Cody Kilby – Guitar
Casey Campbell – Mandolin
Wes Corbett – Banjo
Dave Racine – Drums
Deanie Richardson – Fiddle
Frank Rische – Harmony vocal

Photo Credit: Andy Leftwich by Erick Anderson; Vickie Vaughn by Laura Schneider.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Tray Wellington, Dallas Burrow, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Country and folk, bluegrass and new acoustic music all come together in this week’s edition of our new music and premiere roundup!

First up, country singer-songwriter Dallas Burrow is joined by Ray Wylie Hubbard on a brand new music video for their duo track, “Read ‘Em and Weep,” from Burrow’s upcoming September release. The song was inspired by classic gambling songs, so of course Ray Wylie was the perfect special guest to tap for the track and the country & western-styled video. Also bringing a new music video this week are Americana/folk trio The Last Revel, of Minneapolis. “Static” is about the overwhelm and confusion of new love.

In bluegrass, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers tap Jim Lauderdale for a new track, “How Small of Me.” Despite knowing each other for decades, it’s the first time Jones and Lauderdale have collaborated in the studio. Jones’ labelmates Deanie Richardson & Kimber Ludiker debut another new twin fiddle tune, this time offering their take on a Frank Wakefield classic, “New Camptown Races,” with a mighty backing band.

From experimental string band fringes we have a few stellar selections, as well. Award-winning banjoist Tray Wellington readies a new EP – set for release August 8 – with a performance video of an original song, “Man on the Moon,” continuing his creative relationship and fascination with the earth’s celestial relative. It’s jammy, expressive, and contemplative and shows a blend of many of the different styles of ‘grass he often employs. Mandolinist and composer Ethan Setiawan has new music on the way, too. His next project, Encyclopedia Mandolinnica, arrives mid-August and to celebrate, he’s shared a track featuring Joe K. Walsh called “Mount Holly.”

Finally, you won’t want to miss the return of Thompson the Fox, Tokyo’s quartet of mind-bending pickers who combine jazz, bebop, new acoustic, bluegrass, and so much more. Volume 2 of The Fox In Tiger’s Clothing – entitled TIGER – drops next month, so we’re sharing “Minute Waltz Rag,” the group’s reimagination of Chopin’s quintessential composition that’s ragtime, bluegrass, classical, and jazz altogether. Still, it’s incredibly easy to listen to – and impressive in technique and artfulness, both.

It’s all right here on BGS and, truly, You Gotta Hear This!

Dallas Burrow, “Read ‘Em and Weep” featuring Ray Wylie Hubbard

Artist: Dallas Burrow
Hometown: New Braunfels, Texas
Song: “Read ‘Em & Weep” featuring Ray Wylie Hubbard
Album: The Way The West Was Won
Release Date: July 18, 2025 (video); September 26, 2025 (album)
Label: Forty Below Records

In Their Words: “This song, which serves as the opening track of the album, is actually a musical sequel to a song I wrote with my good friend Charley Crockett called ‘The Only Game in Town,’ which I wrote all the verses for after he brought me a chorus and a chord progression. In that song’s third verse the narrator tells us, ‘The dealer is [his] friend and the house always wins.’ This song you might say serves as a challenge to its prequel, with the opening verse declaring, ‘I heard the dealer was your friend, I heard you know him well.’ Both, stylistically, were inspired by great gambling songs like ‘Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold’ by Townes Van Zandt and ‘Dust of the Chase’ by Ray Wylie Hubbard. It was only fitting then that Ray Wylie would sing on this tune. I gave him the whole record to listen to and this was the one he picked out to sing on. It was quite the honor to have him sing the entire second verse, since he’s always been one of my biggest inspirations and heroes. The tune opens with producer Lloyd Maines counting it off and playing a striking harmonic guitar part. As the track continues to build it is further brought to life by Lloyd’s legendary Dobro playing, and Katie Shore’s immaculate fiddle work.” – Dallas Burrow

Track Credits:
Ray Wylie Hubbard – Vocals
Dallas Burrow – Vocals, acoustic guitar, songwriter
Katie Shore – Fiddle
Lloyd Maines – Dobro, bass, acoustic guitar, producer
Pat Manske – percussion

Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, “How Small of Me” featuring Jim Lauderdale

Artist: Chris Jones & The Night Drivers
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “How Small of Me”
Release Date: July 18, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “Jim Lauderdale and I have been friends for decades now, but this is the first time we have ever sung together on a recording, so I’m really happy about this. Meanwhile I co-wrote the song with John McCutcheon, somebody I first met when I was a teenager, and though more recently, he’s somebody who the band and I have performed with a few times at the Walnut Valley Festival in Kansas, we had never written a song together until last year, and ‘How Small of Me’ is one of our first results.” – Chris Jones

Track Credits:
Chris Jones – Acoustic guitar, lead vocal
Jim Lauderdale – Harmony vocal
Mark Stoffel – Mandolin
Grace van’t Hof – Ukelele
Jon Weisberger – Bass
Tony Creasman – Drums
Chris Scruggs – Steel guitar

The Last Revel, “Static”

Artist: The Last Revel
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Song: “Static”
Album: Gone For Good
Release Date: July 18, 2025
Label: Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “It’s a simple little song about how overwhelming and confusing love can feel especially in the beginning. It’s about losing yourself and everything you have just to spend time with the only person that seems to be vibrating at the same frantic frequency while everything else seems still and static.” – Lee Henke

Deanie Richardson & Kimber Ludiker, “New Camptown Races”

Artist: Deanie Richardson & Kimber Ludiker
Song: “New Camptown Races”
Release Date: July 18, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘New Camptown Races’ is a song that Kimber and I played together last year and it went so well we knew it was one we wanted on this record. I went to a recording from one of my fiddle heroes, Randy Howard, on this. I will admit, I did steal a few licks from Randy on this one. Love that my dear friend is with us on this track.” – Deanie Richardson

“We have long loved Frank Wakefield’s great mandolin tune ‘New Camptown Races,’ which quickly became part of the bluegrass canon when he first recorded it in 1957. We set out to create a twin fiddle reimagining of this classic Bb tune with the spirit of a high-energy late-night jam with phenomenal playing by Tristan Scroggins on mandolin, Kristin Scott Benson on banjo, Cody Kilby on guitar, and Hasee Ciaccio on bass.” – Kimber Ludiker

Track Credits:
Deanie Richardson – Fiddle
Kimber Ludiker – Fiddle
Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar
Hasee Ciaccio – Upright bass
Tristan Scroggins – Mandolin
Kristin Scott Benson – Banjo

Ethan Setiawan, “Mount Holly” featuring Joe K. Walsh

(Click to listen)

Artist name: Ethan Setiawan
Hometown: Cornish, Maine
Song: “Mount Holly” featuring Joe K. Walsh
Album: Encyclopedia Mandolinnica
Release Date: July 23, 2025 (single); August 15, 2025 (album)
Label: Adhyâropa Records

In Their Words: “This one’s for the Fogels, at whose cabin in Vermont I spent a couple of great New Years, and who smoke the most delicious meat at all hours at festivals in the Northeast. I started to work on the tune in 2022 or 2023 up in Vermont and then finished it soon before tracking with Joe in early 2024. I finished it without a mandolin in hand, which lately has been a good exercise in letting my ear rather than my hands guide the composition. I’m playing mandola and Joe is playing octave mandolin, because we had to get in those low mandolins!” – Ethan Setiawan

Thompson the Fox, “Minute Waltz Rag”

Artist: Thompson the Fox
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Song: “Minute Waltz Rag”
Album: The Fox In Tiger’s Clothing, Vol.2: TIGER
Release Date: August 9, 2025
Label: Prefab Records

In Their Words: “Following our May release of The Fox In Tiger’s Clothing, Vol.1: FOX, we’re excited to announce the upcoming release of its sister album, Vol.2: TIGER, coming out on August 9.

“The album title is a play on two phrases from different cultures: the Japanese proverb, ‘The fox borrowing the tiger’s authority’ and the English idiom, ‘A wolf in sheep’s clothing.’

“While Vol.1: FOX consisted entirely of our original compositions, Vol.2: TIGER is a collection of cover tunes. Ahead of the album’s release, we’ve just shared a music video for ‘Minute Waltz Rag.’ It’s a reimagining of Chopin’s beautiful waltz, which I arranged in two-time for this quartet. We hope you enjoy it!” – Takumi Kodera

Track Credits:
Rie Koyama – Xylophone
Takumi Kodera – Banjo
Akihide Teshima – Bass
Tomohito Yoshijima – Drums

Video Credit: Takumi Kodera

Tray Wellington, “Man on the Moon”

Artist: Tray Wellington
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Song: Man on the Moon
Album: Spatial Awareness (EP)
Release Date: July 18, 2025 (single); August 8, 2025 (EP)
Label: Free Dirt Records

In Their Words: “‘Man on the Moon’ is one of the most personal songs I’ve ever written. I wanted to capture how easy it is to hide struggle behind a smile and how many of us carry that weight silently. Writing has always helped me process things I hadn’t fully acknowledged and I hope it can do the same for someone else. This track was also one of my favorites for production as it’s one of the songs I feel like we really captured the feelings of the song throughout.” – Tray Wellington

Video Credit: Rob Laughter

Photo Credit: Tray Wellington by Heidi Holloway; Dallas Burrow by Melissa Payne.

WATCH: Caitlin Canty, “Bird Dog” (Featuring Matt Lorenz)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Caitlin Canty
Hometown: Danby, Vermont
Song: “Bird Dog” Featuring Matt Lorenz
Album: Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove
Release Date: June 26, 2025 (single); October 2, 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Bird Dog’ is the most recent single from my new record, Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove, and features the intrepid Matt Lorenz as my duet partner. It is pure joy to sing with Matt (you likely know him best as The Suitcase Junket). Matt and I first met at Club Passim’s Campfire open mic years ago, and he sang backing vocals on my Reckless Skyline way back in 2015. We were long past due making music again, and his fiery vocals are an essential thread in my new record coming this October.

“Brian Carroll, who filmed and edited this video, has been such a steadfast creative partner behind the lens and microphone. I first got to know his work when he shot some gorgeous live videos in lightning fast sessions at Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots and I’m thrilled to be working with him on some live video versions of songs from Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove.

“I wrote the chorus of ‘Bird Dog’ a few years back when I lived in Nashville and then finished it at our new home in the mountains in Southern Vermont. Our dog Bell sparked the song with her barking and carried on through much of the writing process. I suppose that makes her my muse?” – Caitlin Canty

Video Credits:
Caitlin Canty – Vocals, guitar
Matt Lorenz – Vocals, guitar
Filmed and edited by Brian Carroll.
Mixed by Dave Sinko.

Photo Credit: Lead image by Brian Carroll; alternate image by Laura Partain.