This week, BGS readers enjoyed two brand new, exclusive sessions â one from our friends at Yamaha Guitars featuring JigJam guitarist Jamie McKeogh and the other featuring songwriter/filmmaker Scott Ballew, direct from last summer’s Rootsy Summer Fest in Falkenberg, Sweden.
But that’s not all, we also have a handful of excellent track premieres from songwriters and musicians like Louise Bichan, Alaina Stacey, and Lily Kershaw. It’s all right here on BGS and, honestly, You Gotta Hear This:
Louise Bichan, “Coldstream”
Artist: Louise Bichan
Hometown: Orkney, Scotland will always be home, but for now it’s Cornish, Maine
Song: “Coldstream”
Album: The Lost Summer
Release Date: March 4, 2024 (single); April 5, 2024 (album)
Label: AdhyĂąropa Records
In Their Words:Â “I wrote ‘Coldstream’ for my aunt and uncle and all of my cousins in Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland. Uncle Syd grew up playing the fiddle, but it was never cool at the time â he hid the fact that he did! Nowadays, he writes songs and plays a lot of tenor guitar, among other things, and it’s always a joy to visit Aberdeenshire and play a few tunes with him.” â Louise Bichan
Track Credits:
Louise Bichan â fiddle
Ethan Setiawan â mandolin
Brendan Hearn â cello
Conor Hearn â guitar
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Ethan Setiawan.
Mastered by Peter Atkinson.
Alaina Stacey, “I Would”
Artist: Alaina Stacey
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Song: “I Would”
Album: DAY (EP)
Release Date: May 3, 2024
In Their Words:Â “This is the first song I wrote with my now bandmate and writing partner, Sam Gyllenhaal. First co-writes are sort of like first dates: You go in with hope & expectations and sometimes you find true love, and sometimes it crashes and burns and becomes a great story to tell later. Luckily, I found true songwriter love with Sam. I was trying to create new starts and say yes to new things, so I went into our first write and opened my heart to the possibility of a new beginning. Sam met me there 100%. I think it came out in this song â the desire to make a fresh start, to have a do-over, and to be the best version of yourself that you can be. Of course, you canât go back in time. With every epiphany comes the mistake that gave it to you in the first place.” â Alaina Stacey
Track Credits:
Written by Alaina Stacey & Sam Gyllenhaal.
Alaina Stacey â Vocals, background vocals
Josh Hunt â Drums & percussion
Todd Lombardo â Acoustic guitar, high strung guitar
Matt Pierson â Bass
Dustin Ransom â Keys, background vocals
Evan Redwine â Electric guitar, programming, engineer, mixing, producer
Video Credits:
Tiffany Roberts â Female lead
Caleb Shore â Male lead
Directed, Produced, Edited and Colored by Rob Bondurant.
Lily Kershaw, “Americandream”
Artist: Lily Kershaw
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Americandream”
Label: Nettwerk Music Group
In Their Words:“As I started to resurface from years of prolonged depression in my 20s, a friend one day was telling me about her American dreams. When she asked me what mine were, I told her I didnât have any. She couldnât believe that I didnât have dreams of things I wanted to do in my life. I mean, I loved writing music and sharing it with people, but after battling with depression for so long, there was no place I wanted to go or thing I wanted to do. I had sort of given up. I wrote this song after having this conversation with her that very night. I was in the midst of recording my upcoming album, so I brought it in the next day to the studio finished, and it fit the album perfectly. I love the optimism at the end. I was really singing that to myself… the idea that itâs not too late, and I can still have dreams and live them.” â Lily Kershaw
Yamaha Sessions: Jamie McKeogh
It was early fall when we met with JigJam guitarist Jamie McKeogh just outside of Nashville, Tennessee to capture this brand new, exclusive Yamaha Session.
For his first selection, McKeogh picked up his gorgeous custom Yamaha acoustic guitar and performed “Streets of London,” a song written by Ralph McTell and popularized in bluegrass circles by Tony Rice. McKeogh laughs as he plays through a handful of takes of the tune, trying to remember the order of the verses and hoping he’ll do Rice and McTell justice with his slightly Celtic-infused rendition. His voice is warm and cozy, accompanied by free and tender transatlantic flatpicking that references Rice as often as it explores brand new sonic territories. “Streets of London” shines with McKeogh’s â and JigJam’s â classic treatment, processing American roots music through a Celtic and Irish bluegrass lens.
Read more and watch the entire Yamaha Session here.
Rootsy Summer Sessions: Scott Ballew
Last summer in Falkenberg, Sweden, videographers from I Know We Should shot a series of gorgeous sessions during Rootsy Summer Fest â23, peeling off from the festival with artists from the lineup to capture intimate recordings of fleeting live performances. For the latest in our Rootsy Summer Sessions series, singer-songwriter and filmmaker Scott Ballew performed two songs on the banks of the Ătran overlooking the historic Tullbron bridge and fly fishermen stalking their quarry in the fast flowing water.
âAlright, Iâll try a river songâŠâ Ballew says, introducing an original with a perfect subject for the setting. The selection is âTent Songâ from his 2021 critically-acclaimed debut album, Talking to Mountains. He continues with âBlue Eyes,â from 2022âs follow up to Talking to Mountains, entitled Leisure Rodeo.
Read more and watch the entire Rootsy Summer Session here.
Photo Credit: Louise Bichan by Louise Bichan; Alaina Stacey by Tanner Grandstaff.
