Artist: Sam Robbins
Hometown: Portsmouth, New Hampshire (now in Nashville)
Song: “Hard to Hate”
Album: Bigger Than in Between
Release Date: August 5, 2022
Label: Nine Athens Music
In Their Words: “‘Hard to Hate’ is my favorite song from my upcoming album. This song was written and rewritten, reworked and rethought many times. It took a lot of work! The impetus for the song is from remembering all of the people I’ve met through music over the years, and how they always surprise me in the best way when I look a little deeper. I wanted a video that captured the soul of the song, more stripped-down than the original recording, so I headed to The Treehouse in Nashville and we did a one-take, solo acoustic version.” — Sam Robbins
Artist: Marcus King
Hometown: Greenville, South Carolina
Song: “Blood on the Tracks”
Album: Young Blood
Release Date: August 26, 2022
Label: Easy Eye Sound
In Their Words: “‘Blood On the Tracks’ was the first song we wrote for the record. It was also my first time meeting Desmond Child. He’s 100% unapologetically himself at all times and that charmed me immediately. I really enjoyed working with Dan [Auerbach] and Desmond on this tune. They both have such an acute sensibility for a ‘hook’ it is scary! The song essentially tells the story of moving forward or being taken down by the trouble you are facing — catching the train or the bloodier alternative. Every writing session for this record started with a conversation, an opportunity for my collaborators to take a peek inside my soul and the pain I was carrying around.” — Marcus King
Artist: Bonny Light Horseman (Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, Josh Kaufman)
Song: “Summer Dream”
Album: Rolling Golden Holy
Release Date: October 7, 2022
Label: 37d03d Records
In Their Words: “I think of ‘Summer Dream’ as the ultimate example of the ‘yes, and’ process we got into for this record. There was something we could all feel about this ‘ghost of a summer’s past,’ so the scene is true to each of us but somehow remains mysterious — a phantom. We could have sung that wordless outro for an hour, and in the rough track we basically did. We wanted it to ‘spill all over’ like a summer night.” — Anaïs Mitchell
Artist: Vandoliers
Hometown: Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Song: “Howlin'”
Album: The Vandoliers
Release Date: August 12, 2022
Label: Amerikinda Records/Soundly Music
In Their Words: “In 2019, I wrote ‘Howlin” while my family dog cried by the door waiting for my mom and dad to come home. It took no time at all before I had a complete song of lyrics depicting the pain of loss and a friend long gone. I love this song in its innocence, and the simplicity of ‘I miss you.’” — Joshua Fleming, Vandoliers
Artist: G. Love
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Song: “Mississippi”
Album: Philadelphia Mississippi
Release Date: June 24, 2022
Label: Philadelphonic Records/Thirty Tigers
In Their Words: “‘Mississippi’ is a contemporary blues/hip-hop song which lyrically reflects the images and thoughts brought on by the state and historic culture of Mississippi. It’s both a celebration of the blues’ rich musical history and a condemnation of the dark history of racism, Jim Crow and slavery which played such a terrible part in the history of Mississippi and our country as a whole. Here I perform solo guitar and harmonica, singing the lyrics of bluesman Alvin Youngblood Hart and my own lyric, set over a driving riff in the key of E.” — G. Love
John Moreland continues pushing into his own sound, which seems to be this unique, creative blend of singer-songwriter sadness, striking instrumentalism, and modern production techniques. All three of those prime ingredients are on full display with the opening track from Birds In the Ceiling, a new album arriving on July 22 on Old Omens/Thirty Tigers. The lead single is titled “Ugly Faces” and it sets the expectation nicely for what promises to be a record that stands out. Measured emotion, concise playing, and entrancing production make the song fly by. Clocking in at just under three and a half minutes, “Ugly Faces” is by no means too short or too long, but Moreland’s hypnotizing ability makes it feel like it lasts no longer than a minute. Be on the lookout for a tour to support Birds In the Ceiling set to kick off in July.
Artist: Riley Pearce
Hometown: Perth, Australia
Song: “Nostalgia”
Album: The Water & The Rough
Release Date: June 10, 2022
Label: Nettwerk
In Their Words: “‘Nostalgia’ was born from a camping trip my brother and I took to Jurien Bay, a few hours north of Perth where we used to holiday as kids. We both hadn’t been for years, and it was a nice little nostalgia trip, reminiscing about the times and how things had changed with the town and with ourselves.” — Riley Pearce
Artist: Brandi Carlile
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
Song: “You and Me On the Rock”
Album: In These Silent Days
Label: Low Country Sound/Elektra Records
In Their Words: “This song is for my wife, Catherine. When life changed during quarantine and everything that I identify myself by went away, I was left with a question of ‘is what I’ve built my life on really a solid foundation?’ I wrote this song and realized that even the most intensely self-identifying things can go away, but what my life is really built on, which is faith and my family, it’s a rock, and it’s solid.” — Brandi Carlile
Artist: Sierra Ferrell
Hometown: Charleston, West Virginia
Song: “Years”
Album: Something Borrowed, Something New: A Tribute to John Anderson
Release Date: August 5, 2022
Label: Easy Eye Sound
In Their Words: “I grew up listening to John Anderson on country music radio, so I was honored…almost like a pinch yourself moment, when I was asked to contribute to this album. ‘Years’ is such a great song, and it spoke to me from the first time I heard it. The lyrics and John’s unmistakably haunting voice immediately flooded my brain with that universal truth…that life is so precious and so brief. I felt called to that song, and I’ve always thought that if you feel a song in your bones, you can bring it to life. From that point, everything becomes almost effortless.” — Sierra Ferrell
Editor’s Note: Read our BGS interview with John Anderson.
Artist: Circus No. 9
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Scaffold Song”
Album: Circus No. 9
Release Date: July 1, 2022
Label: Bonfire Music Group
In Their Words: “We were originally scheduled to record this album in spring 2020 — obviously, that didn’t happen. Time was on our side, however, as the postponing of the recording session allowed track vocalist/banjoist Matthew Davis to bring in this song during one of our Covid Zoom hangouts. We’re all big fans of Crooked Still, and wanted to give the song that treatment. We’re honored to be joined by our friend (and Crooked Still founder) Aoife O’Donovan on harmony vocals alongside John Mailander on fiddle. We thought this song would be the perfect ending to this new record — and we hope you all enjoy!” — Thomas Cassell, Circus No. 9
