To close out the week and celebrate New Music Friday, weâve got an excellent assortment of track premieres from artists working in Americana, bluegrass, folk, and beyond.
Singer-songwriter Brendan Forrest has brought us âLowdown Stray Dog Blues,â which features bluegrass and old-time favorites Dominick Leslie and George Jackson backing him up. Plus, the groundbreaking and buzz-worthy queer artist Flamy Grant shares her new track, âIf You Ever Leave,â about faith and healing, growth and redemption.
Fiery bluegrass fiddler Andy Leftwich debuts a new, musically acrobatic instrumental single, âAced,â which boasts an ace backing band of Matt Menefee, Byron House, and Cody Kilby. And, to finish us off strong, Nebraska-based Americana trio The Wildwoods have unveiled âThere Goes the Neighborhood,â a contemplative track that explores ideas and feelings around gentrification and transformation.
Itâs all right here on BGS and you know what we think⊠You Gotta Hear This!
Brendan Forrest, âLowdown Stray Dog Bluesâ
Artist: Brendan Forrest
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Song: âLowdown Stray Dog Bluesâ
Album: Daydreaming Music Fiend
Release Date: September 27, 2024
In Their Words: âI collaborated on this song with Dominick Leslie â IBMA winner and two-time GRAMMY Award Winner for Best Bluegrass Album with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway â and George Jackson â Australian American fiddler and IBMA winner who plays in the Jacob Jolliff Band, with Jake Blount, and countless other prominent groups. The collaboration with Dominick was the crux of the record and the reason I went to Nashville to record it in the first place. Iâm a huge fan of his band, Hawktail, which is why I hit him up, and he said yes after listening to my demos. I knew at the time it was the only chance Iâd have to work with him, because the pandemic had still held touring back (later that year, things blew up). Now heâs touring non-stop with Molly after their 2 GRAMMYs, and itâd be impossible to get him in the studio the way we did it.
âThe recording session was lock and step, even though Iâd never met George in person until he rang the doorbell moments before we recorded (nor had he heard any of the songs prior). He was informally invited to the session to âsee what happens,â and we knocked it out in just 2 or 3 takes. I think the instant success in the take was 50% the Nashville magic musicians and 50% the song speaking so effortlessly to us cats who have spent much of our lives dedicated to bridging the past Americana music spirit into the present.â â Brendan Forrest
Flamy Grant, âIf You Ever Leaveâ
Artist: Flamy Grant
Hometown: Asheville, NC
Song: âIf You Ever Leaveâ
Album: CHURCH
Release Date: September 27, 2024
Label: Glam & Glory Records
In Their Words: âItâs hard to heal where youâre being harmed. Sometimes, maybe even most times, the best thing a person can do to save themselves from a toxic place is to leave it. For queer folks and many others, church can be a place of real damage, and until the broader American church â and its God â have figured out how to love queer people properly, I intend to stick around and show them how itâs done. But Iâll also be pointing the way to the exits.â â Flamy Grant
Track Credits: Written by Flamy Grant.
Produced by Ben Grace.
Engineered by Charlie Chamberlain at Forty-one Fifteen Studio, Nashville.
Mixed by Latifah Alattas.
Mastered by David Wilton.
Flamy Grant â Acoustic guitar
Megan McCormick â Electric guitars
Juan Solorzano â Pedal steel
Will Honaker â Bass
Megan Jane â Drums
Andy Sydow â String arrangement
Sav Madigan â Violin and viola
Katie Larson â Cello
Andy Leftwich, âAcedâ
Artist: Andy Leftwich
Hometown: Carthage, Tennessee
Song: âAcedâ
Release Date: August 16, 2024
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: âAs musicians, we know that the journey never ends. Youâre always trying to be better at your craft, always exploring new ways to approach certain things in music, and forever growing and learning. Every once in a while, you begin to see results of your hard work and it begins to pay off. When you get pickers like Cody Kilby, Byron House, and Matt Menefee together, good things happen. These guys are âAcesâ at their craft, and Iâm honored they would pick with me on this song!â â Andy Leftwich
Track Credits:
Andy Leftwich â Fiddle, mandolin
Byron House â Upright bass
Cody Kilby â Acoustic guitar
Matt Menefee â Banjo
The Wildwoods, âThere Goes the Neighborhoodâ
Artist: The Wildwoods
Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska
Song: âThere Goes the Neighborhoodâ
Release Date: August 16, 2024
In Their Words: âThe song âThere Goes the Neighborhoodâ was written as a tribute to our hometown of Lincoln, NE and the gradual transformation of the familiar places we think of as âhome,â evolving from charming old buildings to modern structures that feel unfamiliar.
âNoah sparked the idea for the song and had been singing the chorus hook, ââŠthere goes the neighborhoodâŠâ for months just around the house. One rainy Tuesday afternoon back at home, while reminiscing about our old favorite local sandwich shop that had been transformed into a bank, we finished the rest of the song together in one sitting.
âThis transformation from recognizable to unknown mirrors our own growth as a band and as individuals, reflecting the changes weâve experienced over time. The lyrics and melody perfectly capture the bittersweet essence of these changes. The ending line of the chorus, âThere goes the neighborhood, gone with the echoes of time,â blends a sense of melancholy with acceptance and hope, enhanced by the lighthearted melody of the chorus. Itâs a heartfelt tribute to the past while embracing the possibilities of the future, resonating deeply with anyone who has felt the inevitable passage of time and the shifts it brings to our surroundings and ourselves.â â The Wildwoods
Track Credits: Written by The Wildwoods.
Chloe Gose â Vocals, violin
Noah Gose â Vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
Andrew Vaggalis â Vocals, upright bass
Engineered and mixed by Noah Gose at The Goosenest Studio in Lincoln, NE.
Photo Credit: Flamy Grant by Ash Perlberg; the Wildwoods by Sarah and Jeanne Vaggalis (S+J Photography).